{{About, the lottery game of Belle, the gambling game using cards also called Belle for short, Belle, Flux et Trente-et-Un
Belle is a
lottery
A lottery (or lotto) is a form of gambling that involves the drawing of numbers at random for a prize. Some governments outlaw lotteries, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find som ...
-like
gambling game
Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three elem ...
, similar to
Biribi
Biribi, biribissi (in Italian), or cavagnole (in French), is an Italian game of chance similar to roulette, played for low stakes. It is played on a board on which the numbers 1 to 70 are marked. The game was banned in Italy in 1837.
The playe ...
and Cavagnole, that was brought from Italy to Paris in the 17th century.
It needs a board with 104 numbers in 13 rows of 8 numbers, on which - similar to
roulette
Roulette (named after the French language, French word meaning "little wheel") is a casino game which was likely developed from the Italy, Italian game Biribi. In the game, a player may choose to place a bet on a single number, various grouping ...
- the bets are placed, and a bag containing 104 numbers from which the winning number is drawn.
Depending on the agreement, 100 times or 96 times the bet will be refunded in the event of a win, i.e. the
odds
In probability theory, odds provide a measure of the probability of a particular outcome. Odds are commonly used in gambling and statistics. For example for an event that is 40% probable, one could say that the odds are or
When gambling, o ...
are 99:1 or 95:1, respectively, the bank advantage is 4/104 = 3.85% or 8/104 = 7.69%.
In addition to betting on a single number, punters may also bet on a row of 13 numbers or a column of 8.
"Belle (with boards and numbers)" was included in the list of games prohibited in Austria-Hungary by the Imperial and Royal Ministry of Justice.