Live Roulette: How It Works, Multiplier Games and Australian Law
Live roulette, offered by online casinos in countries where they are legal, recreates an atmosphere close to that of roulette in a land-based casino.
Some newer games also add visual effects not found in RNG roulette, along with high multipliers.
What You Will Learn
- How live roulette recreates the feel of a real casino, and the monitoring and auditing systems that make cheating practically impossible
- The latest games with high multipliers, and how to plan your bets with betting systems
- The rules for online and live roulette in Australia, and where roulette can be played legally
This article takes about 10 minutes to read.
The Appeal of Live Roulette: The Atmosphere of a Real Casino
Live roulette is an online casino game streamed in real time from a dedicated studio, where a dealer runs the game on a real roulette wheel.
Its main feature is that you watch a real wheel and a human dealer run the game as it happens.
The rattle of chips, the sharp click of the ball dropping into a pocket and conversations with the dealer through live chat all bring the game to life, even through a screen.
In countries where online casinos are legal, players can experience something close to the real thing without visiting a land-based casino, using nothing more than a smartphone.
A Live Feel That RNG Roulette Cannot Offer
Unlike RNG roulette, where a program determines the result, live roulette uses a physical wheel, and the dealer actually spins the ball. The action is streamed in HD.
- No waiting for a seat: Any number of players can join a single table at the same time
- Time pressure: You have about 20 seconds to place your bets after the dealer announces “Place your bets”
- Play anywhere: Where the games are legal, tables run 24 hours a day and can be joined on a phone or computer
Technology and Monitoring That Make Cheating Practically Impossible
Some players worry that because a human spins the wheel, the dealer might be able to land the ball on a chosen number. In modern live roulette, the following systems make cheating by the operator practically impossible.
- Random Rotor Speed (RRS) technology: Used on the wheels at major live studios, it varies the wheel’s speed automatically and at random
- Monitoring by cameras, AI and optical character recognition (OCR): Multiple cameras record every spin, AI monitors the game continuously, and OCR reads the winning number automatically
- Third-party audits: International testing agencies such as eCOGRA and iTech Labs check the systems on an ongoing basis
These systems are verified by independent third parties, and the result of each spin is treated as an independent random event. The principle that past results cannot be used to predict the next one applies to live roulette as well.
Three New Live Roulette Games with High Multipliers
In European roulette, a straight-up bet on a single number pays 35 to 1, so an A$10 bet wins $350 and returns $360 in total. Recent live roulette games include “hybrid” versions that lower this base payout and, in exchange, add high multipliers, drawn by a random number generator (RNG), to winning bets. The multipliers below all show the total amount returned, including the stake: a 500x multiplier returns 500 times your stake.
Lightning Roulette: Lightning Strikes with Multipliers Up to 500x
Lightning Roulette, developed by Evolution, was the game that pioneered hybrid roulette.
The underlying rules are the same as in standard European roulette. After betting closes each round, however, lightning strikes between one and five numbers on screen, and each of these numbers is randomly given a multiplier of 50x to 500x.
In exchange for the multipliers, the base payout for a straight-up bet is lowered from 35 to 1 to 29 to 1, so a winning $10 bet without a multiplier wins $290 instead of $350.
Over many spins, then, a player who keeps making straight-up bets and never hits a multiplier loses money faster than in standard European roulette because of the lower base payout. For flat straight-up betting, standard European roulette remains the better choice.
Quantum Roulette: A Live Dealer Game with RNG Multipliers
Quantum Roulette from Playtech is a live dealer game with its own multiplier mechanic. (A separate version, Quantum Auto Roulette, uses an automatic wheel.)
The moment betting closes on each spin, the RNG system assigns Quantum multipliers of 50x to 500x to selected numbers.
If features such as Quantum Boost or Quantum Leap are triggered during the game, the multipliers on the selected numbers rise further.
PowerUP Roulette: Bonus Rounds with Multipliers Up to 8,000x
PowerUP Roulette, developed by Pragmatic Play, is a hybrid game that awards multipliers of up to 8,000x in its bonus rounds.
Its distinctive mechanic works outside the regular spins: when the ball lands on a PowerUP number, the game enters a dedicated bonus round in which every straight-up bet placed that spin takes part.
Up to five bonus rounds can follow in a row, with the maximum multiplier rising from 500x in the first round to 8,000x in the fifth. If the maximum multiplier is awarded in all five rounds, the combined total reaches the cap of 15,525x.
Using Betting Systems to Plan Your Bets
Each roulette spin is an independent random event, and changing how you bet does not change the house edge. A betting system can change only the size of the swings in your results (variance) and how fast you lose money. It cannot change the expected value itself.
With that in mind, this section covers common systems that set in advance when you raise or lower your bets, along with the widespread but mistaken belief, specific to live roulette, that you can predict where the ball will land from the dealer’s spin or the wheel.
The Martingale and Cocomo (Fibonacci-Style) Systems for Managing Your Bankroll
Setting rules in advance for raising and lowering your bets makes it easier to avoid betting on emotion. The best-known method is the Martingale system, used on even-money bets (red/black, odd/even, high/low). In European roulette these bets win 48.65% of the time and pay 1 to 1, so a $10 bet wins $10.
Under the Martingale, you double your bet after every loss. As long as your bankroll and the table limit allow you to continue, a single win recovers all previous losses plus an amount equal to your first bet. The system only changes how your bets are distributed, however, and the overall expected value (house edge) stays the same.
During a losing streak, the bet size grows exponentially, so there is always a risk of reaching the table limit (the maximum bet) and losing your bankroll.
The Cocomo system, a Fibonacci-style progression, is used on dozen and column bets, which win 32.43% of the time and pay 2 to 1, so a $10 bet wins $20. Each new bet equals the sum of your previous two bets, so the stakes rise more gradually than with the Martingale.
This can make your bankroll last longer, but as with the Martingale, losses keep piling up if a losing streak goes on.
The Shift Bet and Flower Bet Systems for Wider Coverage
The so-called shift bet system, a sector-betting approach, divides the wheel into four sectors and bets on every number in one of them. Like a neighbours bet, it is based on the order of the numbers on the wheel. The difference is that a neighbours bet lets you choose the centre number freely, while the shift bet system uses four fixed sectors.
One thing the shift bet system cannot do is predict where the ball will land. Modern wheels have shallow pockets, so the ball bounces and does not settle where the dealer aims. There are also many variables, including the number of revolutions, the force of the spin and the wear on the ball and the wheel, so predicting the landing position from a dealer’s habits or a bias in the wheel is practically impossible. Even if a dealer had a habit, every player can see and copy a bet until the dealer calls “No more bets”, so there is no edge to gain. In RNG roulette, where no ball is spun at all, this kind of prediction does not even apply. Covering more numbers wins more often but pays less, and the house edge is the same as for any other bet.
The flower bet system aims for a large payout on one number. You choose one number for a straight-up bet and surround it with split and corner bets, covering it on all sides like the petals of a flower.
With 9 chips in total (1 on the centre number, 4 on split bets and 4 on corner bets), a win on the centre number combines several payouts and returns 144 chips in total, or 16 times the 9 chips staked. A single win can therefore recover at most 15 rounds of bets, and if you miss the centre 16 times in a row, a later win will not get your money back. A hit on a number next to the centre returns 4 times the total bet and a corner-number hit only breaks even, and the house edge is the same as for a straight-up bet.
What Results-Tracking Apps Are Actually Good For
Some players use dedicated tracking apps that record the results of several live tables. Roulette Counter Multi Tables is one example.
With tools like these, you can follow the results of several live tables at once and check on the spot how often red and black have come up and how often each sector of the wheel has hit.
These are only records of past results, however. Each spin is an independent event, and a run of reds or a long stretch without a 0 tells you nothing about the next result. They are only a log of past results and cannot be used to predict the next spin.
Roulette in Australia: Online Rules and Where to Play
Online roulette, including live roulette, is restricted under Australian law, and this affects where you can play legally.
The Law on Online and Live Roulette in Australia
Under the Interactive Gambling Act 2001, which is enforced by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), it is illegal to provide online casino-style games to people in Australia. This includes online roulette and live dealer roulette, as well as blackjack, baccarat, poker, craps and online pokies (poker machines, also called slot machines). It is also generally illegal to advertise these services to Australians.
The law is aimed at the businesses that provide or advertise these games. The ACMA asks Australian internet service providers to block illegal offshore gambling websites and the affiliate websites that promote them.
In Australia, roulette is played in person at state-licensed casinos. The rules and table limits vary from casino to casino, so check the house rules and payouts at the table before you play. The betting systems described above can be used at a casino table in the same way, and the house edge stays the same.
Legal online gambling in Australia includes betting on horse racing and sport with providers licensed in an Australian state or territory, and lotteries.
Age, Safer Gambling and Getting Help
You must be 18 or over to gamble in Australia. Land-based venues, including casinos, are regulated by each state and territory.
Before you sit down at a roulette table, set a budget and a time limit, and stop when you reach either one. As explained above, no betting system changes the house edge, so treat the money you bring as the cost of your entertainment.
BetStop – the National Self-Exclusion Register is a free Australian Government service that lets you exclude yourself from all licensed Australian online and phone wagering providers in one step. It covers betting only. Land-based venues such as casinos, clubs and hotels have their own state and territory exclusion programs.
If gambling is causing problems for you or someone close to you, call the National Gambling Helpline on 1800 858 858. It is free, confidential and available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Gambling Help Online also offers live chat and email counselling.
Summary: The House Edge Is Fixed, but You Can Choose How You Bet and Where You Play
The result of each live roulette spin is an independent random event, and no betting method or system can change the house edge. What you can do is set your bet sizes in advance to reduce how fast you lose money, and choose games and tables with a higher return to player (RTP). Where live roulette is legal, its appeal lies in a setting verified by independent third parties, with an atmosphere close to that of a real casino.
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