What is House Edge
House Edge is the percentage of total wagers a casino game retains as profit over the long run. It is the inverse of RTP. Where RTP describes the share returned to customers, House Edge describes the share retained by the house.
Like RTP, the house edge is a long-run statistical property. It applies across millions of rounds, not within any single session. Short-term outcomes routinely deviate from the published edge.
How House Edge is calculated
House Edge equals 100 minus RTP, expressed as a percentage. A game with 96% RTP has a 4% house edge. A game with 99% RTP has a 1% house edge. The calculation runs over the certified game model: every possible outcome, weighted by probability, summed and inverted.
For table games, optimal strategy materially changes the house edge. Blackjack played with basic strategy can have a house edge below 0.5%. Without basic strategy, the same game can run at 2% or higher.
Typical house edge by game type
- Blackjack with basic strategy: 0.5% or lower
- Baccarat (banker bet): approximately 1.06%
- European roulette (single zero): 2.7%
- American roulette (double zero): 5.26%
- Online slots: typically 2% to 8%, with most mainstream slots around 4%
- Keno and many lottery products: often 20% or higher
House Edge is one of the metrics published in our iHub directory and in every game-provider review.
Why House Edge matters in B2B
For operators, House Edge is the structural input to Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) projections. A 1-point change in the average house edge across a game portfolio translates directly into the operator’s projected revenue per wagered unit. Game-mix decisions, bonus design, and promotional weighting all reference the underlying House Edge of the games on offer.
For game providers, the certified House Edge is the headline product specification. It is what operators evaluate when choosing which games to license. Transparency around the certified figure is the baseline editorial expectation in our RGI scoring.
Frequently asked questions about What Is House Edge?
House Edge is the theoretical long-run margin built into the game’s mathematical model. Hold is the realised margin actually retained over a specific period. The two converge over a large enough sample but can differ meaningfully in any single month.
Pure House Edge is the game-level figure, before bonuses, promotions, or VIP costs are factored in. Operator-level economics often track Net Gaming Revenue, which subtracts those costs from GGR.
If they license the same certified game build, the House Edge is identical. If the game developer publishes multiple RTP versions of the same title, operators can license different versions, in which case the House Edge differs accordingly.
Lower house edge means smaller long-run cost per wager. It does not guarantee any short-term outcome and does not eliminate the operator’s long-run advantage. Volatility, bonus terms, and bet sizing also matter.