Roulette appears by name in a 1788 gambling treatise preserved by the Bibliothèque nationale de France. Monte Carlo’s operator documents its casino opening in spring 1863. These are dated pieces of evidence; neither establishes a single inventor of every game later called roulette.
A surviving 1788 source
P.-N. Huyn’s La théorie des jeux de hasard includes roulette among the games named in its title. Hachette-BnF’s facsimile listing identifies the original publication as 1788 and its own edition as 2013.
Reading an old title requires care. A game using the word roulette need not have the same pockets, layout or payout schedule as a modern European wheel. Historical wagers need to be checked against their own rules before comparison with a present-day table. A title establishes that a game was discussed; it does not establish that its rules match today’s game.
Monte Carlo’s documented nineteenth-century chapter
Société des Bains de Mer dates its foundation by royal decree to 1863 and records the casino opening that spring. Its own history places the creation of Monte Carlo in 1863–1866, followed by the opening of the predecessor to Café de Paris in 1868.
The operator’s casino press dossier credits François Blanc with the casino’s 1863 opening. That is the operator’s historical account. It supports this part of the casino’s story, while a claim of sole invention of roulette would require a broader archival comparison.
Scroll to compare all columns
| Date | What this source establishes |
|---|---|
| 1788 | Huyn’s published title explicitly includes roulette |
| 1863 | SBM’s foundation and spring casino opening, according to its company history |
| 1863–1866 | The period SBM identifies with the creation of Monte Carlo |
| 1868 | Opening of the predecessor to Café de Paris in SBM’s account |
Why the familiar invention story needs more evidence
A claim that one famous mathematician invented the modern casino game needs a dated description or object connecting that person to the wheel and rules. Repetition across modern websites cannot supply that missing connection. The sources reviewed here do not establish a Pascal invention date, so this chronology assigns him none.
Dates on facsimile sales pages can also describe the modern reprint. Hachette-BnF’s listing distinguishes its later edition from the original 1788 publication. Keeping those dates separate avoids moving an eighteenth-century source into the twenty-first century.
History does not choose today’s rules
For play, use the casino’s current rules and exact wheel. Our European versus American guide explains the modern pocket-count distinction, and the house-edge guide derives the corresponding arithmetic. Historical prestige does not change those calculations.
This article uses documents and operator records, not firsthand claims of visiting a historic casino. New archival findings may broaden the chronology; they should arrive with a traceable date and source.
Sources and scope
- Rules of Play for Table Games, Roulette. British Columbia Lottery Corporation. Double-zero standard payout table and placement. European pocket count is independently verified from native Wheel.
Publication date: not stated. Checked 2026-11-07.
- La théorie des jeux de hasard, par P.-N. Huyn. Bibliothèque nationale de France / Gallica. Bibliographic date1788 and explicit roulette title; historical wager text is not treated as modern roulette rules. Modern facsimile dates distinguished via Hachette-BnF publisher listing. No archival images reused.
Publication date: 1788. Checked 2026-11-08.
- History of the company. Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer. Operator's own chronology: foundation1863, casino opening spring1863, creation of MonteCarlo1863–1866, predecessor Café de Paris1868. Blanc attribution on page is explicitly operator's account corroborated by its casino press dossier; no universal sole-invention claim.
Publication date: not stated. Checked 2026-11-08.