Live casinos have become an extremely popular way to enjoy an authentic gaming experience without actually setting foot inside a land-based casino. As you may have already seen in many of the other Live Casino articles we have covered, Evolution Gaming is one of the top providers of live-dealer casino games.
The software company’s gaming portfolio includes numerous titles, many of which cater to fans of classic table games. While playing a simple roulette game may be enough for some players, others can try Evolution Gaming’s Lightning Roulette to add extra thrill to the old-school casino classic.
Offering some unique features, Lightning Roulette has different rules and requires a more specific betting approach. Players who wish to make their casino experience riveting and special can head to an Evolution Gaming-powered online casino and test their luck and skill on Lightning Roulette.
The Way Lightning Roulette Operates
If you are familiar with European roulette, you will have no issue understanding the rules of Lightning Roulette. The wheel used in the game is the standard single-zero one, with the numbers between 1 and 36 alternating in red and black. The house edge of this live-dealer roulette variation is 2.70%, just like any typical European roulette game.
Just as in any roulette variation, players will have the opportunity to bet on numbers and hope to guess the section in which the roulette ball will land. What makes Lightning Roulette unique is the opportunity to enjoy payouts that are significantly higher than the standard roulette payouts.
Lightning Roulette is streamed from an Evolution Gaming-dedicated live casino studio and entices players with its elegant gold-and-black design. Thanks to the interactive elements implemented in the game, players can easily place their bets, and the charming dealers contribute to the unique casino experience.
Even if you join the game while a spin is in progress, the fast pace means you will not have to wait long before you are allowed to bet. The minimum bet for the game is £0.20, while the maximum bet per spin is capped at £1,000. Once players place their bets, however, instead of having the roulette wheel spin immediately, the dealer pulls a handle. This prompts several numbers to appear on the screen behind the dealer, indicating numbers with random multipliers between 50x and 500x.
The maximum number of random multipliers you can see on the screen is five, with the possible multipliers being 50x, 100x, 200x, 300x, 400x and 500x. After the random lightning numbers are chosen, the dealer releases the ball into the wheel and the camera view shifts to the spinning wheel. The special feature of Lightning Roulette triggers on every round, giving players greater chances of bigger wins on every spin.
While the typical roulette bets pay the standard payouts, if you are lucky enough to place your chips on numbers with multipliers and win, you can enjoy up to 500x your straight-up bet. One thing to keep in mind is that the special multipliers apply only to straight-up bets; any other type of wager on the lucky numbers will award its standard payout.
Although nothing is certain in the game of roulette, you can easily check how frequently the multiplier numbers win. If you head to the Stats section of the game, you will be able to view the results for up to 500 previous spins. This will show you how often the ball landed on a number with a multiplier, and the statistics will also reveal which multiplier was applied to the winning number.
Rules of Playing Lightning Roulette and Payouts
Like any other live-dealer game, Lightning Roulette can be played online only if players have funded their casino accounts. When you load the game, you will either have the chance to place your bets, or you may have to wait for the current playing session to end before you can pick your numbers.
Lightning Roulette has a layout similar to that of European roulette, allowing players to make the standard bet types. Whether you wish to bet on individual numbers, a certain colour, or a group of numbers, you will have the chance to place your chips on whichever section of the roulette table you prefer. You will notice that most bets offer the typical European roulette payouts. The only difference is in the straight-up bet, which, without a multiplier, has a lower payout of 29 to 1.
Since bets are placed before the lucky numbers are chosen, there is no way to predict how many numbers will randomly appear or what their multipliers will be. If you are chasing multiplier wins, straight-ups should therefore be your main focus.
If we exclude the Lightning feature, we have a standard version of European roulette. This means that any bet other than the straight-up pays exactly the same as it would in any European roulette game.
There is also a racetrack that can be used to place call bets such as Tiers du Cylindre, Voisins du Zero, Jeu Zero and Orphelins. As the game is played at a very fast pace, you will not have much time to place your bets before the betting session is over. This is why you can make use of an autoplay option and choose to place the same bet for a certain number of consecutive rounds.
| Payouts in Lightning Roulette by Evolution Gaming | |
|---|---|
| Type of Bet | Payout |
| Straight-Up | 29:1 |
| Straight-Up with Multipliers | 50:1, 100:1, 200:1, 300:1, 400:1, 500:1 |
| Split | 17:1 |
| Street | 11:1 |
| Corner | 8:1 |
| Line | 5:1 |
| Column | 2:1 |
| Dozen | 2:1 |
| Red/Black | 1:1 |
| Even/Odd | 1:1 |
| High/Low | 1:1 |
*Payouts in Lightning Roulette are the same as those in European roulette, except for the lowered payout for a straight-up without a multiplier, paying 29:1 instead of 35:1
Strategies to Play Lightning Roulette
What makes Lightning Roulette different is the chance of winning up to 500x your bet thanks to the random multipliers. Although the 500x multiplier is not easy to land, most players still play the game with the hope of hitting multiplied numbers. If you are aiming strictly for numbers with multipliers, you might want to adopt a specific gameplay style.
Progressive patterns such as the Martingale betting system will not be very useful in this scenario. This is why we suggest you take a different approach and opt for specific types of bets that can increase your chances of enjoying multiplied wins. Of course, if you have already mastered your own European roulette strategy, you can use it while playing Lightning Roulette as well; however, it will be effective only for the other standard bets in the game, rather than helping you land one of the random multipliers.
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We suggest you opt for any of the following betting options to give yourself a good chance of landing multipliers.
- Column – any player who is familiar with the roulette table layout knows that a column bet covers 12 numbers on the wheel. By betting on one or even two columns, you can increase your chances of covering one of the random multiplier numbers.
- Avoid Neighbour Bets – as Lightning Roulette features a racetrack, players can make neighbour bets. If you decide to make a Voisins bet, you will cover a total of 17 numbers. What you need to keep in mind, however, is that this type of bet does not include any straight-up wagers, as all chips are placed on splits. This means that even if one of the numbers you have backed has a multiplier and wins, you will not enjoy the boosted payout, as it applies only to straight-up bets. There are also options such as Tiers and Orphelins that may cover some straight-up bets on the table, but you will still be better off placing straight-up bets if you are looking to increase your chance of winning the major 500:1 payout.
- Red/Black – the even-money bets in this roulette variation are not your typical options, as betting on all red or all black pockets gives you a better chance of landing a multiplier number. By placing your money on “red” or “black”, you will have almost a 50/50 chance of enjoying the biggest multiplier in the game.
- Bet on every number or on random numbers – this type of betting is far from being a strategy and may often cost you more than it brings in. If you are feeling lucky, you can choose to cover most of the table by placing your bets on random numbers. You can also cover every number on the table, hoping to enjoy a win with a multiplier. If the winning number is not accompanied by a multiplier, however, you may end up losing more than you win.
It should be noted that none of these strategies guarantees you a multiplier win, and you might even end up with multiple consecutive losses. That being said, you can keep in mind the aforementioned tips to increase your chances of landing significantly higher payouts. One thing to remember is to make only straight-up bets to qualify for a multiplier win.
Is Lightning Roulette Fair?
As Lightning Roulette combines live casino action with some virtual elements, it is only natural that many players question the fairness of the game. While some are unsure about the randomness of the multipliers, others wonder whether the game’s wheel is rigged.
Lightning Roulette is provided by Evolution Gaming, which operates in numerous jurisdictions under a number of licences and certificates issued by some of the strictest authorities in the iGaming industry. In order to offer its gaming solutions in different markets, the software company complies with the regulations imposed by its licensors. These include regular tests of live table games and the RNG software used in games such as Lightning Roulette.
The roulette wheel used in this live version is regularly subjected to maintenance, conducted in line with guidelines imposed by both manufacturers and licensing authorities. Typically, tests of the wheel include checking its balance and rotor speeds. The size and weight of the roulette ball are also measured, ensuring there are no factors that could interfere with the randomness of each spin. Since Lightning Roulette uses a Sealed Auto Roulette wheel, the ball is launched automatically and the dealer has no role in spinning the wheel.
As for the RNG software, it is regularly tested by independent third-party auditors, ensuring the results of every game are free of bias. Since Evolution Gaming offers only one version of Lightning Roulette, the same game is streamed across numerous virtual casinos that provide Evolution Gaming’s live-dealer games. If the game were rigged, many operators would quickly pick up on it, resulting in devastating consequences for both online casinos and Evolution Gaming.
Because the integrity of the game is crucial to both the software provider and the online casinos that offer Lightning Roulette, players can be confident that every result in the game, and each random multiplier chosen, is free of bias.
Conclusion
If you are a fan of roulette, you can have a wonderful experience trying Lightning Roulette in any live casino that runs on Evolution Gaming’s software platform. Although it is very similar to European roulette and gives the house the same advantage of 2.70%, Lightning Roulette includes a feature that makes it a unique variation. Thanks to the random multipliers, lucky players have the amazing opportunity to land a win worth up to 500x their bet.
If you are willing to take some risks and play Lightning Roulette, you might end up with bountiful payouts that cannot be seen in any other roulette variation. The friendly hosts will also make sure you are having the time of your life while playing roulette in the comfort of your own home.