Is Online Roulette Rigged or a Fair Game – How to Know for Sure?

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Last Updated: May 19, 2022

Written by: Ivan Potocki

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Imagine this. You sign up with an online casino, claim an online bonus, and start playing your favorite roulette game.

Then, as you amass a solid amount of chips in the game, your luck turns against you, and you end up losing more than you’ve won.

All online gamblers have experienced this feeling at some point. And, in such situations, the player is often left with a sour taste in their mouth, thinking they’ve been lured in and tricked into gambling away their money.

To add to this, the fact that you’re sitting alone at home playing an online game run by unfamiliar algorithms and software behind the scenes doesn’t help. It’s easy to suspect that the game might be fixed against you.

So, is online roulette rigged? Here’s everything you need to know about online and live casino roulette before playing them.

Is Online Roulette Rigged?

To dispel this notion right away, no, online roulette is not fixed. That is if you’re playing the game at a licensed and proven online gambling site.

This is the concise answer we’ll expand on significantly throughout this detailed page on online roulette rigging.

So, if most online casino sites are licensed and licensed sites don’t rig games, why are there so many vocal online players claiming that online roulette games are fixed?

The main reason why this mantra is so popular lies behind the so-called “gambler’s remorse.”

In short, what online roulette players who are claiming such things mainly feel is regret for losing their money.

They can’t accept the fact that they’ve lost and start looking for outside factors to blame for them losing more than they can afford.

This might sound harsh, but superstitions and irrational distrust are common among those suffering from gambling problems.

Looking at the most common myths regarding online roulette, you’d be surprised to see what players claim.

From fixing algorithms in online games to using a brake under the table in live online roulette, the conspiracy theories often go deep and get stranger the more you read them.

When you stop to think about this for a second, you realize that these bold claims are nothing but theories and myths unsupported by any factual data.

Of course, there’s no denying that there are fake businesses in any industry. Online gambling isn’t free of this issue.

There’s certainly a tiny percentage of sites that solely focus on scamming customers. But, as long as you play at a safe and licensed online casino, you don’t have to worry about whether an online roulette game is rigged or fair.

Can Online Live Roulette Tables Get Rigged?

When it comes to live roulette tables, the situation gets more interesting, as you have a human element involved in the equation.

However, even with human employees involved in the betting process as croupiers, an upright online casino leaves no room for malversations on this front.

Every online live casino roulette croupier has to go through professional training. What’s more, they have to obtain licenses, much like their colleagues in brick-and-mortar casinos.

Given this, you don’t have to worry about the live roulette dealer fixing the game against you. They would be risking their job and the online casino’s reputation along with it.

Online live dealer roulette games are even less likely to get rigged than standard online tables.

There are many players at the live roulette table, meaning that there’s a lower chance of any cheating slipping through unnoticed.

Not only that, but these live roulette games are streamed directly from the software provider’s studio. In other words, there are too many checks and balances involved for anyone to cheat in such a system.

This is especially the case if you’re playing a live roulette game made by prize-winning software companies like NetEnt and Evolution Gaming.

The Role of RNG in Roulette

Back to standard online roulette games, one of the most significant features that ensures these games aren’t rigged is RNG software.

The Random Number Generators algorithm is the key element that ensures every outcome of the online roulette spin is fair and completely random.

So, how does this software work?

In simple terms, RNG software produces outcomes ranging in billions, even trillions of possible results many times per second.

Crucially, this software keeps working even when you’re not playing the game. At the moment you press the button, the latest generated RNG outcome is converted into the result of the roulette spin.

You can argue that since RNG is software that generates combinations, a malicious party could intercept the information and use it to guarantee the desired outcome every time.

However, as there are just too many combinations cycling through every second, RNG software is as close to random as we can hope for.

Plus, it’s not like this software is easily accessible for anyone who wants to inspect it or rig the online roulette wheel.

Online casino sites spend small fortunes on securing their games, with the specific intention of preventing anyone from hacking the software featured on their platforms.

Why Online Casino Licenses Matter

Online casino licenses play a massive role in this issue.  To be more specific, when an online casino has one or more licenses from well-known and respected gambling regulatory bodies, you can rest assured that it’s completely fair and would never rig any of its casino games.

The process of obtaining an online gambling license is often a long journey that costs the online casino a lot of money.

The site’s operators must first fill out a lengthy application and share extensive information about their business.

After that, the regulatory body will evaluate the online casino, perform background checks, and various other tests to make sure that the site deserves a license.

Lastly, the casino will pay a hefty licensing fee. Moreover, the site will also have to continue paying for yearly renewals or pay revenue tax, depending on the licensing authority.

How to Make Sure an Online Casino is Licensed?

Understanding the importance of online casino licenses for ensuring safe and fair roulette games, we also want to highlight a few simple ways of how you can quickly check whether or not the online casino has a valid gambling license.

Here’s how to check if an online casino is licensed:

• Check for a Seal of Approval – Every online casino that’s licensed will proudly display this fact in the footer of its homepage. While this is a great and super convenient way to check for a license, you should also be aware that an online casino might fraudulently display a license.
• Verify with the Licensing Authority – This is by far the best way of making sure that your online casino of choice is licensed and trustworthy. Browsing the regulatory body’s site certainly isn’t entertaining, but it always provides useful information.
• Read and Compare Online Casino Reviews – There are tons of review sites that focus solely on reviewing and comparing online casinos. These platforms often put great attention into researching and most often list all valuable info. That said, keep in mind that some review sites might have outdated information.

Online Casinos Can Face Great Consequences for Rigging Games

Another big reason why online roulette games are completely fair and random in licensed casinos is that online casinos can’t afford to lose their license for such a practice.

All conspiracy theories and online roulette myths aside, the plain truth is that no online casino worth its salt would risk losing its license just to pump up its profits by a few percent.

Online roulette games are already a steady and very solid earner for every online casino.

Of course, big props go to online gambling regulators for making the potential consequences worse than any extra money that the online casino might earn by fixing a roulette game.

If a site is discovered doing so, their license would be instantly revoked, they would pay a fine, and get banned from the industry, possibly forever. In some cases, they might even get sued.

Online Roulette Is Always Rigged Against You Anyway

OK, after that attention-grabbing header, things aren’t as alarming as we’ve made them sound with it.

But, it’s still a fact that the online casino always has an advantage over you in any casino game you play, not just roulette.

This is because all online casino games come with a house edge. This feature means that the casino has “rigged” the games to ensure steady profits over time.

The house edge allows the casino to pay out winning players and still make money in the long run. From this perspective, this is perfectly understandable, as they are in the business of making money.

So, focusing on roulette house edge in the context of this guide’s main topic, how much has the casino “rigged” this game against you?

Well, it depends on the specific online roulette variation you decide to play.

To be more precise, you’ll likely come across two popular roulette versions in most online casinos, European roulette and American roulette.

The European version of the game has a house edge of 2.70%, while the American version comes with a house edge of 5.26%.

Having these numbers in mind, European roulette is the more favorable option to play, no matter what.

As the casino keeps a certain percentage of all of your bets over time, it’s logical to play the online roulette version that minimizes this percentage.

These percentages are always the same regardless of where you play, as they are the inherent result of roulette’s nature.

In this regard, as roulette is a luck-based game, there’s no way to alter these casino odds to be more in your favor. All that you can do is accept them as they are if you decide to play online roulette.

Are Roulette Tables Rigged? – Summing It Up

Unfortunately, many online players’ beliefs of online roulette being rigged stem from a lack of basic understanding of the game.

Hopefully, this detailed guide on the inner workings of online and live roulette games has helped you gain a better understanding of how they work and why the vast majority of online roulette games aren’t rigged.

It’s easy to fall for one of many online roulette myths, but believing in any of them is not a good thing if you want to be a happy and successful online roulette player.

When you know the key elements of online roulette and do your research when picking an online casino, you can trust in a safe and enjoyable experience.

Most importantly, no matter which site you sign up with or what online roulette variation you play, make sure to bet responsibly.

Only wager what you can afford to lose, know the game you’re playing, and remember that the house always has the edge in the long run.

Is Online Roulette Rigged FAQ