arrow-up
Roulette77

Free

online

Support UkraineSupport Ukraine

Are there illegal or banned roulette strategies?

Last updated: 01.03.2024 by Andrew Shepard

Almost every roulette player is aware of the existence of strategies and systems developed for this game. Most of them have tried to increase their chances of winning by playing with a certain strategy at least once. However, even these players are not entirely sure if this is something “legal” or not. Below, we will clear all your doubts about this topic and talk in detail about the legality of roulette strategies.

Are roulette strategies illegal?

As a general rule, all strategies that are based on mathematical principles and do not require any physical intervention in the game are legal. You can increase or decrease the amount of your wagers according to a certain principle, or you can try your luck only on certain bets: no casino, whatever the type, can prohibit doing these. If using a roulette strategy is stated to be “illegal and/or prohibited”, you are playing at an unreliable and unlicensed casino. You can use any roulette strategy at any legal & licensed casino, with a few exceptions (*), which we will mention below. Casinos cannot cancel your membership or refuse to pay you just because you are using strategies or systems.

(*) These exceptions are not directly related to using a strategy. It's about bypassing a certain condition using strategies or interfering with the integrity of the site/business.

There is no banned roulette system in land-based casinos

Simply put, you can use any roulette strategy in land-based casinos as long as you don't interfere with the game table, don't cheat, and act according to casino etiquette. Whether you double the wager amount after each loss or simply place odd/even bets, the casino cannot prohibit these actions or consider any of them as cheating. In this context:

  • You can use strategies that ask you to increase or decrease the stake according to the win/loss result (e.g., Martingale, d'Alembert, Labouchere, etc)
  • You can use strategies that allow you to cover as much of the wheel as possible by making certain bets (e.g., James Bond, 36, Red Betting, etc.)

It is not possible to say that there is a banned roulette system in land-based casinos. Some casinos even encourage players to use a strategy. However, under no circumstances will you be allowed to:

  • Interfering with the game table: Do not try to touch the wheel, the ball, or the chips on the table, especially while a game is going on. You should even avoid putting your hands on the table.
  • Cheating: Using magnets or minicomputers, croupier manipulation (for example, trying to distract the croupier)
  • Violating the casino etiquette: Disturbing other players, placing personal items on the game table, using a smartphone or tablet PC while a game is in progress, recording with a camera, etc.

Banned roulette strategies at online casinos

The above explanations also apply to a large extent to online casinos too. Casinos that offer their services online cannot prohibit using a particular roulette strategy or consider it illegal. In many ways, they make it even easier to do: for example, in almost every RNG or live roulette game, the last 10 spin results are displayed on the screen. There are even games that display hot/cold numbers. Such visual aids make it much easier to use certain strategies.

This is the general rule, and there is no such thing as “banned roulette strategies” in online casinos. However, some exceptions may be set for each game, including roulette, in order to preserve the integrity of the website and ensure that a service/feature is used in accordance with the terms of use. At casino sites, you will not be able to:

  • Use software/bots to predict results: You cannot use a software/bot to predict results at roulette (or any other game). This is because such practices can violate site security and integrity, not because they actually work. We can compare this to the prohibition of interfering with the game table in land-based casinos.
  • Use a low-risk strategy to simplify wagering requirements: If you have used a bonus, you will need to wager a certain amount of money, this is called a wagering requirement. Casinos require this to ensure you remain a member for a certain period of time after claiming a bonus. While wagering requirements are active, you may be prohibited from using low-risk strategies to facilitate this process. An example of this is to place only red/black bets. There are two things to be aware of here: first, this ban will only be valid while the wagering requirement is active. Second, breaking the ban will not cause your membership to be canceled or your payments denied, it will just void your bonus. Read carefully the terms of use of both the website and the bonus to see if there is such a condition.

In addition, although not expressly prohibited, certain roulette strategies may be practically impossible to use due to wagering conditions. The best example of this is the maximum bet limit applied until the wagering requirements are met. Almost every casino states that you can bet up to 5 USD during the wagering process. Placing a bigger bet will cancel the bonus. Once again, this is required, so you stay as a member for a long time. Unfortunately, this also makes it almost impossible to use progressive strategies like Martingale, as after just a few rounds, you will reach the betting limit.

With the exceptions mentioned above, if an online casino cancels your membership or refuses to pay because you are using "banned roulette strategies”, do not hesitate to contact the authorities. By complaining to the licensing authority of that casino, you can initiate an investigation and exercise your other legal rights too. Such behavior is serious enough to result in the cancellation of the relevant casino's license. Of course, remember that to be able to do all this, you must first play at licensed & legal casinos. If you are playing in unlicensed “rogue” casino sites, unfortunately, there is nothing you can do.

Any questions? Ask our Roulette Wizard!
Ask question