The Best Online Roulette Casinos in Canada 2021

What is Roulette?

Roulette is a table game that was forged out of the rubble of a failed experiment by the French mathematician, Blaise Pascal, in 1655. He was trying to invent a perpetual motion machine, and instead developed one of the world’s most popular casino games. 

Pascal’s roulette wheel had 36 numbered pockets: 18 red and 18 black, with a ball in the middle that spins as the wheel turns. Players place bets on the outcome of where the ball will settle before the wheel is spun, and hope that either their number or colour comes up. 

As roulette’s popularity started moving across the continent, modifications were made to the wheel to help increase the house’s advantage. In 1842, King Charles III of Monaco commissioned a roulette wheel to be designed with an ingrained house edge, which introduced the single-zero pocket. This pocket belongs to the house, meaning that all bets are lost when the ball lands on it. 

When the roulette wheel reached North America, a double-zero pocket was added to further enhance the casino’s house edge. These changes have split the game into different variants, all of which are available to play at the best roulette casinos online.  

Although roulette is a game of chance, this hasn’t prevented great thinkers of the game from concocting strategies on how best to approach the wheel. While there are no guarantees in roulette, the logic of these strategists is interesting to trace – check out the systems of Martingale, D’Alembert, and Paroli to get inside the minds of the roulette greats.

Roulette Variations

Roulette’s appeal is widespread throughout the world. As a result, you’ll find lots of different variations at the top roulette casino sites. Here’s how they work.

European Roulette

European Roulette is the most popular variant, with 37 pockets in the wheel: 18 red, 18 black, and a green single-zero pocket. European Roulette is the most-played because solo green pocket generates a house edge of 2.7%, and this is among the lowest of all roulette variants.

American Roulette

The American Roulette wheel shares the same layout as the European, but with one important difference: a double-zero pocket in addition to the single-zero, thereby delivering a greater house edge of 5.26%.

French Roulette

Pascal would be pleased to know that French Roulette is still among the most played variants in the world. The layout of the wheel is the same as the European, giving them an equal house edge of 2.7%, but the French variation has a unique ‘La Partage’ rule – if a player makes an even-money bet (on odd or even numbers, for example), they’ll only lose half their stake if the ball lands in the single-zero pocket.

Multi-Wheel Roulette

The top roulette casinos will also offer their players Multi-Wheel Roulette, where punters can wager on up to eight roulette tables at once. The game developer Microgaming is chiefly responsible for making Multi-Wheel Roulette a possibility in recent years – all tables of its multi-wheel format are played in the European style, meaning there’s a single-zero pocket on each one and every wheel has a house edge of 2.7%.

Bets and Odds

Bets at the roulette table fall into two categories: inside bets and outside bets. If you’re new to roulette, we recommend starting with small outside bets to begin with, or even using the online casino’s free to play version first. That way you can get up to speed with the gameplay before committing real money to wagers. See below for a breakdown of inside and outside bets, and the kinds of odds players can expect from both.

Inside Bets

Inside bets are harder to achieve but have higher odds and larger payouts as a result. Here are some examples of inside bets:

• Straight-up: bets made on a specific number, paying out at 35/1;
• Split: bets made on two adjacent numbers, paying out at 17/1;
• Street: bets made on a row of three numbers, paying out at 11/1;
• Basket: bets made on five specific numbers, paying out at 6/1.

Outside Bets

Because the roulette wheel is divided in half by both colours and numbers, it lends itself well to outside bets – bets that generally have a 50% chance of coming off, but generate small payouts as a result. Here are some examples of outside bets:

• Red or black, which pays out at 1/1;
• Odd or even, which pays out at 1/1;
• Low or High: bets that are called at numbers 1-18 for low, and 19-36 for high, which pay out at 1/1;
• Dozens: roulette wheels are split into three dozens (1-12, 13-24, and 25-36). You can bet on the ball landing in a specific dozen, paying out at 2/1.

Live Dealer Roulette

Online roulette games now include live roulette, where casino sites use video streaming technology to re-enact the feeling, customs, and atmosphere of a real brick-and-mortar casino. Players of live dealer roulette can enjoy the pace and authenticity of a real casino from the comfort of their own home, taking their seat at the roulette table alongside a professionally trained croupier who takes bets, spins the wheel, and converses with players in real time. 

Live dealer roulette games are often facilitated by multiple camera angles, bringing players high-definition shots of the action. Players can interact with other players and the dealer via the live chat feature, who’ll respond to questions and conversation by speaking directly into the camera. It’s this touch of personalization that some feel is missing from online gambling, with live dealer casinos filling an important gap in the market.  

If you’re interested in playing at a live roulette casino, bear in mind that they’re more expensive for the site to run, and minimum bets are usually inflated to compensate. Traditional online roulette games can have their minimum bets set as low as $0.25, but you’re more likely to see minimum bets at live roulette tables closer to $1.

Mobile Roulette

Gone are the days of playing online roulette exclusively on a desktop. Today, the best Canadian online casinos have mobile-optimized sites that adjust easily to different browser preferences and operating systems without skipping on quality. 

The top casinos will also have dedicated apps available for mobile casino players to download. We generally recommend installing a native apps on your device if one is offered by your online casino as they offer players a more bespoke gaming experience. Not only can players expect faster loading times and slick user interfaces on these mobile casino apps, but the app’s push notifications also represent the best way for players to keep up to date with casino bonuses and promotions.