Lightning Roulette

Lightning Roulette is an exclusive roulette variant from Evolution with a bonus element to further spice up the game. If you are familiar with roulette with European rules - the most common variant both online and in land-based casinos (with one zero) - Lightning Roulette will be easy to understand.

A round of betting proceeds as it always has in the classic game, but with an exciting addition; when the betting window closes, three random events are introduced:

1. the number (1-5) of numbers where lightning can strike
2. on which numbers (0-36) the lightning strikes, and
3. how big a multiplier (50x-500x) each lightning strike represents.

For a more detailed breakdown on the rules of roulette, variants, bet types and payouts, check out our roulette guide.

It is worth noting that only "Straight bets", i.e., single number bets placed directly on one number are multiplied. Another important point is that the payout for single bets that are not affected by a lightning strike only pays 30x (29:1), unlike the standard payout in European roulette which is otherwise 36x (35:1). This is in other words where the multiplier money is coming from.

The return to player (RTP) remains unchanged and the same as in classic roulette at 97.3%.

In 2022, Evolution launched a version with even more (up to 10) and higher multipliers (up to 2000x). It's called XXXtreme Lightning Roulette and is an obvious choice for those who like Lightning Roulette - however, starting with this original is recommended.

The driving force behind Lightning Roulette are the multipliers that are randomly generated during each game round. Every round lightning will strike the board and add a multiplier to selected numbers. This happens after the bets are locked.

The gameplay sequence is basically three random draws:

1. The number of lightning strikes is decided: up to five (5) but at least one (1) per round.
2. Where the lightning will strike (0-36), depending on the above.
3. The size of the multipliers on each position.

There are six different sizes of multipliers and only one of each can occur during a game round:

• 50x
• 100x
• 200x
• 300x
• 400x
• 500x

Only "straight" bets are multiplied, i.e., if you place a chip directly on the number. Adjacent bets like corners and doubles are not affected by the multiplier. The same applies to all "outside" bets such as dozens, columns, or similar.

Lightning Roulette is played with European rules which, as you know, means that there are 37 numbers on the wheel, from "0" to "36". All the game's classic betting options are available, and the payout schedule looks like it has for the last century, with the exception that a straight bet on single numbers is lowered from 35:1 to 29:1.

The reduced payout on straight bets is made to balance out the effect of the multiplier. The total theoretical payback to players is the same as in regular European roulette, a nice 97.3%, which stands up very well even against slot machines with the highest RTP.

Since it is only straight bets that can be multiplied make sure to incorporate them in your betting strategy. Otherwise, you might as well play any other regular roulette.

Note that there are no foolproof strategies, but this does not mean we should completely opt out of strategic plays, they can still be fun.

For instance, we find pattern plays like Third Column Black (bet on black and the top column - see pic below), with some straight bets on red numbers NOT in the third column, to be exciting. The main idea is that the third column has more red numbers than black (8 vs 4), so with an additional bet on black we cover a nice portion of the board.

Add some straight bets on red numbers, say 7, 16 and 19, and we got a neat Lightning Roulette strategy.

The main principle can be used to tweak this; Bet the middle column and red, and then find straight bets on black numbers in the top and bottom columns. Maybe there is a way to build this around your lucky number(s)?

Since roulette has an element of strategy in the form of the many different betting options, the volatility also varies. If you bet every round on black, the volatility is low and if you play straight single bets, the volatility is higher, which is the case with all variants of roulette.

The Lightning variant from Evolution can be seen as extra high considering the multipliers and the lower payout on straight bets - combined with the fact that the RTP we went through above is unchanged and the same as for classic rules.