Online roulette in Australia: the wheel, the odds and the maths

Roulette looks like a game of many choices: colours, columns, dozens, splits, corners. Mathematically it is a game of one choice, the wheel. Once you know how many pockets it has and what happens when the ball lands on zero, you know the price of every bet on that table. This guide does the arithmetic in plain numbers, lists every standard bet with its payout, shows why doubling systems such as the Martingale don't help, and explains what changes when the wheel is a live studio table instead of software.

How does online roulette work?

A roulette wheel has numbered pockets from 1 to 36, alternating red and black, plus one or two green zero pockets. You bet on where the ball will land. Winning bets are paid at fixed odds, and the odds are set as if the zero pockets didn't exist. That gap between the fair payout and the real payout is the house edge.

Online there are two ways to run the game. In RNG (random number generator) roulette, software picks the result and an animation shows the ball landing. In live roulette, a real dealer spins a physical wheel in a studio and the result is streamed to you. The rules and payouts are the same in both; the speed, the minimum bets and the side features differ. We cover those differences further down.

Australian land-based casinos run the same game under rules approved by state regulators. A NSW Government Gazette order from 2006, for example, approved roulette rules for a Sydney casino covering a single-zero wheel with 37 compartments and a double-zero wheel with 38. The payout table in that order is the standard one used in the table below.

European vs American vs French roulette: which has the lowest house edge?

The difference between the versions comes down to the zero pockets and one special rule. Here is the maths for a A$1 bet on a single number, which pays 35 to 1.

European roulette (single zero, 37 pockets)

You win with probability 1/37 and collect A$35. You lose your A$1 with probability 36/37. Expected result per A$1: (1 × 35 − 36 × 1) ÷ 37 = −1/37 = −2.70%. On average you lose 2.7 cents per dollar bet.

American roulette (zero and double zero, 38 pockets)

The payout is still 35 to 1, but there are now 38 pockets. Expected result: (35 − 37) ÷ 38 = −2/38 = −5.26%. The extra green pocket nearly doubles the cost of every bet. American roulette also offers a five-number bet (0, 00, 1, 2, 3) paying 6 to 1. Its expected result is (5 × 6 − 33) ÷ 38 = −3/38 = −7.89%, the worst standard bet on any roulette table.

French roulette (single zero plus la partage)

French roulette uses the European wheel, with one rule for even-money bets (red/black, odd/even, 1–18/19–36). Under la partage, if the ball lands on zero, you get half your even-money stake back. Expected result for A$1 on red: win A$1 with probability 18/37, lose A$1 with probability 18/37, lose A$0.50 with probability 1/37. That is (18 − 18 − 0.5) ÷ 37 = −0.5/37 = −1.35%, half the European edge. A similar rule, en prison, holds your even-money bet for the next spin instead of refunding half; if that next spin wins you get the stake back. If a second zero counts as a loss, the edge works out to (1/37) × (19/37) = about 1.39%.

The rule is simple: pick a single-zero wheel, and if a French table with la partage is available and you like even-money bets, pick that. Tables are sometimes labelled loosely, so check the game's rules screen for the number of zeros and any la partage or en prison rule rather than trusting the name.

Roulette bet types and payouts

Inside bets go on specific numbers; outside bets cover larger groups. The payouts below are the standard ones in the NSW gazette order. The win chance and edge are for a single-zero (European) wheel.

Look down the last column: every bet costs the same. You can check any row with one formula. For a bet covering n numbers that pays p to 1, the expected result is (n × p − (37 − n)) ÷ 37. For a split: (2 × 17 − 35) ÷ 37 = −1/37. For a dozen: (12 × 2 − 25) ÷ 37 = −1/37. The payouts are designed so that covering more numbers gives you more frequent but smaller wins at exactly the same price.

What does change between bets is volatility. A straight-up bet wins about once every 37 spins on average and pays big when it does. An even-money bet wins almost half the time and pays small. Over a short session the straight-up player swings more wildly; over a long run both lose the same 2.7% of what they bet.

Why betting systems like the Martingale don't change the edge

The Martingale is the best-known roulette system: bet on an even-money outcome, double your stake after every loss, and go back to the base stake after a win. The first win recovers all earlier losses plus one base stake. It feels like it can't fail. Here is why it can.

Worked example on a European wheel

Start at A$5 on red. Assume the table maximum is A$500 (an example limit; real limits vary). The stake sequence is A$5, A$10, A$20, A$40, A$80, A$160, A$320. The next step, A$640, is over the limit, so a run of seven losses ends the series with a loss of 5 + 10 + 20 + 40 + 80 + 160 + 320 = A$635.

• Chance of losing one spin on red: 19/37 (18 black pockets plus zero).
• Chance of seven losses in a row: (19/37)⁷ ≈ 0.94%, or about 1 series in 106.
• Chance the series ends in a A$5 win: about 99.06%.

Expected result per series: 0.9906 × A$5 − 0.0094 × A$635 ≈ A$4.95 − A$5.98 = about −A$1.03. The average amount bet in a series works out to about A$37.97, and A$1.03 is 2.70% of that, the same edge as every other bet on the wheel. The system wins small amounts very often and loses a large amount rarely, and the two balance out to exactly the house edge.

Without a table limit or a bankroll limit the maths would be different, but both always exist. Every other progression (reverse Martingale, Fibonacci, D'Alembert, Labouchère) has the same flaw: it changes the size of each bet, and each bet still carries 2.70%. Changing bet sizes reshapes the results, but the cost per dollar bet stays the same.

How often are you ahead after a session?

The edge is small per spin, which is why short sessions often end in profit and long ones rarely do. We calculated the exact chances for a player betting A$1 on red every spin at a European wheel (win probability 18/37), using the binomial distribution.

Over 10 spins, more than a third of sessions finish ahead. Over 10,000 spins, almost none do. The edge doesn't make every session a loss; it makes the long run a loss. That is the honest way to see online roulette: short sessions are a coin toss with a slight lean, and the lean wins as the spin count grows.

This also explains why roulette systems appear to work for a while. Most short runs end ahead regardless of the system used, so people remember the system rather than the arithmetic. Keeping sessions short and setting a budget before you sit down are the only levers you really have.

Live roulette vs RNG roulette: what's the difference?

Both use the same wheel layouts and payout tables, so the house edge is the same for the same version. The practical differences are speed, minimum stakes and extra features.

One more point on RNG online roulette: the result depends entirely on the software, so you can't watch the wheel the way you can at a live table. The game's help screen should state the rules and the theoretical RTP. For a single-zero game with standard payouts, that figure should be 97.30%, which is simply 100% minus the 2.70% edge. A lower figure on a European roulette game means the payouts or rules differ from the standard ones.

Speed is a hidden cost

The edge is a cost per bet, so the more bets you place, the more it costs. At A$5 a spin on a European wheel, the expected cost is 2.70% × A$5 = A$0.135 a spin. Over 100 spins that is A$13.50; over 300 spins, A$40.50. RNG tables can be played much faster than a live table, so the same session length can cost several times more. If you play RNG roulette, slowing down is the single easiest way to reduce what you lose per hour.

Multiplier tables change the payout table

Some live variants add random multipliers to certain numbers on each spin. To pay for them, straight-up bets on the other numbers usually pay less than 35 to 1. That changes the maths, so the 2.70% figure no longer applies. Read the payout table and the stated RTP in the game's help screen before playing. Our live casino guide covers dealer games in more detail.

Can you use a bonus on online roulette?

Usually not efficiently. Casinos often weight roulette at a small percentage towards wagering, or exclude it, because its edge is lower than most pokies. Some terms also ban covering most of the table at once (for example betting red and black together) during bonus play. If you mainly play roulette, a deposit without a bonus is often the better choice, since it leaves your balance free to withdraw. Our casino bonuses guide shows how weighting changes the numbers.

Is online roulette legal in Australia?

Neutral information only. The Interactive Gambling Act 2001 makes it an offence to provide prohibited interactive gambling services to customers in Australia, and the Department of Infrastructure lists casino-style games such as online roulette among them. The Department states that the Act targets the providers, not their customers. The law says nothing about the maths of the wheel itself: online roulette still has a 2.7% house edge on a European wheel and 5.26% on an American one, and a A$10 straight-up bet still pays 35 to 1. For the full legal background, read is online gambling legal in Australia.

Online roulette Australia: how to choose a table

1. Count the zeros. One zero (37 pockets) or two (38). Skip double-zero tables.
2. Look for la partage or en prison. If you bet on even-money outcomes, these rules halve the edge.
3. Read the payout table. Straight up should pay 35 to 1. Anything less means the table has extra features paid for out of the standard odds.
4. Match the limits to your budget. Check the minimum and maximum bet, and set a session budget before you start.
5. Mind the pace. Fewer spins per hour means a lower expected cost per hour.

How we will test roulette at each casino

No casino has been tested yet; the list above fills as reviews are completed. For roulette we record which versions are on offer (European, French, American, live), whether la partage or en prison is available and on which tables, the minimum and maximum stakes, how roulette counts towards bonus wagering, and whether the payout tables match the standard odds. The full method is on how we review. If you also play cards, our online blackjack guide covers that game's rules and edge.

FAQ

Sources

1. NSW Government Gazette No. 60 (28 April 2006): Casino Control Act order approving roulette rules (wheel layouts, payout odds) (checked 14 October 2026)
2. Department of Infrastructure: Interactive gambling (checked 14 October 2026)
3. Department of Infrastructure: Interactive Gambling Act 2001 (checked 14 October 2026)