Casino House Edge Explained (& How It’s Calculated)

If you have ever wondered how online UK casinos make a profit, you have come to the right place. In this blog post, we will discuss all there is to know about casino house edge, how the casino house edge is calculated, what a good house edge is, and if you can beat the house edge.

What Does House Edge Mean In a Casino? 

All casinos have a house edge. The house edge is essentially a casino’s built-in advantage over its players. Every casino game will have its own house edge; slots, roulette, blackjack, craps, and more.

The casino needs a house edge to make a profit. Having a house edge makes land-based and online casinos money, and if they didn’t do this, there wouldn’t be a casino! It doesn’t matter where you decide to play casino games; you cannot escape the house edge!

How Is Casino House Edge Calculated? 

Knowing the house edge of a casino game is excellent knowledge and can help the player understand what could be the most profitable for them. A casino game with a high house edge will most likely pay out less over time. Conversely, a casino game with a low house edge may pay out more over time.

How exactly is house edge calculated? Let us explain in the simplest terms. Here’s an equation you can use to work out the casino house edge:

• House edge = 100 – RTP% (Return to Player percentage)

Let’s go through a few examples together.

The RTP of European roulette is 97.3%. To work out the house edge, we will need to subtract 97.3 from 100.

• House edge of European roulette = 100 – 97.3% = 2.7%

The RTP of the popular slot Starburst is 96.09%. To work out the house edge, we will need to subtract 96.09 from 100.

• House edge of Starburst = 100 – 96.09% = 3.94%

Once you have had a bit of practice, it’s quite easy to work out the house edge of a casino game. You can find the RTP of a slot or casino game in the paytable or game’s rules.

What Is a Good House Edge? 

The casino edge is known as the casino advantage. This is the profit a casino makes. Therefore, for a house edge to be potentially good (for the player), it needs to be low. A low house edge could be the most profitable for players and potentially provide more wins. 

What Is The House Edge For Most Casino Games? 

Here are various popular casino games and their house edge percentage. These figures are theoretical and just a guide as they can differ from casino to casino and may change over time.

Casino Game	House Edge
European Roulette	2.70%
American Roulette	5.26%
French Roulette	1.35%
Blackjack	0.42% – 1.5%
Video Poker	0.46%
Caribean Stud Poker	5.22%
Texas Hold ‘Em	2.19%
Keno	25 – 29%
Craps	0% – 16.67%
Online Slots	1% – 16%

What Casino Game Has The Lowest House Edge?

The casino game with the lowest house edge is, usually, blackjack. There are different forms of blackjack, and it’s the Classic Blackjack which has the lowest house edge.

Classic Blackjack tends to have a house edge of 0.5%, which is quite low. There are many online slots that can potentially have a lower house edge too. These tend to be slots with a high RTP. 

What Is The House Edge on Slot Machines? 

All online slot machines have a house edge. This is the amount the casino makes on a slot machine over time. Every slot machine has a different house edge. This can be as little as 1% or as much as 15%, or more. You generally can’t find a house edge lower than 1%! When choosing slots to play, you may prefer to play slot games online with a low house edge.

As we mentioned earlier, you can work out the house edge of some top online slots with a low house edge using this equation:

• House edge = 100 – RTP% (Return to Player percentage)

Let’s work out the house edge of Well of Wilds Megaways. Well of Wilds Megaways has a RTP of 95.67%. Using our equation, 100 – 95.67% (the RTP of Well of Wilds Megaways) = 4.33%. The house edge of this slot is 4.33%.

Well of Wilds Megaways is a fun Irish-themed, low house edge slot by Red Tiger Gaming. It’s a megaways slot with up to 117,649 ways to win. Well of Wilds Megaways has many exciting features, including a well of wilds feature, lucky spins feature, and lucky wishes feature. There are also 3 jackpot prizes potentially up for grabs too.

Let’s look at another top slot that you can play here, at King Casino. Merlin’s Grimoire has a RTP of 96.20%. Using our equation, 100 – 96.20% (the RTP of Merlin’s Grimoire) = 3.80%. The house edge of this slot is 3.80%.

Merlin’s Grimoire is a 5 reel and up to 7,776 ways to win slot, based on King Arthur’s famous wizard, Merlin. Some of the features in this slot include splitting symbols and a free spins feature where you can potentially win up to 10 free spins once activated. Merlin’s Grimoire has a top potential jackpot prize of 30,000x your bet.

Let’s analyse one more low house edge slot. Wild Link Cleopatra has a RTP of 96.37%. Using our equation, 100 – 96.37% (the RTP of Wild Link Cleopatra) = 3.63%. The house edge of this slot is 3.63%.

Wild Link Cleopatra is a 5 reel and up to 117,147 ways to win slot with an Egyptian theme. Bonus features include a wild link feature and a free spins feature where you can potentially unlock up to 50 free spins. The potential top prize on offer is an amazing 5,000x your bet.

Can You Beat The House Edge?

There aren’t any strategies for beating the house edge. However, there are a few things that you can do to try and lower it.

The first thing you can do to lower the house edge potentially is develop your strategy. Before you play a casino game, do your research. Become knowledgeable about the casino game and know all of the rules before you play. Practising is a good idea too, as those with little experience tend to make more mistakes, which could increase the house edge.

It is also a good idea to take breaks and know when to quit. This could potentially lower the house edge as playing for a long session could result in more losses.

Similarly, it’s important not to chase your losses. Setting yourself a budget, learning as much as possible about the casino game you’re playing, and practising could all potentially be the keys to beating the house edge.

*All values (Bet Levels, Maximum Wins etc.) mentioned in relation to these games are subject to change at any time.