Online Casino House Edge Explained

Q: Can online casinos change the house edge on games?

Online casinos don’t have control over the house edge, as it’s set by the provider that makes each game. But that always means that when you’re playing at casinos, how to beat the house shouldn’t even cross your mind, because it’s not changeable.

Q: Does the house always win?

Over a very long period of time, the house edge ensures that the online casino will always make a profit. But the same isn’t true for a single gaming session, as all games at licensed online casinos are totally fair and you have a chance at winning.

Q: What are the long-term effects of house edge?

Over a long period of time, the online casino will always profit. But if you choose a game with a low house edge, you have a better chance of being down less money over the course of many game rounds.

By Farah Barry

Apr 9th, 2026 12:07 PM EDT

You’ve heard of the phrase “the house always wins”, right? You’d be forgiven for thinking that this just means that games are rigged in some way, so that the casino always comes out on top. But that’s not actually true.

What’s being referred to here is the online casino house edge. It’s basically a figure that’s built into games, to ensure that over a long period of time, they’ll always pay out slightly less than the overall amount that people spend playing them.

Even though all online casinos have house edge, it’s still possible to land wins as you play, because the games use Random Number Generator technology, so they’re completely fair.

But if you're new to the casino world and don't really know your RTP from your house edge, we're here to help out.

All of these terms might sound a bit complicated, so we're going to answer the fundamental question “what does house edge mean in casino games?” and tell you all about games with a high house edge.

Table of Contents

What Does House Edge Mean?
How Does House Edge Affect You and Your Winnings?
What Is The Difference Between House Edge and RTP?
Casino Games With The Lowest House Edge
Casino Games With The Highest House Edge
Casino Games Without a House Edge
How Can You Beat The House Edge
Gamble Responsibly
Final Thoughts

What Does House Edge Mean?

The house edge is a built-in advantage that an online casino (or individual slot or table game) has over players. It means that over a long period of time, the casino will always make a profit.

The house edge of a game is usually given as a percentage. For example, if a slot game has a 5% house edge, it means that over time, if $100 is wagered on the game, the casino will keep about 5% and the other 95% pays out in the form of winnings.

But this doesn’t mean that you’ll lose 5% every time you play. The house edge is calculated over a very long period of time (millions of game rounds), so there’s a chance that you’ll land a win during any gaming session. Of course, the opposite also applies: there’s a chance you could walk away with a lot less than 95% of your wagers back.

How To Calculate House Edge

There are a few different ways to calculate house edge, depending on the game you’re playing. Don’t worry, you don’t necessarily need in-depth knowledge of the technical workings of the game to figure out what the house edge is.

The easiest way to calculate online casino house edge in slots is by looking at the Return to Player (RTP) percentage. We’ll tell you a little more about that later, but for now, suffice it to say that each game usually lists the RTP within the paytable or game info, so it’s readily accessible. In simple terms, if you subtract the RTP from 100, you’ll get the house edge of the game.

For table games like roulette, you can use the odds and expected payouts to calculate the house edge. For example, in American Roulette, a single number bet has a 1/38 chance of winning and a 37/38 chance of losing, but the payout is 35x. This small discrepancy leads to a house edge of 5.26%.

How Does House Edge Affect You and Your Winnings?

As we’ve mentioned, house edge is calculated over a long period of time, so it does have an impact on your winnings, but not necessarily during a single gaming session.

That said, choosing a game with a low house edge is always a good idea, because it’s more likely that you’ll profit in the long term. For example, the house edge on blackjack is around 2%, so over a long period, if you wager $100, you’re likely to be down $2. If you’re playing slots, on the other hand, the house edge is likely to be closer to 4% or 5%, so you’ll be down $4 or $5. And when you’re working with bigger numbers, the difference can be significant.

What Is The Difference Between House Edge and RTP?

RTP and house edge communicate similar things, just in a different way. They’re both based on how much a slot game pays out over time. The RTP of a slot game is actually just the inverse of the house edge: together, the two figures always add up to 100%.

You can think of a slot game’s RTP as being the amount of money wagered on a game that should pay back to players over time. So if a game has 95% RTP, it should pay back $95 for every $100 wagered. The average RTP for slot games is around 96%, so anything over that is considered good, but table games can have much higher RTP.

You might see online casinos advertising an overall RTP, which would be the average payout rate of all of the games. In our opinion, it’s better to look at the RTP for each game, as it’s more accurate and gives a good guideline of which games are likely to pay out.

Casino Games With The Lowest House Edge

Online casino games with the lowest house edge include table games like blackjack, partly because they involve some strategy and decision-making, which can give you the opportunity to bring down the house edge as far as possible.

Blackjack

Virtual and live online casino blackjack games have some of the lowest RTP around: usually about 0.5% when you make use of basic strategy. Rather than relying on luck, you get to decide what moves to make, like splitting, doubling down or hitting. And if you make the right decisions, you can reduce the casino’s advantage to a minimum.

Roulette

Online roulette is a game of chance, so there’s no way for you to reduce the online casino house edge. That said, it’s still pretty low, at 5.26% for American Roulette and 2.7% for European Roulette. In general, that means choosing European Roulette is a better strategy, as the wheel has one fewer zero, giving you a better chance to win.

Slots

The house edge for slot games is highly variable depending on the game. While progressive jackpots can have a house edge as high as 6% to 10%, most modern video slots sit around the 4% mark. There are a few games where the house edge is even lower, at about 2%.

Casino Games With The Highest House Edge

We’ve covered casino games with the lowest house edge, but unfortunately there are a few that have a very high house edge too. While it’s not necessary to avoid these games at all costs, it’s helpful to know which games have a high house edge so that you can make informed decisions.

Craps

While craps generally has low house edge on standard bets like pass and don’t pass, it can be much higher for other types of bets, coming in at over 16%. Online casinos tend to pay out less than the true odds, so even if these bets look exciting and attractive, they could result in long-term losses.

Keno

The house edge for keno can be as high as 35%, which might be the highest online casino house edge we’ve come across. While keno offers potential for bigger payouts, the game works a bit like a lottery, so winning combinations don’t come up that often, driving the house edge up in the long term.

Baccarat

While online baccarat has a low house edge of around 1.06% on the banker bet and 1.24% on the player bet, tie bets have a much higher house edge of up to 14.36%. Even though these bets pay out higher amounts, they might not be in your best interest in the long term.

Sic Bo

The online casino house edge for sic bo varies between 2.78% and more than 18%, depending on the types of bet you place. This is because casinos don’t pay out the true odds for sic bo, so they end up keeping quite a high percentage of the wagers.

Casino Games Without a House Edge

We’ve already mentioned casino games with the lowest house edge, but are there games that don’t have a house edge at all? In theory, yes: poker.

The difference between poker and other online casino games is that with poker you’re not playing against the casino, but rather against other players. The outcomes here are all based on skill, and the casino doesn’t profit directly from whether you win or lose.

For poker games, most online casinos take a “rake”, which is usually about 2% to 5% of the overall pot in each hand. Poker sites might also charge a fixed tournament entry fee, as another way of making money.

How Can You Beat The House Edge?

The simple answer is that you can’t beat the online casino house edge, because it’s fixed for each game. There’s no way to ensure that you’ll get a payout every single time. But there are a few things you can do to maximize your chances of winning.

Learn The Rules

Understanding how to play slots is easy, but the more you know about a strategic game, the more you can leverage a low house edge. For example, if you’re playing blackjack, make sure you know the specific rules for the table where you’re playing, and how these rules impact on the house edge of the game.

You May Also Be Interested In: How To Play Online Slots

Bankroll Management

It’s a good idea to stick to small bets (around 1 % to 2% of your total bankroll), so that you don’t run out of money too quickly. If you play for small amounts and spread them over more spins rather than just doing a few high-value spins, you’ll start to see the benefits of games with low house edge.

Strategy

While slots don’t require strategy, if you’re playing a card game like blackjack, it’s very important that you master basic strategy, so that you know exactly when to split, hit or double down to reduce the house edge as much as possible and give yourself a better chance of a win.

Card Counting Myths

Card counting is one of the top casino myths out there, but the most important thing to know is that it doesn’t work when you’re playing online. In online games, the cards are constantly being reshuffled, so it’s impossible to predict what is going to come up.

A common misconception among new players is that a high house edge guarantees immediate losses. In reality, short‑term outcomes are unpredictable. The house edge becomes relevant only after many wagers, which is why managing session length and bet size is so important.

James Stoddart Online Casino Specialist

Gamble Responsibly

When you’re playing at online casinos, “how to beat the house” is a void question, because all games have it built in, and the casino will always profit. That means it’s extremely important to gamble responsibly. Make sure that you set limits for yourself and never chase losses, and it’s also a good idea to make use of your chosen online casino’s responsible gambling tools. For example, deposit and loss limits.

If you need any extra support, you can reach out to a resource in your area for help.

Final Thoughts

By now, you should understand everything you need to know about online casino house edge. It’s the amount of money the casino site keeps after wins have been paid out. Different games come with different house edge percentages, so if you’re looking for games with the lowest possible edge, you might want to consult a casino house edge chart.

Remember, there’s no way to beat an online casino house edge, as it’s fixed for each game, but you can lower the house edge in certain games like blackjack.

As the house edge means the casino site will always profit in the long term, playing responsibly and setting limits for yourself is of the utmost importance.

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Online Casino House Edge FAQs

Are all casino games a scam?

Online casino house edge doesn’t mean that the games are a scam, it just means that the casino will always profit over a long period of time. House edge is calculated over millions of game rounds, so there’s still a chance to win in a single session.

Can online casinos change the house edge on games?

Does the house always win?

What are the long-term effects of house edge?

About the Author

Farah Barry

More About Farah

Farah is an online casino expert, having worked with one of the UK's biggest gambling brands, before turning her attention to freelance writing. When she's not writing about all of the latest casino and slot releases, you'll find her planning her next trip to Las Vegas.