La partage meaning in roulette

La partage meaning: half your stake back on zero

Partage is French for sharing or dividing. At the roulette table, it describes a split of a losing even-money bet between you and the house. On a standard single-zero wheel, a zero result makes every red, black, odd, even, 1 to 18 and 19 to 36 bet lose. Under la partage you lose only half, and the other half returns to your balance straight away.

Strictly, French grammar would make it le partage, and you will see both spellings in game rules. They mean the same thing. The rule belongs to French roulette, the single-zero game with French layout labels such as rouge, noir, pair and impair, and it is the main reason that version is cheaper to play than European roulette.

How la partage works on a single spin

1. You place an even-money bet, for example £10 on rouge (red).
2. The ball lands on 0, so red does not win.
3. Instead of collecting all £10, the table keeps £5 and returns £5 to you.
4. The round is settled. Nothing is held over to the next spin, which is the main difference from en prison.

Bets on numbers, splits, corners, dozens and columns settle as normal on zero, so the rule only helps the six outside bets that pay 1:1.

La partage house edge: what the rule saves

A single-zero wheel has 37 pockets. An even-money bet covers 18 of them and pays 1:1, so without any special rule the casino’s long-run share is 1 in 37, or 2.70%. Returning half the stake on zero removes half of that, which gives about 1.35%. Those figures match the standard roulette analysis in the Wizard of Odds roulette guide (opens in a new tab).

For comparison, a double-zero wheel charges about 5.26% on most bets, so an even-money bet under la partage costs roughly a quarter of what the same stake costs on American roulette.

La partage in pounds: a worked example

Say you play 370 spins at £10 on black, which is £3,700 in total stakes. On average, zero appears 10 times in 370 spins.

• Without la partage: each of those 10 zeros costs the full £10, and the expected loss over the run is about £100 (2.70% of £3,700).
• With la partage: each zero costs £5 instead, so the expected loss falls to about £50 (1.35% of £3,700).
• What it does not change: your 18 in 37 chance of winning any single spin, or the size of normal swings. A run of eight blacks missing in a row still happens.

Fifty pounds saved over 370 spins is real, but it only exists as an average. The bankroll basics guide shows how to size stakes so a normal losing streak doesn’t end the session early.

La partage vs en prison: which is better?

Both rules protect even-money bets from zero. En prison locks your stake for one more spin rather than refunding half; if the bet then wins, you get the stake back with no profit. The long-run edge lands in the same place, about 1.35% to 1.39% depending on what the table does if zero comes up again. La partage settles immediately and is easier to follow, so many online French tables use it. Some tables offer both and let you choose.

Where to find la partage at UK online casinos

Look for tables named French roulette, or for a rule line in the help screen mentioning la partage or le partage. Some live studios run French tables with the rule, and certain RNG European tables add it too, but many European games do not. Never assume: read the payout section first. Our guides to online roulette and how to play live roulette show where the rules sit on screen.

UK rules that sit alongside la partage

Roulette is not covered by the £5 and £2 online slot stake limits, so maximum bets come from the table. Since 17 January 2025, RNG roulette must leave at least 5 seconds between rounds and offer no autoplay; our page on table game speed rules explains the detail. Demo versions are only available after age verification, a requirement the Gambling Commission describes in its age and ID verification guide (opens in a new tab). If you want a break from gambling sites altogether, GAMSTOP (opens in a new tab) lets you self-exclude from all of them at once, free.

Licensed UK casinos to look for French roulette

Coral and PlayOJO both hold UK Gambling Commission licences. Coral’s app lists roulette and live casino, and PlayOJO lists live casino, but neither page we rely on confirms a French table with la partage, so check the lobby and the table rules. Both welcome offers are for slots rather than roulette. Coral: 18+, new players, from 1 October 2026 to 1 February 2027; deposit with an eligible method and bet £10 on slots for 100 free spins on selected games at 10p each, accept within 48 hours, use within 7 days, no wagering on winnings. PlayOJO: 18+, new UK customers outside Northern Ireland; a first deposit of at least £10 brings 80 free spins at 10p on Big Bass Bonanza, no wagering, cash winnings, not combinable with other offers. Terms apply. See also the roulette bonus explainer and the full casino glossary.

18+. Gambling should be entertainment that costs money, not a way to make it. Set a deposit limit before you play: how to set deposit limits. Free, confidential help: National Gambling Helpline 0808 8020 133.