Since the first online casinos started offering a live dealer roulette option, it has been on the rise. After all, it provides an authentic casino experience while still enabling players to enjoy the game from their own couch. There’s nothing quite like participating in an actual physical casino game with a human dealer spinning a wheel in real time — it’s exciting, nostalgic, and feels more real than online games.
With that said, how do you choose the best available live roulette options, and what should you even look for in the first place? Let’s sort it all out.
How to choose a live roulette casino
Before you jump into a live dealer roulette stream, let’s discuss what makes them good in the first place. With thousands of websites to choose from, which one really deserves your attention? Here are some of the factors we consider most important:
- Game variety — The more roulette variants the casino offers, the more opportunities you have. While you might stick with the one roulette type you enjoy the most, a casino that offers several types is still preferable because it usually indicates that the establishment is well-functioning and can offer multiple streams with live dealers, making it a bit more trustworthy.
- Betting limits — Since wagering is the only real part of the roulette gameplay, you need to pay close attention to the betting limits to ensure that they accommodate your playstyle. For instance, strict betting limits might be fine for a recreational player, but if you are a high-roller who relies on a Martingale strategy, this simply won’t suit your needs and limit your potential.
- Bonuses and promotions — Casinos have become much more generous with bonuses lately, and you should try to benefit from them as much as possible. Take some time to study what different websites can offer and choose the most lucrative promotions available.
- Video quality — That goes without saying. Watching a 360p stream was fine in 2009, but nowadays streaming in less than 1080p is unacceptable for any respectable casino. Bonus points for casinos that offer multiple camera angles to ensure you can clearly see the action and don’t get bored with a static image.
- Mobile compatibility — We highly recommend choosing casino streams that work smoothly on a mobile device since this level of convenience is now standard. Ideally, a casino should offer a mobile app with an in-built streaming player so that you can keep it on even if you need to use a different app.
- Customer support — Any casino game requires some assistance from customer support once in a while, and it would be a shame if the casino you chose doesn’t offer round-the-clock help. Any respectable and trustworthy casino should provide live chat, email, and phone support at all times.
Popular live dealer roulette variants
Despite being a rather simple game at the core, roulette has lots of variants that add certain twists to the gameplay, making it more memorable and unique. While the objective generally stays the same, the betting rules, the number of slots on the wheel, or even the number of wheels themselves may differ, meaning the game actually offers infinite replayability. As soon as you get tired of one variant, you can always try another one.
Here are the five most popular live dealer roulette variants you will encounter:
— Speed roulette – Living up to its name, this roulette version has no waiting between spins to keep the pace quick.
— American roulette – Adds an extra 00 pocket for a higher house edge. Side bets expand betting possibilities.
— European roulette – The most common version of roulette and a loved classic, it offers a single 0 pocket giving better odds for players.
— French roulette – Although similar to European, this version adds the “La Partage” rule that refunds half your even money bet if 0 hits. It is generally considered the most player-friendly roulette variant.
— Multi-wheel roulette – Allows betting on up to 8 wheels at once.