The only difference between European Roulette and American Roulette is the 00 Slot; there isn’t one in the European game. While this seems a small difference, it has a big impact over time as it affects the house odds.
Here is how the odds work with roulette. The house pays 35 to 1, but on an American wheel there are 38 possible results, 00 plus 0 – 36; this means the odds of landing on a single option are 38-1. On the European game there are 37 possible results, just 0 – 36, so odds are 37-1. Because the house does not pay out on a 38-1 or 37-1 basis, the house pays out less over time than it takes in. This puts the house edge for the European game at 2.7% – and the American house edge at 5.26%.
This means over time players are loosing, on average, more with the American game.
European Roulette, also called Single Zero Roulette, can be fairly competitive with blackjack on odds, even though the blackjack house odds are so low (ranging from half a percent to two percent) thanks to the slower pace. An hour of roulette will have many fewer bets than an hour of blackjack. When you add in the en prison rule that some Single Zero games have , the edge can drop to 1.35%!