Online craps in Quebec: rules, odds and how bubble craps works
Craps is the dice game where one roll can settle a dozen different bets at once, and where the gap between the best and worst bet on the layout is wider than in almost any other casino game. In Quebec you will find it in two forms: on the electronic tables of La Zone in Loto-Québec casinos, often called bubble craps, and online as a live dealer or software game. This guide explains how a round works, gives the payout and real house edge of every common bet, shows why the odds bet is the only bet in the casino with no edge, and explains how bubble craps machines roll their dice.
The odds below are calculated from the 36 possible rolls of two dice and the payouts set in New Jersey's craps rules, a standard published reference. Check the payout table of the game you actually play: a lower payout on any bet raises its edge.
How a round works
Craps is played in rounds built around the shooter's first roll, the come-out roll.
- 7 or 11 on the come-out is a "natural": pass line bets win. This happens 8 times in 36, or 22.2% of come-out rolls.
- 2, 3 or 12 on the come-out is "craps": pass line bets lose. This happens 4 times in 36, or 11.1%.
- Any other total (4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10) becomes the point, 66.7% of the time. The shooter keeps rolling. If the point comes again before a 7, pass line bets win. If a 7 comes first, they lose and the dice pass to the next shooter.
Once a point is set, the shooter makes it 40.6% of the time on average: 33.3% for a 4 or 10, 40.0% for a 5 or 9 and 45.5% for a 6 or 8. Put together, a pass line bet wins 244 times in 495, or 49.29%, and a decision takes about 3.4 rolls on average.
The 36 rolls behind every bet
Every number on the layout comes from this table. Two dice can land 36 ways, and the 7 is the most common total.
| Total | Ways to roll it | Probability |
|---|---|---|
| 2 or 12 | 1 each | 2.78% each |
| 3 or 11 | 2 each | 5.56% each |
| 4 or 10 | 3 each | 8.33% each |
| 5 or 9 | 4 each | 11.11% each |
| 6 or 8 | 5 each | 13.89% each |
| 7 | 6 | 16.67% |
Payouts and house edge of every common bet
| Bet | What it is | Pays | House edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pass line / come | Wins on 7 or 11, then on the point before a 7 | 1 to 1 | 1.41% |
| Don't pass / don't come | The opposite, with 12 on the come-out a push | 1 to 1 | 1.36% |
| Odds behind pass or come | Extra bet after a point is set | True odds | 0% |
| Place 6 or 8 | 6 or 8 before a 7 | 7 to 6 | 1.52% |
| Place 5 or 9 | 5 or 9 before a 7 | 7 to 5 | 4.00% |
| Place 4 or 10 | 4 or 10 before a 7 | 9 to 5 | 6.67% |
| Place to lose 6 or 8 | 7 before a 6 or 8 | 4 to 5 | 1.82% |
| Place to lose 5 or 9 | 7 before a 5 or 9 | 5 to 8 | 2.50% |
| Place to lose 4 or 10 | 7 before a 4 or 10 | 5 to 11 | 3.03% |
| Field | One roll: 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11 or 12 | 1 to 1, 2 to 1 on 2 and 12 | 5.56% |
| Hard 6 or 8 | Doubles (3 and 3, 4 and 4) before a 7 or the easy way | 9 to 1 | 9.09% |
| Hard 4 or 10 | Doubles (2 and 2, 5 and 5) before a 7 or the easy way | 7 to 1 | 11.11% |
| Any craps | One roll: 2, 3 or 12 | 7 to 1 | 11.11% |
| 3 or 11 | One roll | 15 to 1 | 11.11% |
| 2 or 12 | One roll | 30 to 1 | 13.89% |
| Any seven | One roll: 7 | 4 to 1 | 16.67% |
The pattern is simple. The bets at the edge of the layout that new players notice first, the pass and don't pass lines, are among the best in the casino. The colourful one-roll bets in the middle carry an edge 8 to 12 times higher. A $10 any seven bet loses $1.67 on average every time you make it; a $10 pass line bet loses about 14 cents per decision.
The field looks generous because it covers seven totals, but those totals add up to only 16 of the 36 rolls. It wins 44.4% of the time, and the double payout on 2 and 12 does not make up the difference.
The odds bet: the only bet with no edge
After a point is set, you can add an odds bet behind your pass line (or come) bet. It wins if the point is made and pays at true odds, meaning exactly what the risk is worth:
- 4 or 10: 2 to 1 (3 ways to win against 6 ways to lose)
- 5 or 9: 3 to 2 (4 against 6)
- 6 or 8: 6 to 5 (5 against 6)
Because the payout matches the probability, the odds bet has no house edge at all. It does not change the edge on your pass line bet, but it lowers the edge on your total money at risk:
| Odds taken | Combined house edge |
|---|---|
| No odds | 1.41% |
| 1x | 0.85% |
| 2x | 0.61% |
| 3x, 4x, 5x (on 4/10, 5/9, 6/8) | 0.37% |
| 10x | 0.18% |
| 100x | 0.02% |
The table limit sets how far you can go. On Interblock's electronic craps game approved in Washington State in 2025, for example, the casino sets the odds limit anywhere from 2x to 100x the base bet. The edge falls, but the swings grow with the size of the odds bet, so take odds you can afford to lose.
Bubble craps: how electronic craps rolls the dice
"Bubble craps" is the common name for electronic craps tables where the dice are thrown inside a clear dome instead of by hand. The Washington State Gambling Commission's 2025 approval letter for Interblock's Craps Shoot to Win describes how one such machine works:
- A dice-shaking table inside a clear Plexiglass dome vibrates and launches two large dice, each 88 mm square and about 250 g.
- Sensors read RFID tags in the dice and the result appears on screen, while a camera sends live video of the dice to the player stations.
- Eight player stations surround the dome. Each has a touchscreen, a shooter button and a ticket printer. Only the designated shooter's button is active, and the dice are shot automatically if the shooter waits too long.
- The game offers the usual craps bets (pass, don't pass, come, odds, place, field, hardways, proposition bets) plus optional side games.
Because the outcome comes from real dice, the probabilities are the same as on a live table. The house edge on each bet depends only on the payouts the game uses, so the table above still applies when the payouts match.
Where craps fits in Quebec
Canada's Criminal Code limits who can run a dice game. Under paragraph 207(4)(c), a game operated on or through a dice game is excluded from the lottery schemes that charities, fairs and exhibitions can be licensed to run, so craps is left to the province itself. In Quebec, that means Loto-Québec.
Loto-Québec's list of live table games at its casinos in Montréal, Lac-Leamy, Charlevoix, Mont-Tremblant and Trois-Rivières does not include craps. Craps is offered in La Zone, the electronic table area, where Loto-Québec lists a $1 minimum bet for craps, lets you play up to four games at once and shows results on giant screens with a host running the room. The games on offer vary by casino. Our guide to La Zone and the salons de jeux covers the venues.
Online, live dealer craps arrived in November 2020, when Evolution announced the first online live craps game, with an "Easy Mode" and a tutorial for new players. Software craps games use a random number generator in place of dice. Free craps simulators and demo modes are useful to learn the layout, and a fair game uses the same 36-roll probabilities whether you play for free or for money. Our guide to online gambling law in Quebec explains how Loto-Québec's site and offshore sites fit together.
Three habits that keep the edge low
- Stick to pass, come, don't pass and don't come. All four sit around 1.4%.
- Add odds when you can afford them. They carry no edge and bring the combined edge under 1% at 1x odds.
- If you want more action, place the 6 and 8. At 1.52% they are the only place bets close to the line bets. Skip the one-roll bets in the middle of the layout.
No betting system changes these numbers: each roll is independent, and every bet keeps its edge no matter what came before. If craps stops feeling like entertainment, Jeu : aide et référence is free and confidential at 1-800-461-0140.
Sources
- N.J.A.C. 13:47-20.25, Rules of the game of craps: come-out outcomes, don't pass bar 12, place, field and proposition payouts (Cornell LII)
- Washington State Gambling Commission, approval letter for Interblock Craps Shoot to Win electronic table game (February 18, 2025, PDF)
- Justice Laws, Criminal Code, section 207, paragraph 207(4)(c) (current to October 19, 2026)
- Loto-Québec, Casino table games by destination
- Loto-Québec, La Zone (games, minimum bets, hours)
- Evolution, launch of the first online live craps game (release, November 13, 2020)
- Probabilities, house edges and combined odds edges calculated from the 36 outcomes of two dice and the payouts above.
Key terms
- House edge
- The cut a game is built to keep for the casino on average, shown as a percentage of what you bet.
- Return to player (RTP)
- Return to player ("taux de retour"): the share of all bets a game is built to pay back over a huge number of rounds.
- Live dealer games
- Table games streamed live from a studio with a real dealer. Physical cards, wheels or dice decide what happens.
- Random number generator (RNG)
- An RNG (random number generator, "générateur de nombres aléatoires") is the software that decides slot and table game results. Labs certify it.
- Volatility
- How much a game's results swing around. High volatility: rare big wins. Low volatility: frequent small ones.