Roulette, blackjack, slots, baccarat, sports betting… you’ve got so much choice of what to gamble on.
Today we’ll take a look at roulette vs slots to see which fares best.
Plot twist – there isn’t a right answer, it’s just personal preference. But let’s cover the pros and cons of each to help you make your decision.
Advantages Of Slots
OK, OK – I’m a roulette guy. But I need to give you a balanced article here. So here’s some good stuff about slots:
1) Tons of new games
Making slots games is big business with tons of game makers jostling for the attention of casino companies. This means there is a constant stream of new games and titles.
You’re also see lots of themed based slots. So plenty of fun tie-ins with new movies, TV shows, celebrities and brands.
And if that excites you, it’s a big incentive to play slots.
2) Slots can be fun
Slots games are designed to be fun and engaging (so you play more).
Modern games are expertly designed – so expect to see crisp graphics, music and visuals. This is all deliberate – the more you like it, the more you’ll play.
3) You can win big
OK slots fans – I’ll give you this one. If you want to win big money, that’ll be on the slots.
Why? Slots often have massive jackpots. Progressive jackpots like on the Mega Moolah game have insanely large jackpots. Back in 2020 someone won NZ$6 million!
Obviously you could still win big on roulette but to do so you’d be putting down insanely big bets. And have a huge bankroll that I don’t think any of us has.
Disadvantages Of Slots
So if slots are fun and have tons of variety, what are the downsides?
1) You can’t really use strategies
Sure, you can vary the amount you bet on each spin, but unlike roulette, there’s no real systems or strategies to try. So slots play can get boring pretty quickly.
2) It’s anti-social
When have you ever said to someone “hey, let’s go and play slots side to side and have fun together?”. You haven’t.
Why? Because all slots involves is setting in front of a machine pressing buttons, getting into a semi-trance state and not talking to anyone.
3) They’ve overwhelming
Something I can’t stand with slots is this: you’re besieged by sounds and visuals. Contrast that with roulette where it’s simple and effective – the spin of a roulette wheel.
Slots games just seem to be about making them as bling as possible. Maybe I’m just getting old.
4) Every game has different payouts/house edge
With roulette you know where you stand.
With slots, each game is different. So unless you do your research first, you don’t know exactly what the house edge is for that particular game.
And don’t get me started with how they all have different pay tables and rules!
Advantages Of Roulette
OK I’m biased. I love roulette and hey, this is a site about roulette. But let’s explore the pros of roulette over slots:
1) It’s a sociable game
If I want to play roulette but I want to be around people, I head to a live casino. Like many gambling games, roulette is energetic and fun.
So playing a session in a live casino gives it that extra edge for me.
2) Tons of betting options
I love with roulette how I can bet on a single number, a range of them, odds/even… the list goes on.
For me that means roulette is super fun as I can vary up my play. If I want to make my money last longer, I’ll play low risk bets like red/black. If I want to ‘YOLO’ I can put all my chips on a single number!
3) You can try strategies
With so many roulette strategies and systems out there, you can vary your experience every time. Be that the Martingale system or just the YOLO of ‘All In’.
There are so many strategies and variations of them that it could last you a lifetime. Hell, there’s nothing to stop you making your own!
4) James Bond played roulette
Which instantly makes it cool and sexy. You never saw 007 rock up to a slots machine did you?
5) Live dealer roulette is awesome
Roulette has an advantage here because slots games obviously don’t have a dealer. (Random thought – I love the idea of someone having to spin the wheels for you!).
So the cool thing with roulette is you can play in a live casino, online, or online with a live dealer.
Disadvantages Of Roulette
OK so now I’ve bigged up roulette, I should try and be neutral when we’re asking “is roulette better than slots?”.
So here they are:
1) It lacks variety
Whilst we have American, European, Live Dealer, Mini-Ball, Multi-ball etc, we don’t have the constant output of new games slots has.
That’s not to say roulette gets boring, it’s just a very different niche.
Thankfully we have things like Lightning roulette which show the industry is trying to innovate.
2) They don’t look as cool
Let’s be honest – modern online slot games are killing it with their visuals. Roulette looks….well, it looks OK, even on mobile.
3) You can’t win huge jackpots
As I said earlier, slots kills it with this factor. Unless you’re insanely rich (and therefore a ‘whale‘) you’re not going to be winning millions here.
Roulette v Slots – A Comparison
Here’s an at a glance summary of how roulette and slots compare:
| Factor | Roulette | Slots |
|---|---|---|
| Luck-based? | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Many varieties? | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Live Dealer option online? | ✔️ | ❌ |
| Sociable experience? | ✔️ | ❌ |
| Can play online? | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Good for trying strategies? | ✔️ | ❌ |
| Simple to learn? | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Can you play on mobile? | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Is the house edge always the same? | ✔️ | ❌ |
| House edge | 2.70 (European) 5.26% (American, exception being 5 number bet at 7.89%) | Massively varies – can be as high as 17% |
| James Bond played it | ✔️ | ❌ |