Online live roulette guide: How to play and best roulette sites

Online live roulette allows eligible players in legal jurisdictions to play one of the most popular casino games from their mobile device or computer while experiencing the same feel as if they were playing at a land-based casino.

The following online live roulette guide will provide a breakdown of how to play live roulette, including variants like American and European Roulette, the best online casinos to play live roulette, and much more.

What Is Live Dealer Roulette?

As the name implies, live dealer roulette gets streamed live online at a studio with a real dealer. You can sign up or register a new account at any of our recommended online casinos to play live roulette games. You must be located in a legal state and confirm your location to enter a live roulette table and place a wager.

Evolution Gaming provides the software for most live roulette games, and it’s an excellent starting point for beginners or online players of any skill level or bankroll.

Top 5 Online Live Roulette Casinos

If you’re new to real money online casinos, the roulette table and live roulette games might feel overwhelming when you start playing. However, the live format offers multiple camera angles and many in-game features, providing an interactive and highly entertaining live roulette experience at the most popular casino platforms—including mobile play options.

BetMGM Casino

With over 500K downloads and about 100K online reviews, BetMGM Casino and its mobile apps remain a heavy favorite, especially among iOS users. Other players may enjoy live dealer games through BetMGM’s desktop/mobile web browser platform and its “immersive and exciting” setup.

BetMGM only lists a few live roulette titles, including American Roulette and Lightning Roulette. (Both options offer Auto Roulette counterparts—without a live dealer—allowing 60 to 80 roulette games per hour.) Roulette Live From Borgata also streams a live roulette table at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, just a few miles north of the boardwalk in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

With a limited selection of live roulette games compared to other online casinos, seasoned players most likely prefer European Roulette, with its lower house edge and slightly better odds. Still, live casino games at BetMGM deliver one of the industry’s top-notch user experiences and reliable customer support.

Caesars Palace Online Casino

The Caesars Palace Online Casino rebranded its offerings in 2023, including Android and iOS mobile apps directly available on a new website. Caesars Palace provides hefty welcome bonuses to new online players in multiple jurisdictions (like BetMGM). However, only a few live roulette options exist via the Live Dealer category.

Live Dealer Lightning Roulette offers a $0.20 minimum bet and a $1,000 max bet. Bet limits at Live Dealer Roulette range from $1 to $20,000. There’s also a Live Dealer Auto Roulette with a $0.10 table minimum—a perfect option for beginners looking to get acclimated to live casinos.

Caesars Palace Online Casino players should enjoy the simple approach to live roulette and a wide range of betting limits, although a few more live games couldn’t hurt.

DraftKings Casino

DraftKings provides users with a large selection of casino games along with the most popular roulette titles. Unique themed casino games are also available at DraftKings casino. These games highlight football, basketball, baseball, and even Christmas to keep their players engaged.

In addition, DraftKings players can utilize the VIP and rewards programs to make the most of their playing experiences. When new players sign up, they can benefit from the DraftKings promo code which unlocks their generous welcome offer.

Borgata Online Casino

Like BetMGM, the Borgata Online Casino provides a slew of casino games from the industry’s top software providers. However, players looking for various roulette games may find the selection somewhat lacking. The live game streaming from the real casino in Atlantic City may offer the best online roulette experience at Borgata.

Borgata Casino is well-known for its great offers. New players can claim a $20 no deposit bonus upon registering for a new account. Although the bonus only applies to online slots, there’s a low playthrough amount of 1x, and a lucky game could help kickstart your bankroll.

Golden Nugget Online Casino

Depending on your location, the Golden Nugget Online Casino may offer up to 25 games under their Live Dealer category. While that might seem like a lot, blackjack comprises about half of the live game options.

Minimum bets at live roulette may start at $1 and max out at $2,000, with payouts getting capped at just under $18,000. The game lists a return-to-player (RTP) average of 94.76%, about what you’d expect for an American Roulette game. Players can click ‘More Info’ on the live roulette game for minimum bets. Straight bets at Golden Nugget get capped at $100, which is typical for online casinos. (See below for types of roulette bets.)

Although we only saw one live roulette game, Golden Nugget offers one of the most versatile live casinos to online players 24/7. Right now, new players on Golden Nugget can claim a Deposit $5 Get $50 in Casino Credits welcome offer!

FanDuel Casino

The FanDuel Casino provides a decent selection of live dealer roulette options. Titles include Lightning Roulette, Double Zero Roulette, and Auto Roulette. Table limits may range from around $0.20 to $10,000.

Unique among live casino platforms, FanDuel offers a $1,000 Play It Again Bonus to first-time players within their first 24 hours. With an extra incentive for playing any casino game, FanDuel Casino remains a top option for live roulette.

How We Chose the Best Live Roulette Casinos

Each of the live roulette online casinos mentioned above is loaded with incredible features that further enhance the user’s wagering experience. Here are a few more reasons why we selected each of those casinos:

Mobile Compatibility

Optimized for casino mobile apps, online roulette games like Speed Roulette and Auto Roulette at live casinos have experienced fast-paced growth. As popularity soars, live dealer compatibility with mobile technology improves over time. We recommend staying current with the latest app updates to get the best versions of mobile online casinos.

Game Variety

Evolution Gaming provides various live roulette titles at well-known online casino brands. Instant Roulette allows users to automatically move to one of up to a dozen active roulette wheels and play immediately for as little as $0.10 per wager. High-rollers might find a VIP Roulette with a $150 table minimum.

Safe & Secure

Online casinos in legal jurisdictions must adhere to strict gaming enforcement regulations to maintain their licenses. That means providing players with safe mobile apps and reliable gaming sites with cybersecurity essentials like data encryption and multi-factor authentication.

Quick Payout Times

Fast and reliable payouts remain one of the most crucial aspects of any casino. New players might hesitate to deposit online, so casinos provide multiple methods for quick withdrawals to keep customers happy. PayPal, a Play+ card, and Cash at Cage offer some of the fastest options.

Customer Service

Excellent customer service is invaluable to players and integral to any casino platform. Look for FAQs and live chat options if you run into any issues.

Easy Deposits & Withdrawals

Casino customers expect instant deposits and easy withdrawals through an online platform. Our recommended casinos provide multiple payment methods, which typically must match a withdrawal request—with a few options that offer wait times of up to 24 hours or even 30 minutes or less.

How to Play Online Live Roulette

You can pick any of our recommended online casinos to play roulette with a live dealer. While most welcome bonuses may not apply to live dealer games, you can still practice for free at a virtual game if a demo play option is available (like French Roulette or the European version). Once you’ve better understood how the game works by playing free roulette, you can add an extra dimension by choosing from various live roulette options.

1. Find a Game at the Right Online Casino

The first step when playing online live roulette is to find a suitable game on a desktop or mobile device. New players may choose a game offering a free virtual roulette demo from top software providers like IGT or NetEnt. Other players can go directly to an online casino’s live game section (usually from Evolution) and pick a roulette game there.

2. Join and Place Bets

The second step is to join in on the game, deposit money, and place corresponding bets on the online roulette table. There are multiple options for placing bets on roulette tables, such as inside and outside bets, special bets, and favorite bets (for your lucky numbers).

Choose a denomination from the chip display, then click your desired spot(s) on the game table. Pay attention to the on-screen timer and traffic lights (green, yellow, and red). Consult the in-game panel and tabs for settings and information on how to play, game rules, bet limits, and more.

3. Watch the Roulette Wheel

The third step is to watch the roulette wheel from multiple cameras as the ball rolls around and then eventually lands in a particular spot, potentially a winning pocket. Depending on the game, a roulette countdown for the next round may begin at 17 seconds. The timer switches from green to red at around five seconds as the ball gets released (Lightning Roulette), or the dealer may spin the ball as the timer runs out.

4. Wait for the Ball to Fall

The fourth step is to wait for the roulette wheel to stop and the ball to land in any numbered pocket, depending on the roulette variant and live casino. Typically, the ball lands on a pocket about 10 to 20 seconds after bets have closed.

5. If Your Bet Is Correct, You Win the Payout

The final step is to see if your bet was correct; if that’s true, you will receive your payout accordingly. Payouts during the game appear on the left-hand side of the screen.

Live Roulette Game Variants

Most online casinos offer live American, European, and Lightning Roulette. Other roulette options with live dealers provide unique features that switch up the camera angles and gameplay to make games more entertaining.

Live European Roulette

European Roulette offers a roulette wheel with 37 pockets numbered 0 through 36. Like any roulette wheel, there are black and red numbers from 1 to 36 (including even and odd numbers). In the European variant, only one zero (0) pocket is colored green.

Live European Roulette comes in various forms, usually offering an RTP of 97.30% or house odds of 2.70%, slightly lower than American Roulette with two zero pockets instead of only one. You can easily recognize a European Roulette game from the single green pocket labeled zero.

When you play roulette as a live casino game, we recommend roulette tables with a single zero pocket colored green for the best chances of winning each round.

Live American Roulette

American Roulette is another standard game found at online casinos due to its extra double zero pocket (00) added to the European/French Roulette version. The American variant has a higher house edge with two zero pockets.

Evolution Gaming’s Live American Roulette offers an RTP of 94.74% or house odds of 5.26%. While that means the casino gets a better advantage, the American version may provide higher bet limits, thus making it a more attractive game for high-rollers.

Live French Roulette

French Roulette is a European variant with a unique feature known as a La Partage rule. Partage means “sharing” in French. Thus, the house “shares” a wager with players who make outside bets if the ball falls on zero. Half a player’s wager on an outside bet gets returned if that occurs during any round.

Outside bets in French Roulette include red/black, pair/impair (even/odd), and manque/passe (1-18/19-36). La Partage boosts RTP to 98.65% and drops house odds to 1.35% on outside wagers.

Neighbor bets in Live French Roulette (and some European variants) include:

Tiers du Cylindre (third of the wheel): 6-chip wager on 12 numbers
Orphelins à Cheval (orphans on horseback): 5-chip wager on eight numbers
Voisins du Zéro (neighbors of zero): 9-chip wager on 17 numbers
Jeu Zéro (zero game): 4-chip wager on seven numbers

Immersive Roulette

Immersive Roulette gets players closer to the action by offering slow-motion replays and high-definition close-ups. However, with Evolution Gaming—most games provide an immersive experience. So check your casino to see how they implement their roulette options.

In some cases, you may find higher table minimums for Immersive Roulette, making it an ideal live casino game, especially for players with large desktop monitors.

Speed

Speed Roulette is a faster version of other live roulette games. Players get just over ten seconds per betting round and a shorter spin time, making Speed Roulette a perfect option for mobile users away from home.

Double Ball

Double Ball Roulette uses two balls per round with unique betting rules and payouts. The roulette balls get released at slightly different times, so they land in separate pockets or sometimes the same ones.

You win in Double Ball Roulette when two balls satisfy your bets on outside wagers or one ball lands on your particular inside bet. If both balls land on your inside bet, you’ll win double your wager.

Lightning Roulette

Lightning Roulette is one of the most popular live roulette games. A random number generator (RNG) strikes with lightning across one to five numbers on the betting grid with random multipliers between 50x and 500x each round. While RNG games may offer a lower RTP, Lightning Roulette significantly boosts payouts on inside bets.

Reasons to Play Live Roulette

Online casinos offer interactive roulette tables to eligible players in a few jurisdictions across the U.S. without having to visit land-based casinos in places like Atlantic City or Las Vegas, Nevada. Betting limits at live roulette cater to small bankrolls and high-rollers, offering one of the iGaming industry’s most popular games.

Multiple Live Roulette Variants

Live roulette online includes games with betting limits ranging from $0.10 for a minimum bet and up to $20,000 or more for high-rollers. With over a dozen variants, live roulette offers one of the most multifaceted gaming categories at any online or land-based casino.

Real Outcomes

Live roulette provides tangible outcomes with a more favorable variance than RNG games. With a croupier (live dealer), players get a fair shot at a fun casino game with a human element not dictated by an algorithm.

Live Dealer Interface

Players may enhance live roulette features by tweaking video settings and switching how to view the game’s layout. Add multiple tables simultaneously (as many as your screen can handle) to play roulette in adjacent windows on-screen—something that’d be nearly impossible at any Las Vegas casino.

Types of Live Roulette Bets

If you’ve seen a real roulette wheel, you’re most likely familiar with how to play the game. A corresponding table layout comprises outside and inside bets. There are lower odds of winning inside bets, with higher payouts, compared to outside wagers like red/black, even/odd, and low/high, with higher odds and smaller payouts.

Also, you’ll notice how the odds slightly change from American to European Roulette.

Types, Payouts & Odds (American/European)

18 Numbers (Reds/Black, Even/Odd, Low/High) – 1:1 (47.37% – 48.65%)

12 Numbers (Column/Dozen) – 2:1 (31.58% – 32.43%)

Six Numbers (Line Bet) – 5:1 (15.79% – 16.21%)

Five Numbers (Top Line Bet) – 6:1 (13.15% – 13.51%)

Four Numbers (Corner Bet) – 8:1 (10.52% – 10.81%)

Three Numbers (Street Bet) – 11:1 (7.89% – 8.10%)

Two Numbers (Split Bet) – 17:1 (5.26% – 5.40%)

One Number (Straight Up Bet) – 35:1 (47.37% – 48.65%)

Best Strategies for Playing Online Live Roulette

Casino games often require particular strategies to protect your bankroll. Here are a few techniques to help with online bankroll management at live roulette.

Know Special Bets

Special bets help mix up betting styles and cover particular areas on the roulette wheel. For example, neighbor bets automatically place chips on a chosen number and its “neighbors” to the left and right. Click the plus (+) or minus (-) buttons in-game to add or subtract neighbors for your wager.

Betting strategies include the Martingale and D’Alembert on outside wagers, where you increase or decrease your bet amount after a win or a loss.

Anticipate House Edge

Understanding inside and outside wagers and other bets as you play comes with experience. We recommend betting on outside numbers with even money payouts to build your bankroll slowly. Then, you can take some chances on columns or dozens for 2:1 payouts and work toward inside bets rather than immediately risking your bankroll.

Try Exclusive Variants

Live roulette doesn’t offer many exclusive variants other than live streams from brick-and-mortar casinos. Golden Nugget offers two virtual roulette exclusives with demo play options. You can try those games for free and learn the differences between American and European variants.

Evolution provides information for all their live games so that you can browse and learn about game rules, bets, payouts, chat feature options, and more.

Online Live Roulette FAQs

Below, we address some of the industry’s most common questions regarding online live roulette.

How do you play at an online live roulette table?

It’s easy to get started with live roulette. Choose a reputable online casino from our recommended options, register for an account, and deposit money. When you enter a live roulette table, you must confirm your location in a legal jurisdiction to place a wager.

What are the variations of live roulette?

There are about a dozen live roulette variants from Evolution Gaming. Options include American, European, French, Lightning, and Auto Roulette (without a live dealer).

Are live roulette games rigged?

Games at our recommended casinos routinely get audited by in-state state regulatory agencies. Third-party companies also test random number generators (RNGs) built into casino gaming software. Live roulette adds a human element with a live dealer, which means a variance of outcomes not associated with a computer algorithm.

You can always contact a casino’s customer support or your state’s gaming agency with any issues or concerns.

Is live dealer roulette played in real-time?

Yes, live dealer roulette gets live-streamed with an internet connection from in-state casinos per legal requirements. Since online casinos must partner with a brick-and-mortar location, some live dealer roulette games may broadcast live directly from that casino’s gaming floor.