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Roulette’s popularity has remained undimmed for many decades, but that hasn’t stopped some trying to make improvements on the game. Of course, traditionalists would say that the classic game isn’t broken, so there is need to try to fix it. But recently we have noticed several new variants of roulette, hybrid (we will explain that a bit later) forms of the game that have become very popular, particularly at online live casinos.
In the past few years, some of the big hitters in live casino software – Playtech, Evolution, NetEnt – have begun experimenting with new types of roulette, as well as other table and card games. The idea is that they fuse the classic elements of roulette with technology to offer a different type of experience. This can be seen in games like Quantum Roulette Live, Lightning Roulette Live, and Who Wants to be a Millionaire Roulette Live. Yes, the latter is branded and based on the popular television quiz show.
Blend of the classic and new
Broadly speaking, these games keep the traditional structures of roulette, meaning you’ll still need to hone your roulette strategy and be familiar with all the different types of roulette bets before you play. But the developers of these games also try to make things, well, a little more exciting. It’s a subjective opinion as to whether that’s the case or not, as many roulette players will tell you that the game is exciting enough when real money is involved. But in terms of polish and presentation, you can see the allure of some of these roulette variants.
To illustrate what we mean, let’s take a look at one of Playtech’s flagship live games – Quantum Roulette Live. The idea behind Quantum Roulette is that it combines real European roulette play with RNG (Random Number Generator) software that can randomly “quantum” some winning straight up bets. So, the game plays out as normal, but the RNG picks out up to five numbers per round, and can assign them a multiplier between X50 and X500.
Quantum numbers pay more than standard
As an example, let’s say you played Quantum Roulette and bet $1 on number 14. The wheel spins as per usual, and while it’s spinning the RNG might display 14 X250, 19 X75, and 31 X500. Because you have placed a $1 on 14, you would therefore win $250. As experienced roulette players will tell you, the normal return for a straight up bet like this would be $35 + your original $1 stake.
Now, there is obviously going to be some sort of trade off for these “quantum” prizes, and it comes in the form of the standard payout for a non-quantum bet. That payout is 15 to 1, instead of 35 to 1. All other bets – Black/Red, Odd/Even, etc. – pay the same as standard roulette.
The important thing to note here is that Quantum Roulette has exactly the same house edge as European roulette, i.e., 2.7%. So, the casino is not gaining any advantage in promoting this game ahead of classic European roulette. The question for players, then, is one of ambition. Games like this offer higher gains, but there is greater risk when compared to classic roulette.
As such, then, we would say that you can’t objectively say that the new types of roulette variant have improved the game, but they do offer players an opportunity to diversify their strategy. Most players see them as a welcome addition to casinos. And judging by their popularity, they are here to say.
