Roulette is one of the most popular games in U.S. casinos. Until recently, the game wasn’t available in Florida.
However, the 2021 Florida Gaming Compact expanded the allowable game options at Seminole-owned casinos. The 2010 compact didn’t allow craps and roulette, but the 2021 edition legalized all Class III games at the six Seminole properties.
For online roulette, Florida social and sweepstakes casinos are the only option for bettors. The compact allowed online sports betting but not Florida online casinos. That could change in the coming years as the Seminole Tribe starts pushing for online casinos in a new gaming compact.
Here’s the overview of the Sunshine State’s roulette games.
Is roulette legal in Florida?
Yes. Live roulette is legal in Florida. The Seminole Tribe of Florida is the only entity allowed to spread the games. The 2010 compact allowed the tribe to offer most Class III gaming but omitted craps and roulette from the list of permitted games.
That changed in the latest iteration of the deal. Now, the tribe can spread all Class III games at its properties.
The 2021 compact went through a lengthy legal battle over a controversial model that gave the Seminole Tribe exclusivity over the sports betting industry. In November 2021, a federal judge ruled the compact violated the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. Thus, the compact was invalidated and roulette was still banned at Florida casinos.
The Seminole Tribe and the federal government appealed the decision. The D.C. Court of Appeals overturned the decision in 2023. The plaintiffs, a Florida pari-mutuel ownership group, appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, but the court denied to hear the case.
As a result, the offerings at a Seminole casino is no different than your favorite casino resort in Las Vegas.
Here are the locations where you can play roulette in Florida:
- Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood
- Seminole Hard Rock Tampa
- Seminole Classic Casino Hollywood
- Seminole Casino Coconut Creek
- Seminole Casino Immokalee
- Seminole Casino Brighton
Online roulette games in Florida
Florida also does not allow online gambling for real money, which includes roulette. However, there are social and sweepstakes casinos where Floridians can legally play various casino games using virtual currencies, including online casino roulette. Some of these sites even have ways for players to redeem their winnings for real cash prizes.
One such sweepstakes site is Chumba Casino, and in fact Chumba online casino offers roulette as one of its available casino games along with slots and a few other options.
List of online roulette options in the state
Seminole social casinos in Florida
You can also play online roulette for fun and entertainment at the Seminole Tribe’s online social casinos.
There are two of them — the Seminole Social Casino and the Hard Rock Blackjack & Casino — and both are similar in terms of game selection and design. You can play either on your computer or via apps for either Android or iOS devices.
Both of these social casinos feature a free online roulette game with 3D graphics. While you can’t play for real money, you can link the games to your Seminole Wild Card account and accumulate casino rewards as you play.
How to play roulette
Roulette is one of those casino games that is simple to play, although once you learn more about it you realize it exhibits a kind of complex elegance with all the different ways you can bet. There’s something pleasing aesthetically as well about the spinning wheel and the red, green and black board on which you place your bets.
Upon taking a seat at the table, you first purchase chips from the croupier who runs the game. Roulette tables usually have their own special chips, meaning you can’t necessarily bring casino chips over from another game and play with them. You’ll play with these roulette chips, then exchange them for casino chips afterward, which you can then cash out before leaving.
Usually, the croupier will spin the wheel, and while it spins, players place chips on the board to indicate their bets. At some point the croupier will announce that betting has closed. Then everyone watches the wheel slow and stop, with the ball landing in one of the numbered slots. The croupier then settles the bets and spins the wheel again.
European roulette vs. American roulette
Roulette dates back to 18th-century France before making it over to America during the 1800s. That history has produced a couple of distinct versions of the game:
- European roulette
- American roulette
Originally, the game in France featured a wheel with numbered slots from 1 to 36, with half the numbers on red spaces and the other half on black. There were also two more slots with a zero and double-zero (0 and 00). That’s the game that made it over to America. Later, though, Europe made a single-zero roulette wheel its standard, and that remains the primary difference between the two versions.
Here’s the European version of a roulette wheel and board, with a single zero:
And here’s the American version of roulette that features both 0 and 00:
It might seem like a minor difference, but that extra zero affects the odds and payouts in the game. Generally speaking, European roulette offers players better odds for most bets than does American roulette.
Both the Chumba Casino roulette game and the roulette games on the Seminole social casino apps feature the American version of the game with both 0 and 00.
Different ways to bet in roulette
So how do you bet in roulette? First, don’t be fooled by anyone arguing there is a “system” to win roulette. It is perhaps one of the purest “gambling” games there is — all luck, no skill. Even so, if you know the different bets and how roulette odds work, you can at least be informed and manage your risk more effectively.
Roulette bets are often grouped into two categories: inside bets and outside bets. These categories refer to where you place your chips on the board, either inside the main box or on the outside. For the most part, inside bets have longer odds (and bigger potential payouts). Outside bets, meanwhile, are more conservative and pay less, but they have a better chance of winning.
Here are examples of inside bets (with their payouts):
- “Straight up” bets on single numbers (a winning bet pays 35-to-1).
- “Split” bets on two numbers; place chip(s) on the line between them (17-to-1).
- “Street” bets on a row of three numbers (11-to-1).
- “Corner” bets on four numbers; place chip(s) on the intersection between them (8-to-1).
- “Basket” bets, aka five-number bets on 0, 00, 1, 2 and 3 (6-to-1).
- “Line” or “double-street” bets, aka six-number bets on two rows of three numbers each (5-to-1).
And here are some outside bets (also with their payouts):
- “Dozens” bets on the first 12 numbers (1-12), the second 12 (13-24) or the third 12 (25-36) at once (winning bet pays 2-to-1).
- “Column” bets on a column of 12 numbers (2-to-1).
- “Red” or “black” bets, each of which is on 18 numbers (1-to-1).
- “Odd” or “even” bets, also on 18 numbers (1-to-1).
- “High” or “low” bets on either 1-18 or 19-36 (1-to-1).
As you can see, the potential payouts are lower for outside bets, but your chances of winning those bets are greater than they are for inside bets.
What is the house edge in roulette?
If you’re paying close attention, you might have noticed how each of these payouts doesn’t exactly equal the probability of winning. There’s a reason for that — the house edge.
As an example, in American roulette there are those two zeroes, the 0 and the 00, which are neither red nor black (they are usually painted green). If you bet on “red” and win, you double your money. But you don’t have a 50% chance of winning your bet, since there are 18 red numbers among 38 total spots (18 / 38 = 47.37%). The house has about a 52.63% chance of winning, which means the house has a 5.26% edge over you every time you place one of these bets (52.63% – 47.37% = 5.26%).
The house edge is about the same for almost all the bets, both inside and outside. However, your variance will be less if you stick to outside bets. That is to say, you’ll win more often although the roulette payouts won’t be as big. But you’re still playing a game in which the house has an edge.
Incidentally, one of the above bets has a much greater edge for the house than others, the “basket” bet, where you bet on five numbers — 0, 00, 1, 2 and 3. For that one, the payout is low enough that the house edge is actually close to 7.9%.
Betting limits in roulette
Much like with blackjack or other table games, you’ll see betting limits at the roulette table. If you’re playing roulette online, those limits will also appear on the screen. These limits represent the minimum and maximum you can bet. However, when you bet on roulette, there is an important distinction between outside and inside bets.
For outside bets, your bet must be at least the minimum. Thus, if the minimum is $25, you would have to bet at least $25 when you bet on red or black, odd or even and so on.
However, for inside bets, you can divide your wager into smaller amounts as long as the bets total the table minimum. Thus if the minimum is $25, you could place five $5 bets (say, one each on a separate number), and that would be fine.
Florida roulette FAQ
Can more than one person in a roulette game bet on the same number at the same time?
Yes. Just because one player has chips on a particular number or in a particular spot on the table, that doesn’t mean others can’t make the same bet.
When a croupier spins a roulette wheel, do the ball and wheel both travel in the same direction?
No. Typically, the wheel spins clockwise, and the ball travels counterclockwise around the edge of the wheel.
What is the “Martingale system” of betting in roulette?
The Martingale system is a betting strategy in which a gambler who loses an even-money bet (aka a coin flip) then doubles the wager and bets again. If the gambler loses a second time, the strategy dictates doubling the wager once more and trying again (and so on). Theoretically, the strategy ensures recovering one’s losses eventually, although it assumes an infinite bankroll that can withstand a long losing streak. The “system” sometimes comes up in roulette with regard to those outside bets that pay 1-to-1 such as betting on red or black.
Of course, as discussed above, the house still has an edge when you make these bets. Also, players should be wary of falling prey to the idea that any “system” exists to ensure success in a purely random game like roulette.
Why is roulette called “The Devil’s Game”?
If you add up all the numbers on a roulette wheel from 1 to 36, they total 666 (no kidding!). Since that represents the “number of the beast” as described in the Book of Revelation, some have taken this bit of trivia as a reason to call roulette “The Devil’s Game.”