Free fall roulette systems and methods

A gaming system, comprising:

• a ball;
• an ejection mechanism configured to hold the ball prior to initiation of a game and to eject the ball into a circular central area upon initiation of the game;
• the circular central area comprising a plurality of obstacles protruding from a wall of the central area and configured to interact with the ball, wherein the ball is configured to enter an upper portion of the circular central area, traverse downward past the plurality of obstacles, and exit a lower opening of the circular central area;
• a rotatable ring located concentrically outside of the circular central area, wherein the rotatable ring comprises a plurality of pockets, and wherein each pocket is open along a wall annular to the central area and configured to catch the ball exiting the lower opening of the circular central area;
• one or more optical sensors;
• and
• at least one computing device comprising a processor and a memory, the memory comprising instructions, which when executed by the processor, causes the at least one computing device to:
• receive, from a console associated with the computing device, a first gaming amount;
• cause release, from the ejection mechanism, the ball;
• and
• determine, based on information received from the one or more optical sensors, a number associated with the pocket that caught the ball.