The Difference Between American and European Roulette is a Zero! Any additional side bets with an extra well in the wheel will affect the odds, much like the extra zero. It is important to understand that there are these two basic wheel setups, because it affects the odds that you’ll get when you play. In addition to this, you’ll also see plenty of other variations online, but most are variations on a European roulette wheel, such as 3 Wheel Roulette, French Roulette (uses a European wheel but plays La Partage Rule) and Double Bonus Spin Roulette, for example. American Roulette versus European Roulette The wheel consists of 36 roulette numbers and either one or two zero pockets. The distribution of the numbers on the wheel is also different, as you can see on the images below, and some bets are unique to one variant over another. You can either spin an American Roulette wheel that has two zero pockets, or you can play on a European Roulette wheel that has one zero pocket (check out the basic European Roulette at Playtech which is a no frills version of this game).
When you are playing roulette, you have two choices on the type of wheel to play on.