How Does a Casino Make Money From Blackjack Games?

One of the safest ways to play a blackjack game is through an online or land-based casino. The objective of playing blackjack is to try and beat the dealer, and it is fair to assume the money you may win comes from the bets in the game, which may seem like it leaves very little for the casino to make money. 

In that case, you may wonder how a casino makes money from blackjack games. This King Casino blog post discusses how a casino makes a profit from blackjack games, the casino’s house edge, how profitable blackjack can be for casinos and everything in between.

How Does Blackjack Make The Casino Money?

Land-based and online casinos have this nifty system called the house edge that helps them make an average profit from the games they offer. That is also true for blackjack games. The house edge is the casino’s built-in statistical advantage over the players.

That means no matter how often or how many people win a blackjack game, they may still suffer some losses, often more than winning. Simply put, the house edge can indicate the long-term profit from a specific casino game, and that is how casinos can make money.

That does not mean that casinos rig games. It only means the games are built to have a mathematical advantage to guarantee that the casino receives some profit for all games played. 

What Is The Casino Advantage In Blackjack?

As mentioned above, the casino advantage is also known as the house edge. It is typically expressed in percentages. The average house edge for blackjack is generally around 2% and can potentially go as low as 0.5% if you are good at it, and the rules are favourable. 

In practice, these percentages mean for every £100 wagered, the casino keeps £0.50 up to £2. However, this is calculated over a long period. It does not mean the casino makes this amount on every bet you place.

Another thing to remember is that the house edge is not applied to a single bet; it primarily applies to your total bet over time. Although it may seem insignificant, it can quickly get to large amounts. 

For example, if you count all the people who play blackjack in a day, say 1,000 people, and each stakes roughly £1,000 a day, the house edge can potentially make the casino £5,000+ in profit, respectively.

Do Casinos Manipulate Blackjack?

No, casinos do not manipulate blackjack. If you play from a reputable casino, you should not worry about the game being rigged. The casinos are heavily regulated, monitored, and audited. Plus, manipulating the game will not be in the casino’s favour. Manipulating the game would put the casino’s licence and reputation in jeopardy.

At face value, the casino’s advantage may make it seem like the games are rigged to be in the casino’s favour, but for it to be actual manipulation, the casino has to be breaking the rules as the players know them.

However, the house edge is a built-in system, meaning it comes with the games and is clearly communicated to the players. Every player knows coming into the game that the casino has an edge over them.

Manipulation or rigging the game is if the casino does something to increase this house edge without the player’s knowledge. For example, purposefully making the players lose. 

Do Casinos Make a Lot of Money On Blackjack?

The answer to this question is relative to the casino, so we cannot say for certain. While blackjack has the potential to make a casino a lot of money, there are other casino games or slot games that may bring in even more money.

Online casinos and land-based casinos rarely ever have one type of gambling game. You can usually find anything from slots, roulette, poker, baccarat, or even bingo when visiting a casino. However, according to the statistics, slot games make up about 60% of the revenue for all casinos worldwide. 

So, the answer can be both yes and no, depending on the casino and what game is played the most in the casino. 

Can You Win Consistently at Blackjack?

Technically, it is possible to win consistently on blackjack, but not very likely, thanks to the casino’s built-in house advantage. Experienced and skilful players have been rumoured to be able to minimise their losses, but it still does not guarantee consistent winning.

If you play online, there is also the Random Number Generator (RNG) you need to factor in, as it will ensure the game’s results are random at all times and makes card counting impossible.

How Do Casinos Prevent Card Counting?

While card counting is not technically illegal, it is not a welcome practice in many, if not all, casinos. So, because card counting is not legal, casinos put specific measures in place to prevent it from happening. 

If it is a land-based casino, the casinos can use multiple decks or fewer cards, also known as cutting shallow or using more cards, aka cutting deep.

They can also shuffle the cards frequently or use shuffling machines instead of having the cards be shuffled manually by the dealers. The dealers are also trained to notice playing patterns from players that may suggest card counting.

Online casinos do not have to worry about card counting because their blackjack games have an RNG and Continuous Shuffle Machines (CMS). The CMS shuffles the cards faster than a manual dealer shoe.  

So, combining these two makes card counting almost impossible when playing online. Remember that if you get caught trying to count cards, you may be removed from the casino or banned for good, even if you were unsuccessful. 

Conclusion

Casinos make money from blackjack games through the house edge or house advantage, not manipulation of games. While the advantage does not yield much if you look at it from a single game, it can add up over time.

Additionally, there is no way to effectively erase this edge, even through card counting. Moreover, casinos take precautions and measures to prevent card counting, both online and land-based.

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