Understanding The House Edge Of Online Casinos

What is the house edge? Is it the same as an RTP? How do you find this information at casinos and how is it relevant to how you gamble? We investigate.

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Every online casino game you play is completely different, with some games being better to play than others – especially in regards to the house advantage.

No matter whether you are playing games like blackjack games, or even online slots, the player will always be playing against the casino – so you cannot escape the house edge.

The house edge is also sometimes known as RTP or Return to Player Rate. In other words: how much is this game meant to pay out back to players and back to the casino?

How does casino game house edge work?

It is a known fact that all casino games are a game of chance, which means that the probability of you winning is solely based on luck – rather than skill. With certain casino games, such as poker, there are some elements of skill involved but it is still primarily based on chance.

As casinos are looking to make money, the house edge is the casino’s average profit from a player’s bet. Casinos can’t and won’t cheat, as they know that over millions of spins and bets, they will (overall) come out in profit. That’s what it means when they say that the “House always wins”.

That said, it doesn’t mean that in the short term, the rules of the game and payout odds means that players can and do win. Otherwise, no one would be gambling.

The casino doesn’t have to beat every player every time, as they have a built-in mathematical advantage on every game, so as long as you are playing there – they will win in the long run.

Finding the house edge

If you are playing at a reputable casino that’s licensed and regulated by official government organisations, such as the UK Gambling Commission or the Swedish Gambling Authority, you can usually find monthly reports indicating the house edge or RTP for individual games and the site as a whole.

Most casinos will need to publish the third-party testing of their games, and if all else fails, you can either ask customer services or pick a casino where they state openly the RTP of their slot games.

As you can read in our Videoslots casino review, they state all the theoretical and actual RTP of all their slot machines.

Grand Mondial casino, on the other hand, have a whole list of the house edge of ALL their games, including Blackjack, Roulette and Video Poker.

What is the difference between the House Edge and Return to Player Rate?

The house edge or RTP is never a secret and online slot websites normally have these figures listed in either the help section or within each game’s instructions.

The RTP will be listed as a figure ranging between 95% and 97%. A house edge, on the other hand, will look like 5% to 3%. It means the same thing but listed backwards.

A machine that has an RTP of 95% means that 95% of the money going in the machine will be paid back to all the players that play. A game with a house edge of 5% means that the casino will get 5% of all the bets played on that machine over millions of spins.

See? Same thing but seen from a different point of view.

Knowing your chances of winning will ensure you get the most return possible for your bets, so the house edge is always something you need to be aware of at the back of your mind when gambling.

It’s also how we know that blackjack is more profitable than roulette.

Reducing the house edge

It is important to be aware of the fact that it can be quite tricky to keep the house edge to a minimum, mostly because the majority of gamblers are going to wind up losing more than they win. The longer you play, the closer your losses will get to the house edge.

However, if you take advantages of online casino offers, promotions and other regular offers on casinos, you can lower the house edge slightly.

This is because these bonuses are extra on top of what you have deposited and gives you more opportunities to strike it lucky.

That said you have to be sure that you get fair casino bonuses online with good terms and low wagering requirements, so you have a chance to withdraw if you manage to win big.

Do your homework, but have fun

As long as you are trying to salvage your bankroll as much as possible and make wise decisions when it comes to reducing the house edge, your gambling time will be prolonged as much as possible.

If you play recklessly and place risky bets on low probability outcomes, your odds of winning will decrease dramatically… but that’s not to say you won’t have fun and/or win big.

At the end of the day, as long as you understand your odds, that’s what matters. Play carefully and prolong the gameplay for a bigger chance to hit a win even if it’s not more than what you’ve been betting (or it could be much more), or play recklessly and quickly for a low chance to win, but if you win it will be bigger (or nothing at all).

In Conclusion

If you are looking to win some money when gambling online, knowing the house edge is extremely important for you as a player.

Understanding this concept will allow you to compare lots of different games and will equip you with the tools you need to succeed. If all else fails, you can just read our most profitable mobile games blog post, and look at which online games generally give you the best odds.

If you have any specific questions about mobile slots, mobile casinos or games, please feel free to visit our games guide pages where you can find answers to many of the most popular questions and myths surrounding the most played casino games online.