Roulette is a real star attraction in most casinos. It’s a game of pure chance that’s easy to play but what sets it above most casino games has less to do with the gameplay – of which the player has very little control beyond placing bets on the roulette table – but about the general glitz and glamor of the famous roulette wheel and watching the little silver ball going round and round the track until it finally lands on a segment on the wheel with the winning number/ color. 

Its appeal is really as simple as that and whether you happen to make a bit of money on it is a nice bonus for most players, but really not the point. Which is why, incidentally, it’s not really a favorite of “serious” gamblers, who are more likely to seek out games with which they have more control.

So, in terms of whether live or online roulette is better, it’s not even a question. By every metric live roulette is an infinitely more enjoyable experience than playing against a machine – but are there any advantages to online roulette over its live alternative?

Yes. A couple. But before we get to them let’s just clarify what these terms mean.

Live vs Online… vs Live?

When we refer to “live” roulette, we are actually referring to one of two kinds of roulette playing experiences. The first, obviously, is the in-person game that you play at a casino, with real casino chips and with a real roulette wheel. The other kind of live roulette, though, is actually much more comparable to online roulette as it too is played online, but players actually join a live roulette table via webcam and though they can place real bets online, the actual action still happens in the real world.

By contrast, online roulette is, essentially, a video game that you play for money. Some versions of online roulette feature excellent graphics and do their best to make you feel like you’re actually playing roulette, but you’re really not. Online roulette works pretty much the same as any online version of slots, poker, craps or whatever gambling game you play against a computer rather than with and against other human beings. No matter what is happening on screen, beneath the surface all these games work on random number generators that, as their name suggests, simply generates numbers at random. Those numbers can come in the form of a poker deck, a slot machine or a roulette wheel but these games are all based on fundamentally the same thing. 

Occasions Where Online Roulette Rules

So, with all this in mind, is there anything about online roulette that is superior to live versions? After all, without the atmosphere, the up-to-the-minute excitement, social aspects, and glitz and glamor that can be found even in virtual live games, never mind actual live games, what does online roulette have to offer?

1. The best thing about online roulette by far is its unparalleled convenience. Live games, even virtual live games require finding an active game and if you feel like doing the real thing, going to the casino. Like all online video games, online roulette is available 24/7 and can be easily accessed both on your PC/ laptop or mobile device whenever and wherever you happen to find yourself. 
2. What you won’t find with most live games are all sorts of bonuses and free spins. Some may have them, of course, though not so much the ones you play at the casino, but most live games keep bonuses to a minimum. Online roulette, however, offers plenty of these to keep you coming back for more. 
3. Fast, snappy gameplay that you won’t find with live games. Not only is online roulette always accessible, you can always play at your own pace. Because of this, though, you may find yourself spending more money than you can afford so make sure that you practice responsible gambling by limiting your hours playing and sticking to a tight budget. 
4. Excellent audio and graphics are now expected of even the humblest of all online games and we have reached a point where online roulette can actually feel as close to the real thing as you can hope. It’s not the real thing but add in the convenience factor and it may well become a tradeoff worth making.

In Conclusion

In very short, online roulette will never be a better playing experience than playing a live game virtually or, best of all, in-person, but it doesn’t always have to be. Sometimes you just want a quick hit of roulette between meetings or in the bathroom and mobile versions are good and immersive enough to work perfectly for these purposes. Full PC versions of online roulette aren’t quite as mobile, obviously, but they can come close enough to capturing the real thing that you may well find it to be a more than good enough substitute to hold you over between visits to the casino or online excursions to find live online games. Sometimes good enough really is good enough.