Lightning Roulette is another of Evolution Gaming’s innovations, and it adds an extra dimension to the standard game of European roulette.
Dramatic music pumps up the tension and the additional lightning feature creates potential for much higher payouts.
It’s a live game too so the host can make the game even more engaging and keep things upbeat and snappy.
Lightning Strikes
The only difference between Lightning Roulette and standard roulette, is that before each round begins up to 5 numbers will be chosen by the game’s RNG to give extra payouts if the ball lands in their pocket.
You can see in the image below how these numbers are revealed.
You will also notice the multiplier that is attached to each number, and this can range as follows:
- 50x
- 100x
- 150x
- 200x
- 300x
- 400x
- 500x
The lightning numbers will be highlighted on the board too, so you can easily see if you have any of them covered.
This is all staged quite well from an entertainment perspective too because the host pulls a lever which sets the process in motion (it doesn’t really, it’s just for show, but it does add a bit of theatre), before lightning animations interact with the interface.
It goes without saying that the lightning numbers are only chosen once betting has closed, and you only benefit from the win multiplier if you have made a straight up bet on the number in question. Any other bet, even if they include that number such as a ‘1st 12’ bet, will only payout the standard amount.
RTP
The usual payout for a winning straight up bet is 35:1, but in this game it is only 29:1. This is to allow for the multipliers that have been added in.
This brings down the theoretical return to player percentage for straight up bets down to 97.10%, whereas all other bets made on this game sit at the usual level for European roulette with is 97.30%.
About Lightning Roulette
Unveiled in 2018, Lightning Roulette was a revolution for live roulette since before then innovation in this area had been a little lacking.
This creative thinking was rewarded with Evolution winning three awards for their work in the same year:
- Innovation in Live Casino at SBC Awards 2018
- Game of the Year at the EGR Operator Awards
- Product Innovation of the Year at Global Gaming Awards, G2E Las Vegas
The company has since gone on the launch of range of ‘Lightning’ games including Dice and Baccarat.
But perhaps the biggest compliment of all is that their business rivals have taken ‘inspiration’ from their work. Playtech’s Quantum Roulette is almost a carbon copy of Lightning Roulette, although they have admittedly added a little something extra to their version.