European vs American Roulette: What the Second Zero Actually Costs You

European and American roulette wheels look almost the same — same numbers, same colors, same basic layout of bets. The difference is one pocket: a second green zero on the American wheel. That single addition roughly doubles the house edge without changing what a single bet pays, and it’s worth understanding exactly why before you pick a table.

Counting the Pockets

A European wheel has 37 pockets: numbers 1 through 36, split evenly red and black, plus one green zero. An American wheel has 38: the same 1 through 36, plus both a single zero and a double zero. That’s the entire physical difference between the two wheels — one extra green pocket, added directly opposite the standard zero on the layout.

Why the Payout Stays the Same

A straight-up bet on a single number pays 35 to 1 on both wheels — the payout is fixed by the betting layout, not by how many pockets the wheel has. That’s exactly where the extra edge comes from: on the European wheel, a straight-up bet wins 1 time in 37 on average; on the American wheel, it wins 1 time in 38, for the identical 35-to-1 payout. Spreading the same payout over one more losing outcome is the entire mechanism behind the difference in house edge.

The Actual Numbers

European roulette runs a 2.70% house edge on almost every bet. American roulette runs approximately 5.26% — nearly double. Put another way, a European wheel returns about 97.30% of everything wagered on it over a large number of spins, while an American wheel returns about 94.74%. That 2.5-point gap sounds small on a single spin and compounds meaningfully over a long session.

Does It Matter for Every Bet?

Yes — the extra pocket affects every standard bet on the American wheel equally, inside and outside alike, because it adds one more way to lose regardless of what you’re betting on. The one exception on the European side is French roulette’s La Partage and En Prison rules, which trim the edge on even-money bets specifically to around 1.35% — a European wheel with those rules applied. An American wheel has no equivalent rule to soften its edge.

Why American Wheels Still Exist

If European roulette is mathematically better for the player, the natural question is why American wheels are still around at all. The honest answer is that they’re a legacy layout, historically standard in some markets, and some players simply prefer the physical wheel or the specific side bets some American tables offer. There’s nothing dishonest about an American wheel — the odds are exactly what they’re stated to be — it’s just a worse bet than the alternative sitting right next to it.

Picking Between Them

If a casino floor or live lobby offers both, European is the better seat for identical bets and identical payouts — there’s no scenario where picking American gets you anything except a bigger house edge. Our wheel variants page covers French roulette and enhanced live formats on top of this comparison, and our roulette page covers how a round runs on any of these wheel types.