Comparing Slots and Roulette – What Is Better?

I compare roulette and slots in this article. I cover rules, house edge, strategy, payouts, and the overall player experience.

By the time you’re done reading, you’ll have a good idea of which game is the right one for you. As you’ll see, both are simple and fun, and what one you should play depends on what you’re looking for.

Slots vs. Roulette Rules

Playing new casino games can involve a learning curve. Luckily, when it comes to roulette vs. slots, both are super simple. You can start playing both games with no prior knowledge, and you’d figure them out within a few minutes.

Slots Machine Rules

The aim of playing video slots is to spin the reels and get matching symbols. All you have to do is tap ‘spin’ and hope that a certain number of matching symbols line up.

The more you get, the higher the prizes. The different slot symbols also have different values. You can always refer to the game paytable to find out the exact return of each combination.

You can also adjust various factors like the active paylines, the bet size, and more.

These days, online slots usually have extra features like free spins, bonus wheels, cascading reels, and others. They add extra spice to the experience, but you could also stick to simple options like classic slots.

For more information on your options, check our page on the types of slots.

Roulette Rules

Roulette is also an incredibly simple game. There’s a marble (ball), a board for your bets, and a wheel with a bunch of numbers. You place a wager, or multiple wagers, on the board before the round starts.

Once the betting window closes, the dealer or algorithm will spin the wheel, and your bets will either win or lose based on where the marble lands.

There’s no limit on the number of wagers you can place, and you can pick from different options like a single number, odd/even, red/white, and more.

There’s one more thing to remember about roulette rules. There are a growing number of roulette variants, and they all have unique rules, even if the core gameplay remains the same.

If you want to know which variants are the best, check out our selection of the best roulette variations.

Roulette vs. Slots House Edge

Every single casino game has a mathematical advantage thanks to the house edge. It ensures that, no matter what happens in the short term, the casino makes a fixed percentage on each game over the long run.

Likewise, the roulette house edge depends on what variant you play. Your odds of winning are also determined by the bets you make.

For the sake of simplicity, let’s focus on classic roulette games for our comparison.

• Slot machines have an edge of between 2% and 10%. If progressive jackpots are involved, the edge will almost certainly be higher.
• European roulette has a house edge of 2.7%. American roulette has a house edge of 5.25% because it has an additional zero.

As you can see, the house edge is not that different. Slots have a higher one on average, but you can make up for that by sticking to games with lower casino advantage.

Slots vs. Roulette Strategy

There are some strategies for both slots and online roulette, but I want to shoot straight with you: they don’t change the actual math of the games.

They can give you a short-term advantage, make your bankroll last longer, or capitalize on winning streaks, but they won’t alter the built-in math.

Nonetheless, let’s look at some of the popular strategies for both games.

Slots Strategy

Slots are simple games of chance, and your decisions can’t do much to alter the outcome. I’ve heard all sorts of suggestions, but most of them work.

For example, there’s the “Find Loose Slots” strategy. Many players feel that some slot machines are ‘due’ to pay soon because they haven’t done so in a while.

This is the problem with most slot strategies, but that doesn’t mean you can’t improve your chances. Here are a few tips that work. 

• Pick Slots with Low House Edge: The obvious way to improve your chances is to stick to high RTP slots because of their low house edge.
• Utilize Bonuses and Free Spins: The top online casinos for slots offer many bonuses and free spins. You can reduce the house edge significantly if you’re smart about them.
• Manage Your Bankroll: Playing with the size of your wagers can help a lot, and it protects you from losing everything.

Roulette Strategies

Most of the things I said about slots apply to roulette too. The odds are stacked against you, so no strategy can eliminate that completely.

However, some roulette strategies have been around for ages because they can lead to sporadic success.

• The Martingale The most popular strategy for roulette is based on progressions. It’s simple and could work in theory, but the real world is different.
• The Reverse Martingale: This strategy is the exact opposite of the previous one. It involves betting the same amount of losing wagers and then going for it when you experience a win, doubling up on each winning spin.
• The d’Alembert: Another system based on progressions, but significantly less steep than the Martingale. 

Even with these, you can’t beat the casino in the long run, but you could keep yourself closer to the break-even line.

Roulette vs. Slots Payouts

I’ve already said that slots offer much larger payouts as compared to classic roulette games. However, you also have to consider your chances of winning a roulette bet are much greater.

Let’s look closer at both.

Slot Machine Payouts

The typical slot machine offers a range of payouts. For example, three low-value symbols on a payline might win you a 1x payout, whereas five of the highest value symbols could win you 5,000x or more.

In some cases, you can win multi-million dollar casino jackpots by landing high-value symbols or winning bonus rounds.

Roulette Payouts

Roulette payouts are fixed and known. They depend on how much you wager and the type of roulette bets you make. Here’s a breakdown of what you can win in a standard game of European roulette.

Remember, you can make multiple roulette bets on any given spin. For example, you could bet red/black and a few single numbers. When the ball lands in a pocket, it will be both a single number and either red or black by default.When comparing slots vs. roulette odds, always remember that it depends on what machine you play and what bet you make on roulette. Each wager has different odds of winning, as does each video slot.Slots vs. Roulette Overall ExperienceLet’s look at slots vs. roulette from multiple perspectives that consider the overall player experience.

• Variety – While there are an increasing number of roulette variants available, there are tens of thousands of video slot titles. Slot machines win when it comes to variety.
• Excitement – Both games are super exciting, and winning streaks on both get your heart pounding. It’s difficult to say which is more exciting, but most players would probably agree that a good slot machine with bonus rounds and a huge jackpot delivers more thrills.
• Payouts – These days, some live dealer roulette games like Lightning Roulette offer payouts of up to 500x on winning straight bets. However, many slot games offer bigger jackpots. That’s especially true when it comes to progressive jackpot slots.
• Odds – You’ve got more chance of winning an even money wager on roulette than you do of winning a big payout on a slot machine. However, always remember that risk and reward come hand in hand. Even money roulette payouts are also smaller than your average slot jackpot win.

Slots vs. Roulette in Online CasinosSlots or roulette? What’s it going to be? Both of these games are hugely popular and are available at all of the best online casinos.After going through both games, it’s clear to see that they both have their pros and cons. What game is right for you depends on what you’re looking for.The key takeaways I want to leave you with are as follows:

• Strategies can be used on both games, but the casino will have an edge no matter what.
• For life-changing payouts, taking a risk on slot machines is a good call.
• Both are easy and fun to play. Beginners can learn them in no time.