Playing roulette in land casinos can never get boring. The long roulette tables, the glamorous players, the wagering etiquette and the hustle bustle around the wheel provide continuous excitement. Online roulette on the other hand can become a dull game after some time. The lack of player interaction is inherent the game and there are no redeeming features. Unless someone is really passionate about the game it makes sense to seek out online roulette games with site bets that adds to the excitement.

The most popular online roulette game with a side bet is Roulette Royale from Microgaming. The side bet is towards a progressive jackpot, but there are smaller payouts as well. The player has to wager a compulsory side bet of $1 with every spin. If any number is called consecutively two times then the payout is $15; if any number is called consecutively three times then the payout is $200, if any number is called consecutively four times then the payout is $3,000 and ______ if any number is called consecutively five times then the progressive jackpot is hit. The player wins the earlier payouts as well. Since the player has to wager $1 for the side bet for each spin the player has to make a cumulative wager of $5 before he can hit the progressive jackpot.

Players need to take a cautionary note for side bets in online casino games. These bets tend to offer lower average payout percentages. Therefore these bets should not be placed on a continuous basis, but only occasionally to alleviate the boredom. The problem with Roulette Royal is that the side bet is compulsory and the players cannot wager on the normal spin without placing the side bet.

A recently released online roulette game from WagerWorks gets rid of this problem by offering a voluntary side bet. This game is Roulette with Hot Streak Bonus. Players can wager on the normal roulette game without placing the side bet. Then when they would like some excitement they can start playing with the side bet. And they can discontinue the side bet whenever they want. The numbers are divided into six Hot Streak groupings. The numbers from 1 to 6 form one group, the numbers from 7 to 12 another group and so on. Players can place bets on one or more of these. If a number from the selected group is called in the spin a Hot Streak gets initiated. The payout for the first number within the Hot Streak is 2X. The payouts for the next five numbers falling within the same Hot Streak group are 12X, 100X, 250X, 1,000X and 25,000X. Players continue to remain in the Hot Streak as long as the new spin results in a number in the same Hot Streak group. The Hot Streak will get over only if a number outside the selected group is called or if the player wins the highest Hot Streak payout.

Roulette with Hot Streak Bonus has some advantages of Roulette Royale. The same side bet continues as long as the player wins the side bets and hence lower investments are required. Since the winning number has to be in a group of six and not a single number the chances of payouts are greater. The player can wager only on the side bet. The disadvantage is that the payouts are lower.