European roulette runs on a 37-pocket wheel, numbers 1 through 36 plus a single zero, and that one extra pocket beyond the 36 numbered ones is the entire source of the house edge. Every bet on the layout, inside or outside, carries the same 2.70% edge under standard rules, because the maths behind every payout ratio on the table is built around that single 37th pocket.
The Wheel and Table Layout
The wheel carries 37 pockets: 1 through 36 in an alternating red and black sequence, plus a single green zero. The betting layout mirrors the numbers in a grid of three columns and twelve rows, with the zero sitting at the head of the grid. Outside the number grid sit the even-money and grouped bets: red or black, odd or even, high (19 to 36) or low (1 to 18), the three columns, and the three dozens (1 to 12, 13 to 24, 25 to 36).
Placing a Bet
Bets on European roulette split into two families. Inside bets are placed directly on a number or a small cluster of adjacent numbers on the grid. Outside bets are placed on the grouped boxes surrounding the grid, covering larger sets of numbers at once.
Inside bets: straight up (one number), split (two adjacent numbers), street (a row of three), corner (four numbers meeting at a point), and six line (two adjacent rows, six numbers). Outside bets: red/black, odd/even, high/low, dozen, and column.
Payout Table
| Bet type | Numbers covered | Payout | Probability of winning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Straight up | 1 | 35 to 1 | 2.70% |
| Split | 2 | 17 to 1 | 5.41% |
| Street | 3 | 11 to 1 | 8.11% |
| Corner | 4 | 8 to 1 | 10.81% |
| Six line | 6 | 5 to 1 | 16.22% |
| Dozen | 12 | 2 to 1 | 32.43% |
| Column | 12 | 2 to 1 | 32.43% |
| Red/Black | 18 | 1 to 1 | 48.65% |
| Odd/Even | 18 | 1 to 1 | 48.65% |
| High/Low | 18 | 1 to 1 | 48.65% |
Last verified: 9 September 2026, against standard single-zero roulette rules as applied under Malta Gaming Authority licensed operators.
How the House Edge Is Calculated
Every payout ratio on this table is set as though the wheel had 36 pockets, one for every number, with no zero at all. A straight up bet at true odds on 36 numbers would pay 36 to 1. It pays 35 to 1 instead. That single unit of difference, on every bet type, is where the entire house edge comes from.
The calculation for a straight up bet: probability of winning is 1 in 37, or 2.70%. On a win, the bet returns 35 units of profit. On a loss, which happens 36 times in 37, the bet loses 1 unit. Expected value per unit staked is (1/37 x 35) plus (36/37 x -1), which equals -1/37, or -2.70%.
That same calculation produces 2.70% for every bet type on the table, straight up through the even-money outside bets, because the payout ratio for each is set proportionally against the same 37-pocket wheel. A split pays 17 to 1 against a 1-in-37 chance times 2, a dozen pays 2 to 1 against a 12-in-37 chance, and the ratio of pocket count to payout stays constant throughout. Roulette is one of the few casino games where bet size and bet type genuinely do not change the house edge, only the variance of the outcome.
La Partage and En Prison
Two optional rule variants specifically reduce the edge on even-money outside bets, and only those bets. Under La Partage, if the ball lands on zero, even-money bets lose only half their stake rather than the full amount. Under En Prison, an even-money bet caught by a zero is not settled immediately, it is held for the next spin, and if that next spin produces a win for the original bet, the stake is returned in full with no profit.
Both rules mathematically halve the house edge on the bets they apply to, from 2.70% down to 1.35%. Neither rule is universal. Whether a specific operator offers La Partage or En Prison, and on which bets, is a table-by-table and operator-by-operator setting, not a fixed feature of European roulette as a format.
European vs American Roulette
American roulette adds a second zero pocket, 00, bringing the wheel to 38 pockets while keeping every payout ratio identical to the European table. That single added pocket nearly doubles the house edge.
| European roulette | American roulette | |
|---|---|---|
| Pockets | 37 (1 to 36 plus 0) | 38 (1 to 36 plus 0 and 00) |
| Straight up payout | 35 to 1 | 35 to 1 |
| House edge, standard bets | 2.70% | 5.26% |
| Top line bet (0, 00, 1, 2, 3) | Not available | 7.89% |
| La Partage / En Prison available | Sometimes, operator-dependent | Rare |
The American top line bet, a five-number bet covering 0, 00, 1, 2 and 3 at 6 to 1, carries the worst house edge on either table: (5/38 x 6) plus (33/38 x -1) equals -3/38, or 7.89%. It's the one bet on either wheel where the payout ratio doesn't track proportionally with the pocket count, and the edge shows it.
Call Bets and Announced Bets
Some European tables, particularly those following French roulette conventions, offer a further layer of bets called on the neighbours of a number rather than staked directly on the layout. Voisins du Zéro covers the 17 numbers neighbouring zero on the physical wheel, Tiers du Cylindre covers the 12 numbers on the opposite arc, and Orphelins covers the remaining 8 numbers not included in either group. These are wheel-position bets rather than layout-position bets, since they're defined by where numbers physically sit next to each other on the wheel, not by their numerical value or position on the betting grid.
Mathematically, call bets are combinations of the same straight up, split and street bets already listed in the payout table above, bundled into a single named wager for convenience. A Voisins du Zéro bet, for instance, is a specific combination of straight up and split bets covering its 17 numbers, and the combined bet's house edge works out to the same 2.70% as every other bet on the European wheel, since it's built entirely from bets that individually carry that figure. Naming a bet differently does not change its underlying mathematics.
Why the Edge Is Uniform Across Bet Types
It's worth stating plainly why this matters: on many casino games, different bets on the same table carry meaningfully different house edges, and choosing between bet types is itself a decision with mathematical consequences. European roulette, with the exception of the American top line bet discussed above, is unusual in that every standard bet type carries the identical 2.70% edge. A player has no way to seek out a "better" bet on the European layout the way they might on a craps table, where individual bet types range from under 1.5% up past 16%. The uniformity is a structural feature of how the payout table was designed against the 37-pocket wheel, not a coincidence.
Where Rule Variations Change the Edge
| Rule set | House edge on standard bets | House edge on even-money bets |
|---|---|---|
| European, no La Partage or En Prison | 2.70% | 2.70% |
| European, with La Partage or En Prison | 2.70% | 1.35% |
| American, standard | 5.26% | 5.26% |
| American, top line bet specifically | N/A | 7.89% |
A lower listed house edge describes a smaller negative expectation, not a positive one. Every figure in this article, from 1.35% up to 7.89%, still describes an outcome that favours the operator over any extended series of bets. No rule variant, wheel type or bet selection turns roulette into a game with a positive expected return for the player, and this article does not suggest a sequence of bets or a staking pattern that changes that.
Responsible Gambling
Any operator offering roulette to players in Malta must hold a Malta Gaming Authority licence, and self-exclusion and deposit-limit tools are required to be available on every licensed platform. A game's lowest available house edge is still a house edge, and the Responsible Gaming Foundation provides free, confidential support for anyone who wants it.