With offices in more than 15 countries and hundreds of online games within its portfolio, Playtech is among the world’s largest and most recognizable developers of online casino software. Over the years, the company has created over 40 different variations of virtual and live dealer roulette, which can now be found in a large number of online casinos.
Along with roulette, Playtech has developed multiple versions of online blackjack, poker games, baccarat, video poker, bingo, and many others. Of course, its gaming collection features hundreds of colorful and exciting video slots, as well as extraordinary slot games with progressive jackpots that can turn you into an instant millionaire with just one lucky spin of the reels.
Company Overview
Playtech was founded in 1999 in Tartu, Estonia, and it launched its first online casino in 2002. The company started developing software for various gambling operators, gradually adding new types of games and options for its clients. In 2004, it introduced the world’s largest online poker network, the iPoker, which is still a popular destination for thousands of poker players from all over the globe.
In the following years, it launched bingo rooms, sportsbook solutions, live casino games, casual and fixed-odds games. Playtech is also behind various lottery products and provides gaming content and software solutions to various retail operators across Europe, as well. Today, it has nearly 6,000 employees in more than 15 countries, while its software is used by over 140 licensees in 20 regulated jurisdictions.
The company’s subsidiaries include Quickspin, Eyecon, YoYo Games, Ash Gaming, and many more. Along with its gaming products and business-to-business services, Playtech has a large Financials division and owns the TradeTech Group, which operates one of the most respected Forex and CFD brokers right now, Markets.com. The gaming provider is also listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
Playtech Live Roulette Gameplay
Playtech Roulette Software Features
Looking at the impressive history of the company and its diverse area of operations, it is easy to see why Playtech currently has one of the best catalogs of online roulette games. It includes a wide variety of virtual, RNG games, as well as many variants of the game available on its Live Casino platform. Although at the time of writing, there are approximately 40 titles within the roulette category, new games are constantly being added.
The studio has released various European and French roulette games, as well as American-style variants with two zero pockets on the wheel. Most of them follow the standard rules and gameplay, but some of the titles are quite innovative, featuring various mythology or cartoon-inspired themes, unique features, customizable designs, flexible table limits, etc. Overall, the games have an intuitive design, beautiful crisp graphics, and a simple layout that makes playing even easier.
Playtech offers its gaming content in instant-play mode but it can also be downloaded as a complete software package. Many of the games are also fully mobile compatible, which means players can access them instantly from the web browser on their phone or tablet.
Customizable Options
Table Limits
Racetrack
History Panel and Table Coverage
Turbo Mode and Autoplay
Return to Player
Customizable Options
There are plenty of customizable options available in Playtech’s roulette games but they vary significantly between different versions. Some games allow changing the color of the felt, the camera view or the direction of the wheel. The majority, however, features a limited range of general settings that can be adjusted by the player. They can be opened from the Options menu and allow players to adjust the volume or switch off the game sounds altogether. They can also skip the introductory video or choose not to show the splash screen or the auto-zoom of the wheel when it stops moving.
Table Limits
Playtech provides casino operators with the opportunity to customize some of the gaming features, most notably the table limits. In addition, while the standard versions come with average minimum and maximum bet limits, there are also games specifically designed for high rollers. You can find tables with stakes from €1 to €20 per spin, from €0.10 to €100 per gaming round or from €0.20 to €200 or even more for live roulette.
Racetrack
Many of Playtech’s roulette variants offer an additional betting layout known as the racetrack or racecourse. Although it is standard for the French-style roulette, it is also available in the provider’s European roulette. This layout allows players to bet on large sections of the wheel, covering 17 or 12 numbers, for example. Here, they can see all Neighbors Bets, as well as the Call Bets, displayed with their traditional French names.
History Panel and Table Coverage
The standard versions of Playtech roulette feature a History panel on the right side of the screen. It displays the last 12 winning numbers – the red ones appear in red, while all black numbers are shown in yellow as a contrast to the black-colored panel. There are no statistics available about the game session such as the percentage of red/black, even/odd, or low/high numbers. In addition, a small meter positioned between the spinning wheel and the betting layout displays the table coverage (as a percentage) when players make their bets.
Turbo Mode and Autoplay
The games feature a convenient Turbo Mode function, which can be found in the Settings menu. It eliminates the waiting time between clicking the Spin button and the announcing of the winning number, which makes the game much faster and allows playing more rounds per hour. Players can also activate up to 99 automatic spins by holding the Spin button for a second. When they do, the Autoplay panel opens and players can choose from 10 to 99 spins, which are triggered at the current bet size.
Return to Player
For its roulette offering, Playtech focuses on the games with the highest average return. This is why most of the roulette versions feature a single-zero wheel and standard payouts of up to 35:1 for a straight bet on a single number. The theoretical Return to Player percentage is, therefore, 97.30%. Of course, this does not apply to all games – Playtech’s Mini Roulette, for example, offers a lower RTP at 96.15%.
Standard Rules in Playtech Roulette
Most versions of roulette developed by Playtech are played under standard European and American rules. To play a round, players need to place their chips on the table (chips are available in a wide range of denominations) and press the Spin button. If their bet wins, they receive a payout according to the paytable of the game. Of course, there are also side bets available in the progressive roulette versions but they are optional. An additional La Partage rule appears in the studio’s version of French Roulette.
Inside and Outside Bets
Neighbor Bets
Racetrack and Call Bets
La Partage Rule
Inside and Outside Bets
All Playtech roulette variations allow players to make the regular Inside and Outside Bets. To do that, they just need to place their chips on the main betting layout, which is divided into areas that correspond to each type of bet. Note that Inside Bets offer larger payouts compared to Outside bets. Outside bets, on the other hand, have a higher probability of winning since they cover a large group of numbers.
Inside Bets | Payout | Outside Bets | Payout |
Straight Up | 35:1 | Column | 2:1 |
Split | 17:1 | Dozen | 2:1 |
Street | 11:1 | Red/Black | 1:1 |
Corner (Four) | 8:1 | Low/High | 1:1 |
Line Bet | 5:1 | Even/Odd | 1:1 |
Neighbor Bets
Nearly all European and French roulette games by Playtech feature the racetrack layout and several special bets, that can be placed on it. After players open the racetrack, they will see the Neighbor bets and the option to choose the number of neighbors. This type of bet is a bet on one particular number and the numbers located on each side of it on the wheel. Players can opt for 1 to 5 neighbors on each side.
The Neighbors bet, however, is placed as several straight-up bets – for instance, if we adjust to 2 neighbors and choose 9, we will place 5 chips straight on 9, 22, 31, 14 and 18. If the ball lands on any of these numbers, the straight-up pays 35:1. If we choose 5 neighbors, the bet will cover a total of 11 numbers.
Racetrack and Call Bets
The main purpose of the racetrack layout is to allow players to make Call Bets. They are also known as Announced Bets or French Bets and are found only in European and French-style roulette versions. Players should keep in mind that these bets are not always available and that Playtech offers the full range of the Call Bets only in French Roulette:
- Voisins Du Zero – It means “the neighbors of zero” and it includes the 17 numbers lying between 22 and 25 on the wheel. The bet requires 9 chips to be wagered as 5 splits, 1 corner bet, and 1 trio on the numbers – 22-18-29-7-28-12-35-3-26-0-32-15-19-4-21-2-25.
- Tiers Du Cylindre – This is a bet on approximately a third of the wheel and more precisely the 12 numbers located on the opposite side of the 0. A total of 6 chips are placed on the following splits – 5-8, 10-11, 13-16, 23-24, 27-30, and 33-36.
- Orphelins – This is a bet on the two small sections of the wheel that are not included in either Tiers or Voisins du Zero bets. Players need to bet 5 chips on the 6-9, 14-17, 17-20, and 31-34 splits and 1 straight-up.
- Jeu Zero – This is a 4-chip bet on 0 and the four numbers near it on the wheel. It is placed as 0-3, 12-15, and 32-35 splits and a straight bet on 26.
- Jeu 7/9 – This bet covers 9 numbers and players are required to place 4 chips on the 7-8, 8-9, 17-18, and 28-29 splits and another 2 chips on 19 and 27 straight-up.
- Finales en plein – With this bet, players bet on a number and the numbers ending with the same digit – for instance, 0, 10, 20, and 30.
- Finales a cheval – This is a similar bet but instead of choosing one number, players choose 2 numbers such as 0/1 and in this case, they wager 5 chips on all numbers ending in 0 and 1. These are the splits 0-1, 10-11, 20-21, and 30 and 31 as straight-up bets.
La Partage Rule
Playtech’s French Roulette features an interesting rule called La Partage, which triggers when the ball lands on the 0. According to it, players lose only half of their even-money bets in this case – this includes the red/black, low, high, and even/odd options. This rule cuts the house edge in half and the game offers an RTP of 98.65% for these particular bets.
Playtech Roulette Games Summary
Title | Release Date | Wheel Type | Wheel Number | Bet Limits | Racetrack | Side Bets | La Partage/En Prison Rule | Theoretical Return |
Mini Roulette | 2006 | Single-zero wheel | 13 numbered pockets | From $0.10 to $1,000 depending on the bet | No | No | La Partage rule takes place. | 96.15% |
Premium European Roulette | 2017 | Single-zero wheel | 37 numbered pockets | From $0.10 up to $1,000 depending on the bet | Yes | No | Not applicable | 97.3% |
American Roulette | 2011 | Double-zero wheel | 38 numbered pockets | From $0.10 up to $1,000 | No | No | No | 94.74% |
French Premium Roulette | 2016 | Single-zero wheel | 37 numbered pockets | The minimum bet limit is set at $0.10, while the maximum can reach $1,000 for even money bets. | Yes | No | La Partage rule applies. | 97.3% or 98.65% when the special La Partage rule applies. |
French Roulette Live | 2018 | Single-zero wheel | 37 numbered pockets | The table limits vary from $0.50 up to $10,000. | Yes | No | La Partage rule is added to Playtech’s live dealer French Roulette. | Between 97.3% and 98.65% when La Partage rule takes place. |