Evolution released Lightning Roulette in 2018, and it did something few live games manage: it made roulette feel new without changing the wheel. The table is standard European roulette, with a single zero and 37 pockets. The novelty arrives after the betting window closes, when one to five numbers are struck by lightning and given multipliers.
We like the game. We also think many players misunderstand where the multipliers come from, so this page is mostly about that.
How a Round Plays Out
- Place your bets as on any European roulette table: numbers, splits, streets, corners, red or black, odd or even, dozens and columns.
- When betting closes, one to five "lucky numbers" are chosen at random and assigned multipliers between 50x and 500x.
- The dealer spins the wheel. If the ball lands on a lucky number, straight-up bets on that number pay at the multiplier.
- All other bets are settled normally.
The lightning only affects straight-up bets on single numbers. A red bet that lands on a lucky red number pays the usual even money.
The Trade: 29 to 1 Instead of 35 to 1
On a normal European table, a straight-up number pays 35 to 1. On Lightning Roulette, a straight-up that lands on an unstruck number pays 29 to 1. That difference funds the multipliers.
| Straight-up result | Classic European roulette | Lightning Roulette |
|---|---|---|
| Ball lands on your number, no lightning | 35 to 1 | 29 to 1 |
| Ball lands on your number, struck at 50x | 35 to 1 | 50 to 1 |
| Ball lands on your number, struck at 500x | 35 to 1 | 500 to 1 |
Most of the time your number is not struck, so most of your winning straight-ups pay less than they would on a classic table. Every so often one pays far more. The average works out close to classic roulette; the distribution is much more lopsided.
RTP, Bet by Bet
Evolution publishes a theoretical return for the game of about 97.3% on most bets, with straight-up numbers marginally lower, around 97.1%. Classic European roulette returns 97.3% on every bet. So the lightning costs straight-up players a fraction of a percent, and costs outside-bet players nothing at all.
The honest read: if you only bet red or black on Lightning Roulette, you are playing ordinary European roulette with a light show. If you bet numbers, you are accepting a slightly lower average for the chance of a big multiplier.
A Stake Plan for Number Players
Straight-up betting is a long-odds activity: any single number lands about once in 37 spins. Add the 29-to-1 payout and you should expect long losing runs.
A worked example with a 40-unit budget:
- Five numbers at 0.20 each is 1.00 per spin, or 40 spins if nothing wins.
- On average one of your five numbers lands roughly every 7 or 8 spins, paying 29 x 0.20 = 5.80 plus the stake back, unless it is struck.
- The average cost of 40 spins at 1.00 per spin with a 97.1% return is about 1.16 units. Most sessions finish some way from that figure; a few end far above it because a lucky number landed.
Fewer numbers per spin means more spins per budget. Spreading across twenty numbers makes wins frequent but small, and each one pays less than it would elsewhere.
There is no demo of a live table, but most casinos let you watch rounds without betting. Ten minutes of watching shows how rarely a struck number is also the winning number.
Where to Play Live Roulette Like This
Live roulette with multipliers is a staple of every serious live casino. You'll find this type of game at the five casinos below. Search the live lobby for the exact table available in your country, and type the welcome code in the cashier before your first deposit.
