Roulette is probably the most popular casino game of all, it's so popular that most bookmakers on the high street have a roulette bandit that anyone can use. In case you don't know what one is, it's a machine in which you can play roulette.

The principals of a roulette bandit in bookmakers are fairly similar to what you expect from online roulette. You're playing against a software program with animations of a roulette wheel to make it seem real.

Horse racing and soccer betting are two of my passions so I spend a lot of my time in the bookmakers and there's never a shortage of addicted gamblers on the roulette bandits. Once you start playing on them they're very addictive and it's so easy to lose your way with them.

Due to the speed of play on a roulette bandit you can lose a lot of money in a matter of seconds and this then leads to larger bets to chase losses and everything gets out of control. After you lose a spin it's so quick and easy to double your next bet only for you to lose again.

I've read numerous reports from compulsive gamblers saying that the roulette bandits are responsible for their addiction and in some cases their ruined life. I read a report in a national newspaper about a man who gambled away a large five figure sum to a roulette bandit over the course of 6 months which ultimately lead to his financial ruin.

Bookmakers are more than aware of people wasting money on these machines, they even accept credit cards on modern roulette bandits making it even easier to spend money on them. The problem with these machines is that they have fixed odds built into the programming and it's impossible to overcome these odds.

Most gamblers have it in their head that if they keep trying new systems they will finally come across a winning one that will help them win their money back so they will keep placing their credit card into the machine.

If playing on roulette bandits is what you chose to do with you spare time then you need to be very careful. In the great scheme of things you may be better of playing roulette in a land based casino or online, the chances are you'll have more fun.