The competition for players in Vegas got players cheap rooms, food and beverages but in the digital age the insane level of competition between online casinos has produced Zero Roulette at Betfair, a version of roulette where the operator has totally given up on the traditional house edge! Zero Roulette has no zero slot, meaning players get paid true odds. This is absolutely the best version of roulette!
The traditional European Roulette wheel with just the single zero has a house edge of 2.7%. Completely removing the zero gives the house a 0% edge. Since there are only 36 numbers in play, the 35 to 1 payout means players get true odds. Whether your a systems player or you just like throwing chips up in the air or just like betting on your birthday numbers, in the long run this version of roulette will give you the most winning sessions compared to European or American Roulette.
You will be able find Zero Roulette in the Zero Lounge of Betfair. Do not get lost and play the regular European Roulette game, find the zero lounge and stick to Zero Roulette.
For a more graphic explanation on how Zero Lounge works, you can play Betfair's youtube video below. Its gives a great tutorial on how the online zero roulette interface works.
It is interesting to work out the economic logic behind Betfair's Zero Roulette. Essentially they are making a loss on the game. Professional systems players aside, there are operating, marketing and personnel costs to running Zero Roulette. So how come they don’t go broke? Well, the removal of the zero helps players immensely but it doesn’t automatically give the players an advantage. There are probably masses of players who still play without any roulette strategy or understanding of the game. But the real reason is that it gets new roulette players on their books who might also gamble on their betting exchanges. Betfair is currently the market leader and dominates online horse and sports betting. The betting exchange is where Betfair makes its profits. So much profit in fact that they are willing to burden the costs of Zero Roulette if it means a chance at getting new players on their exchange and gives their competitors in the online gambling business a hard time. It is impossible for any other online casino offer Zero Roulette without a hugely profitable side business. In the long run, Zero Roulette is probably going to be banned for being unfairly uncompetitive to other online casinos. In the meantime, you should exploit the competition between online casinos and stick to Zero Roulette while the good times last.