Online casinos offer a number of roulette variant and it is essential that players know the differences between these variants so that they can make correct choices of where to wager. The most common variant is European Roulette and it is the best place to commence the discussion.

The European Roulette layout has numbers from 1 to 36 and 0. The numbers from 1 to 36 can be covered by a number of different bets, but 0 can be covered only by betting on the single number 0. If 0 is displayed on the wheel then the bets covering all other numbers lose. This gives the online casino an advantage, which works out to 2.7%. The other common online roulette variant is American Roulette. This has a 00 in addition to the 0. If either of these is called then all other bets lose. In this case the online casino advantage, known as house edge, is 5.4%. Therefore it is just not worth wagering on American Roulette. American Roulette was offered to players in land casinos when the gambling industry in America was in the formative stages.

Some online casinos offer an online roulette variant called French Roulette. This variant is offered in French land casinos. It is based on the single zero structure of European Roulette, but offers some advantages. If 0 is displayed on the wheel then players who have placed even money wagers are returned half their bets. Therefore for even money wagers the house edge is considerably less than 2.7%. For other wagers the house edge remains at 2.7%. Hence if a player is interested in placing even money wagers he must locate an online casino that offers French Roulette.

Microgaming online casinos offer an online roulette variant titled Roulette Royale. It offers a progressive jackpot. In every spin the player has to place a compulsory wager of $1 towards the progressive jackpot. If any number is called consecutively two times then the payout is $15. If any number is called consecutively three times then the payout is $200. If any number is called consecutively four times then the payout is $3,000. And if any number is called consecutively five times then the payout is the amount standing in the progressive jackpot at that time.

Online roulette offers two types of bets. The Inside bets are placed within the layout. The Straight bet is a single number bet. It pays out 35 to 1. The Split bet is placed on two adjoining numbers, either vertically or horizontally. It pays out 17 to 1. The Street bet is placed on three numbers on a single horizontal line. It pays out 11 to 1. The Corner or Square bet is placed on four numbers in a square layout. It pays out 8 to 1. The Six Line or Double Street bet is placed on two adjoining streets. It pays out 5 to 1.

The Outside bets are placed outside the main layout. The Dozen bets cover the first set, the second set or the third set twelve numbers. The Column bets also cover twelve numbers but in vertical lines. The payout is 2 to 1. There are three even money bets. The first bet covers the first set of 18 numbers or the second set of 18 numbers. The second bet covers Red numbers or Black numbers. The third set covers Even numbers or Odd numbers. The Outside bets have smaller payouts but pay out more often. Therefore they are preferred by conservative online casino players. The more risk taking players go for the Inside bets. The house edges for both bets are identical.