Lightning Roulette
Lightning Roulette, Evolution's ingenious modern version of a live casino classic, made real waves in the industry when it launched in April 2018, injecting random multipliers of up to 500x into every round. The launch triggered a slew of awards and led to the release of several Lightning casino games, but the original remains a solid player favourite to this day.
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If you're already a fan of the Lightning Roulette live casino game, read on for little-known facts and hot tips, then play it at PlayOJO to get real money back on every bet with OJOplus.
Quick Facts:
- Released April 2018
- Most successful roulette game in the world
- Bets range from 20p to £5,000
- Max win is 500x bet
- PlayOJO players rate it 4 out of 5 stars
- Biggest PlayOJO win so far is £56,288
- It could be coming to a high street casino near you
Facts and Secrets: Things even regular players may not know!
The Lightning Roulette online live casino game adds an engaging modern twist to a timeless classic with its whopping random multipliers in every round. But there's more to learn about this awesome game! Take a look at some fascinating details that you might not know.
Lightning Roulette Stats
The Lightning Roulette rules are very similar to those of your standard live European roulette game, with one important difference: there are random multipliers of up to 500x on every spin! After all bets are placed, the live host pulls a lever to trigger the random generation of 50x to 500x multipliers on one to five lucky numbers. If one of them comes up and you placed a bet on it, your stake will be multiplied by that amount.
To fund those boosted multipliers, the game's payouts for straight up bets have been reduced from 35/1 to 29/1, but all other bets pay as usual. Despite the reduction, the RTP on straight up bets sits at 97.1%, just 0.2% lower than that of the standard European roulette game.
When it launched in April 2018, live Lightning Roulette was the second major game show release after Dream Catcher (2017) and the first successful modern twist on a classic casino table game. Evolution scored multiple awards for their efforts, including Product Innovation of the Year at the Global Gaming Awards 2018, EGR's Game of the Year 2018 and 2019, and Game of the Year at the American Gambling Awards 2022. It's no wonder they claim it's the world's number one roulette game.
Lightning Roulette sports a unique black and gold, Roaring Twenties, art deco design combined with modern game elements. Its mechanics were inspired by the often random multipliers of slot machines and the showmanship of game shows. Lightning Roulette UK games are broadcast from Evolution's main studio in Riga, Latvia, which boasts advanced camera work, real-time streaming, augmented reality integration, and a team of multilingual live hosts. The developers also have other studios in Tbilisi (Georgia), Malta, Vancouver (Canada), and, most recently, Atlantic City, NJ.
Lightning Roulette Lucky Numbers in Action
Want to see those electric roulette lightning strikes in action? Check out our Lightning Roulette feature video below. After betting time is over and while the ball is still circling the roulette wheel, one to five randomly chosen numbers are each assigned a win multiplier of 50x, 100x, 200x, 300x, 400x, or 500x. Those zaps sure add an extra dimension to the game!
A Lightning Roulette Land-Based Casino Game Was Planned
Evolution's Lightning Roulette was so successful that they discussed a deal with Scientific Games (now Light and Wonder) to launch a land-based version of the game in casinos across North America and around the world. The developers even created the table, screens, and machinery through their associated company DigiWheel.
"When we created Lightning Roulette, this was the first time random computer outcomes had been mixed with physical real-world outcomes in Live Casino," said Todd Haushalter, Chief Product Officer at Evolution. "This is also the first time an Evolution game has been brought into land-based casinos…"
The land-based Lightning Roulette tables were set to be rolled out in 2022 to coincide with the launch of the online game in New Jersey. However, a lawsuit involving both parties has put a (hopefully temporary!) hold on the rollout for the time being.
Five Fascinating Lightning Roulette Facts
We're not done yet! Here are five additional facts and tips about Lightning Roulette that you might not know:
1. What does that lever really do?
In the live game, you'll see the host pulling a very 1920s style electrical lever on the wall to start the random generation of lucky numbers and multipliers. What you might not know is that lever doesn't really do anything. There's no mechanical connection between the lever and the lucky numbers generation, it's just for show! All the important RNG stuff is managed by computers behind the scenes.
2. Some like it hot, some like it cold
Do you play hot or cold numbers? Lightning Roulette makes it really easy to keep an eye on the frequency of those winning numbers. In fact, you can see hot and cold numbers from the past 50 to 500 rounds. Enjoy, trend-spotters!
3. Everybody loves good neighbours
Lightning Roulette is more than just a simple jazzed up version of European Roulette. In the bottom right of the screen you'll see the racetrack, which lets you place neighbours bets like voisins, tiers du cylindre, and orphelins. What a perfect blend.
4. Save your faves
Having a repeat bet option is pretty common in roulette games, but Lightning Roulette goes one better - or should that be 29 better? In this game, you can save a whopping 30 favourite bets for the ultimate time-saver!
5. Lightning Roulette TV Show?
Thanks to a Google blooper (glooper?), the famous search engine actually lists Lightning Roulette Live as a TV show with a first episode air date of October 1, 2022 in Switzerland. Well, it's certainly worth tuning in for!
Why play at PlayOJO?
Lightning Roulette is a hugely popular game that's available at most online casinos, but only at PlayOJO will you get real money back for every spin thanks to OJOplus. And that's not the only benefit of playing this live casino game here:
- Wager-free rewards and bonuses
- Fun daily Reel Spinoffs
- Prize Twister and OJO Wheel mini games
- Early access to big game releases
- More than 6,000 slots and table games
No wagering requirements, a huge games collection, and real money back on every spin with OJOplus? Oh yes!
Other games like this
First Person Lightning Roulette
Looking for the same lightning with a little less live action? The fully RNG driven First Person Lightning Roulette plays just like the live version, but without the host. Just you and those lucky numbers!
XXXtreme Lightning Roulette
The amped up XXXtreme Lightning Roulette takes those multipliers even higher. Up to 10 lucky numbers can be struck by lightning and special red lightning can boost those win multipliers to up to 2,000x!
Lightning Blackjack
Evolution adapted its unique lightning mechanism to the classic card game, with Lightning Blackjack giving you the chance to score 2x to 25x win multipliers. The closer you get to 21, the bigger your win multiplier in the next round!
Our Verdict
Lightning Roulette's big multipliers are a stroke of genius, but from a developer such as Evolution, we expect nothing less. Messing about with a classic such as roulette is always going to be dicey, but the developers pulled it off in style, creating an award-winning game that's become a solid PlayOJO favourite. Now that you're clued up on some insider secrets, whenever you see that lever pull, you can enjoy a little knowing smile!
If you're ready to get real money back on every bet of Lightning Roulette and the rest of our 6,000+ games collection, you can sign up at PlayOJO in 60 seconds or less. You'll even get 50 free spins on top slot Big Bass Bonanza when you make your first deposit - no wagering, no winnings caps.
FAQs
How does Lightning Roulette work?
Because the payouts odds for some numbers are boosted on every spin of Lightning Roulette – potentially up to 499 to 1, something has to give. Either the entire game’s RTP needs to change, or some of the odds need to be cut. Evolution decided to go with the latter. So what you give up in regular Straight Up payouts, you get back in (admittedly very occasional) boosted payout odds if your Lucky Number comes in.
Is Lightning Roulette better than normal roulette?
Lightning Roulette is better than a standard European roulette game because of the chance to win up to 500x your straight up bet. However, the downside is non-lightning straight up bets only pay 29/1, compared to the standard 35/1, to cover the lightning multipliers.
Is there a Lightning Roulette demo?
Unfortunately, like most live dealer games, there is no Lightning Roulette demo. That said, you can watch Lightning Roulette live for free and when you're ready to get involved, betting starts at just 20p!
What is the best Lightning Roulette strategy?
The short answer is there is no Lightning Roulette strategy. Just like our advice for standard roulette strategy, there really isn't any sort of strategy that will teach you how to win at roulette because the outcome of the game is driven by a Random Number Generator (RNG). However, you can still have fun exploring the most common roulette numbers, for example.
Why should I play Lightning Roulette at PlayOJO?
PlayOJO is the ideal place to play Lightning Roulette, mainly because you get real money back for every bet on the game, thanks to OJOplus. You'll also get to enjoy wager-free rewards, no-limit withdrawals, and no-cap winnings, and use your favourite payment methods.