The renowned Evolution Gaming unveiled Lightning Roulette at the ICE 2018 gaming exposition, and the variation quickly became one of the studio’s most successful releases to date. The game won in the category Product Innovation of the Year at the Global Gaming Awards and went on to become Game of the Year at the 2018 EGR Awards.
This visually impressive release is a blend between live roulette and a randomly generated game. It makes for a unique betting experience thanks to its electrifying gaming interface and stylish art-deco studio surroundings. But Lightning Roulette has more to offer than a sophisticated atmosphere and visual appeal.
All the familiar features of standard live roulette tables are here, from the dealer and the wheel to the full range of inside, outside, and call bets. However, Lightning Roulette offers a curious twist that further adds to players’ excitement. The game gives you additional opportunities to win on each wheel spin with the help of randomly generated lucky numbers.
Also featured are enhanced lucky payouts, with multipliers ranging from 50x to 500x. Players will benefit from the usual set of cool features inherent to Evolution Gaming’s live tables, including comprehensive statistics, user-friendly settings menus, and an intuitive interface. Let’s examine this electrifying live roulette variation closely to see how it plays and what it has to offer in terms of features and betting options.
Live Dealer Lightning Roulette Gameplay
The Studio Environment
The live action in Lightning Roulette takes place in a studio that boasts sophisticated show-style surroundings, dominated by black and gold colors. Front and center, we have the roulette wheel which uses a special mechanism that automatically releases the ball. There is an oversized screen behind it that virtually replicates the roulette table layout, with numbers zero through 36.
Also featured are special lightning effects that give the game a unique electrifying twist. The live host controls the video screen by pulling a special lever that randomly selects the lucky numbers and lucky payouts. The presence of the host greatly improves one’s playing experience, making it more engaging and interactive.
Available Betting Options
Players who join the live action in Lightning Roulette face a wild variety of bet types, which largely coincide with those in standard single-zero roulette. Some cover individual numbers, while others comprise specific number groups.
Inside Bets
Outside Bets
Call Bets
Neighbor Bets
Inside Bets
Inside bets cover single numbers or smaller groups of adjacent numbers on the layout. Their odds of winning are lower but their high payouts make them worthwhile. Consult with the table below for concise information on the inside bets in Lightning Roulette.
Outside Bets
Outside bets are those made on number properties or larger number groups. They have higher odds of winning but produce lower payouts compared to inside wagers. Outside bets automatically lose when the ball settles in the single-zero pocket.
Call Bets
Call bets are also available in Lightning Roulette. These comprise entire sections of adjacent numbers on the wheel. Players must bet multiple chips to cover them all on the table layout. Respectively, the payouts differ based on the winning outcome. You post them on the oval-shaped racetrack in the lower right section of the gaming screen.
Neighbor Bets
Neighbor bets are another exotic option for players who go for Lightning Roulette. These wagers are also posted on the racetrack and comprise a specific number along with the numbers positioned in its proximity on the wheel.
One example is betting on number 9 and four neighboring numbers on each side (22-18-29-7 on the right and 31-14-20-1 on the left), in which case you need 9 chips in total. Players can adjust the number of neighbors to the left and right of their preferred number by tapping or clicking the plus/minus buttons next to the racetrack.
Lightning Roulette Interface and Features
Evolution Gaming once again delivers an expertly rendered live dealer release that combines elements of game shows and the classic chance game. The interface makes it easy to place bets and keep track of all the action. The software displays the usernames of all winners on the last spin along with the amounts they have pocketed, which further incentivizes you to join them with a real-money bet.
The available bets and their corresponding payouts pop up when you hover your mouse cursor over the table limits in the upper left corner. You also have the option to pin the list of wagers to your screen so that the payouts and the bet limits are visible at all times. Different chip denominations are available to suit the needs of all bettors.
Speaking of table limits, these vary based on bet type. Some Evolution Gaming casinos allow you to wager as little as $0.20 per spin. The ceiling on even-money bets reaches $20,000 per spin, sometimes even more, depending on where you play. Let’s have a closer look at the key features of Lightning Roulette.
Settings Menu
Autoplay
Switch View
Statistics
Favourite Bets
Player Chat
Responsible Gambling
Settings Menu
The Settings Menu is where you enable or disable the auto zoom-in of the wheel and the player chat. You can also adjust the quality of the video stream, having a choice from three options – HD, Medium, and High. Auto-Adjust is an option as well.
Autoplay
The Autoplay enables players to repeatedly place the same bet for a given number of spins. You can activate it with the autoplay button in the lower right corner but only after you post chips on the betting grid.
Switch View
The Switch View option allows you to minimize the stream window and expand the betting grid for easier chip placement.
Statistics
The Statistics feature shows you the previous 500 winning numbers in table format. It provides exhaustive information about hot and cold numbers, along with the winning percentages of all available bets, including Tiers, Voisins, Jeu Zero, and Orphelins. Hover your mouse cursor over the statistics panel and the software will highlight your chosen spot on the betting grid, allowing you to place your wager with a single click or tap.
Favourite Bets
Players can save up to 15 of their favorite bet combinations by clicking the star-shaped icon in the lower right corner of the screen. The Favourite Bets menu features a second tab that allows you to make complex bets like Finale a Cheval, Finale en Plein, and Full Completes with great ease.
Player Chat
The Player Chat facilitates the communication with other participants in the game since Lightning Roulette supports unlimited players. You can also communicate with the live presenter who hosts the game using the chat. If you find the chat distracting, you can always turn it off via the main Settings Menu.
Responsible Gambling
Last but definitely not least, the Lightning Roulette interface has a Responsible Gambling button that gives you access to information on how to keep your betting under control and how to set limits to your gaming sessions.
The House Edge in Lightning Roulette
One obvious issue with Lightning Roulette stems from the payout reduction on winning straight bets. If your chosen number hits but is not “struck” by lightning for a payout multiplier, the winning straight bet will pay at reduced odds of 29 to 1 rather than the standard 35 to 1. You get 30 units in total since they also return your original stake.
The reduction is how the lightning-boosted payouts are funded. Needless to say, this affects the house edge on straight bets in Lightning Roulette, increasing it from the usual 2.70% to 2.90%. All other inside and outside wagers carry the standard 2.70% casino advantage.
The question arises how often do lucky payout multipliers come in and whether they can compensate for the shorter casino odds on straight bets. Answering these questions with absolute certainty is no easy task as one needs a very large sample size that involves hundreds of thousands of trials.
We recommend looking at the statistics panel that displays the lucky numbers that have hit during the last 500 rounds of play. It also shows you the multipliers attached to the lucky numbers. This might give you some idea about how often the multipliers occur over the short term.
Is Lightning Roulette Fair?
Many live casino fans find Lightning Roulette intimidating because it involves elements of random number generation. Some people question the fairness of the wheel, while others are skeptical about the randomness of the multipliers produced by the RNG software. Let’s address the wheel issue first.
The Evolution Gaming roulette wheels undergo regular maintenance and checks for biases to ensure they comply with all regulatory requirements and guidelines for fairness. If any wheel shows a bias toward specific numbers, it is immediately replaced with a new balanced one.
The live hosts in Lightning Roulette have no active part in the wheel spinning process.
Furthermore, Lightning Roulette plays with a sealed automatic wheel that uses air jets to propel the ball around the ball track. The live presenters take no active part in the wheel spinning process and this makes it impossible for them to manipulate the results in some way.
Lightning Roulette is certified for fairness by eCOGRA.
Now, let’s address the question regarding the fairness of the game’s random number generation engine. Evolution Gaming has obtained a fairness certificate from the internationally acclaimed testing agency eCOGRA. The company succeeded in passing the certification audit for its live casino products back in 2010.
In doing so, it became the first live dealer platform to receive the testing agency’s Certified Live Dealer Seal. Like all other live games from the Evolution suite, Lightning Roulette undergoes regular tests by the independent agency to ensure all outcomes, lucky numbers and multipliers included, are completely arbitrary and fair.
Evolution maintains a ledger with results history and retains video recordings of all gaming sessions.
The software company maintains a full history of results so that the testing agency can check at any time whether or not the lucky numbers are truly random. Additionally, eCOGRA’s audit process includes other vital aspects like the dealers’ training, collusion controls, the safety of players’ sensitive data, and the personnel’s access to sensitive areas.
Evolution carries licenses from the UK, Malta, Alderney, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and more.
On top of that, Evolution Gaming bears the seal of approval of several major licensing authorities like the UK Gambling Commission, the Malta Gaming Authority, and the Alderney Gambling Control Commission. The company has also received legal permission to offer Lightning Roulette in major local markets like Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Belgium, Romania, British Columbia, and Italy.
Recommended Online Casinos with Lightning Roulette
A good many online casinos rely on Evolution Gaming for their live dealer suites so picking a website where you can play Lightning Roulette is no easy task. Most, if not all, Evolution-powered casinos offer the game, but we consider the six picks below the best places where you can try this innovative roulette variation.
PlayOJO
Videoslots
King Billy Casino
Casino Joy
Skol Casino
888casino
PlayOJO
PlayOJO is an online casino with a playful and quirky theme that would immediately catch your attention. The operator dubs itself “a fair casino” and this statement is right on the money. Why? Because PlayOJO pays all bonus profits in cash without any turnover requirements and restrictions on the maximum withdrawable winnings.
Fair bonus conditions aside, PlayOJO stands out with a user-driven design that makes browsing its vast gaming library a breeze. The website is vibrant and visually attractive but without any unnecessary clutter to impede navigation and distract you. Everything is neatly laid out and easy to find.
PlayOJO carries the stamp of approval of the UK Gambling Commission and the Malta Gaming Authority, which further adds to its integrity. It offers live dealer games from eminent software suppliers like Evolution Gaming and Authentic Gaming. Lightning Roulette has also made it to its portfolio, with bets ranging from $0.40 to $2,000 per spin.
Videoslots
Videoslots is a paradise for online casino players, offering them an immense choice from more than 4,300 world-class games. Then again, this diversity is anything but surprising considering there are over 130 software suppliers on the operator’s roster. Evolution Gaming, Pragmatic Play, Playtech, and Authentic Gaming power the live casino of Videoslots.
There is also the option to browse the live catalog based on suppliers for those who happen to have a partiality for a specific studio. If you grow tired of chasing the lucky multipliers in Lightning Roulette, you can switch to playing some of the other available live variations. Instant Roulette, Age of the Gods Bonus Roulette, Immersive Roulette, and Mega Roulette are all equally exciting.
Apart from live tables, Videoslots offers a wide range of randomly generated table games, slots, scratchcards, and video poker. Some of the releases are courtesy of household brands like Microgaming, Yggdrasil, NetEnt, Play’n GO, and Williams Interactive. Videoslots operates legally in various jurisdictions, including the UK, Sweden, Denmark, and Italy.
King Billy Casino
King Billy Casino targets players from the Australian market but accepts customers from other jurisdictions as well. The award-winning operator runs a user-friendly website powered by an army of forty industry-leading software providers. Here you can find contributions from Amatic, iSoftBet, NetEnt, Playson, Yggdrasil, Tom Horn, and Thunderkick.
The live section relies on the platforms of Evolution Gaming and Vivo Gaming. You can fund your live action via trusted payment options like Visa, Paysafecard, Skrill, ecoPayz, and Neteller. Cryptocurrencies like Ethereum, Bitcoin, and Litecoin will also work. King Billy runs a multilingual platform, catering to players from non-English-speaking countries with languages like Japanese, Finnish, German, Czech, and Norwegian.
The live dealer section is home to Evolution Gaming’s full set of electrifying releases including Lightning Roulette, Lightning Baccarat, and Lightning Dice. Players keen on game shows can join the live presenters in Dream Catcher, Football Studio, Crazy Time, and Deal or No Deal. Live blackjack and live casino hold’em are also available in King Billy’s realm.
Casino Joy
The name of this brand is no misnomer – you can indeed experience lots of thrills and joy here, having a choice from over 1,300 spectacular games. Casino Joy operates a multi-software gambling platform, with contributions from industry-renowned names like Play’n GO, Microgaming, Push Gaming, and Big Time Gaming.
Evolution Gaming also has a strong presence on the casino’s software roster. The acclaimed company supplies some of its most iconic live dealer releases to Casino Joy, including Lightning Roulette, Immersive Roulette, Free Bet Blackjack, Super Sic Bo, and Dragon Tiger. Casino Joy takes good care of its customers by implementing a combination of encrypting technologies and PCI-compliant banking solutions.
It carries licenses from major regulatory bodies like the UK Gambling Commission and the Malta Gaming Authority. The operator places special emphasis on responsible gambling, offering players various handy tools like deposit, session and loss limits, temporary breaks, and self-exclusion.
Skol Casino
Launched in March 2021, Skol Casino is one of the newest gambling sites on the market but you should not let its young age dissuade you from giving it a try. The casino features over 2,500 games from the industry’s best software studios, including Microgaming, Red Tiger, Play’n GO, and NetEnt. Its already vast library continues to expand as new releases are being added each week.
Skol offers a worthwhile experience to all fans of live dealer games as its live section features releases from Evolution Gaming and Pragmatic Play. Fans can explore popular titles like Lightning Roulette, Monopoly Live, Dream Catcher, Caribbean Stud Poker, Super Sic Bo, and Mega Ball.
Randomly generated games are also on offer, including table games, scratchcards, progressives, and over 1,700 video slots. You can top up your Skol Casino balance at no extra charge. Withdrawals are also free and instant with e-wallets like Skrill and Neteller.
888casino
Live since 1997, 888 has become one of the largest online gambling brands in the industry. The operator has managed to charm players worldwide by offering them reliable, legal, and comprehensive gambling services. The multi-product brand operates online casino games, bingo, sports betting, and a poker platform.
Many of the randomly generated games run on 888’s in-house software, but the live tables are courtesy of Evolution Gaming and Playtech. Lightning Roulette is among the most popular games in 888’s live casino, attracting several thousand players at a time. Betting starts at $0.50 per spin but high rollers can risk as much as $3,000 on a single round.
The casino caters to game-show fans with many other releases hosted by live presenters. Some of the most prominent examples include Playtech’s Adventures Beyond Wonderland, Gonzo’s Treasure Hunt, Crazy Time, and Spin a Win. You can join the live presenters while on the move since 888casino adapts exceptionally well to mobile devices. Native apps for Android and iOS are also available to mobile users.