European vs American roulette: 2.56 points of RTP (2026)
The same game on two wheels returns 97.30% and 94.74%. That gap of 2.56 percentage points nearly doubles the house edge, from 2.70% to 5.26%, and the only visible difference at the table is one extra green pocket.
36/37 - 36/38 = 0.025605 · Source: Derived: 36/37 against 36/38, identical paytables · Last verified 14 Aug 2026Why does one extra pocket change the RTP?
Both wheels pay a straight-up winner 35 to 1. The European wheel has 37 pockets, the American wheel has 38. The paytable is identical while the number of ways to lose is not.
European: 36 / 37 = 97.30% edge 2.70%
American: 36 / 38 = 94.74% edge 5.26%Nothing else about the game differs in any way that touches the return. Same bets, same layout logic, same payouts, one more pocket.
How much more does American roulette cost?
| Total staked | Expected loss, European | Expected loss, American | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 | 2.70 | 5.26 | 2.56 |
| 1,000 | 27.03 | 52.63 | 25.60 |
| 10,000 | 270.27 | 526.32 | 256.05 |
Casino Guru safety 8.6/10
Takes players from your countryA player who bets 10 units a spin for 100 spins has staked 1,000 whatever their bankroll is. On the American wheel that costs 25.60 more, on average, for an identical evening.
How do I tell a European wheel from an American one?
The reliable test is the pockets: 37 with a single zero is European, 38 with a zero and a double zero is American. Table names are unreliable and a lobby thumbnail is not evidence, so open the table and count the greens.
French tables are single-zero wheels with la partage added, which lifts even-money bets to 98.65%. The en prison rule is a near neighbour: 98.65% where re-imprisonment applies, 98.61% where the bet is frozen for a single spin. If a lobby offers French, European and American side by side, they are three different returns wearing similar art.
Which American roulette bet is the worst?
The American layout carries one bet the European wheel cannot: the five-number bet on 0, 00, 1, 2 and 3, paying 6 to 1. It returns 92.11%, an edge of 7.89%, worse than every other bet on either wheel.
Does any American table give the half back?
Some do. Atlantic City surrender returns half of a losing even-money bet when the ball lands on either zero, which is la partage applied to a double-zero wheel. It lifts those bets from 94.74% to 97.37%, an edge of 2.63%, which is very close to a plain European wheel. It applies only to the even-money bets and only where the table carries the rule, so it is a thing to look for rather than a thing to assume.
| Table and bet | RTP | House edge |
|---|---|---|
| European, any bet | 97.30% | 2.70% |
| American with surrender, even money | 97.37% | 2.63% |
| American, standard | 94.74% | 5.26% |
Quick answers
Is European roulette better than American? Yes, by arithmetic rather than opinion: 97.30% against 94.74% on identical bets.
How much worse is American roulette? The house edge rises from 2.70% to 5.26%, so the expected loss on the same stake is roughly double.
How do I tell which wheel I am on? Count the green pockets. One zero is European, a zero and a double zero is American.
Is French roulette the same as European? Same wheel, extra rule. La partage returns half of a losing even-money bet on zero, which lifts those bets to 98.65%.
Reviewed by the PlayStories editorial team. Last updated August 14, 2026. Numbers verified per our methodology. Informational only, not betting advice. 18+. Play responsibly.
Related
RTP = payout including stake x pockets covered / total pocketsNothing on this page is taken from a source. Every figure is arithmetic from the wheel and the published paytable: a European wheel has 37 pockets and pays a straight-up winner 36 units including the stake, so the return is 36/37. The American figures use 38 pockets, the French even-money figure adds the half-stake refund on zero. Any reader can recompute all of them.
Full verification method · Editorial standards · Corrections are logged on the method page.
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