The saying goes, "the house always wins," but where does this term come from, and how does the house edge relate to this statement? In today’s comprehensive deep dive, we’ll look at the house edge used in online slot machines, learning what it is, why it exists, and how it works. Keep on reading to learn more.
What is House Edge?
The mathematical advantage the online casino have over you while you play is called the House Edge. This advantage ensures the venue a particular percentage return over time and you a certain percentage wager loss. The remaining percentage after the house edge has been subtracted is known as the return to player or ‘RTP’.
As a commercial business, the House Edge helps the gambling provider pay for licensing, help staff, online site maintenance and hosting, and so on, as well as ensure their business is profitable and able to grow.
While today's article focuses on online slots, roulette offers a simple analogy to exemplify house edge. A European/French roulette wheel has 36 numbers, including the green zero. The ball can stop on any of the 36 digits or the zero while the wheel spins, making 37 stops. Thus, your mathematical likelihood of choosing one of those possibilities is 1 in 37. However, the house pays 35:1 meaning the house gains a 2.7% edge over time.
It is important to emphasise the 'over time' part of this statement. The house edge is calculated over hundreds and thousands of spins, hands, and rounds. Such a broad scale allows for fluctuations and random chance, meaning that not all players will finish their round or session with a projected loss.
How Does House Edge Work in Online Slots?
What's the mechanism? Slot machines use RNGs. The spin button activates an online slot machine and sets the reels in motion and the RNG software. RNG stands for 'random number generation', and the software will fully randomise all possible outcomes thus preventing any type of recognisable pattern. To give an example, a five-reel slot machine with thirty-five spaces across the reel set has 52,521,875 stop combinations, meaning you could play the same game for 100 spins every day of your life and never come across the same formation of symbols. For extra peace of mind, all online slots are third-party tested to ensure fairness.
Before playing slots, you should always check the house edge (and RTP) because it varies with every game. On average modern RTPs on slots sit around the 96% mark, but the full range is usually between 94-98% (though there are always some outliers). This means that online slots usually have a house edge of between 2-6%.
It is important to emphasise that the house edge is based on long-term probabilities, not particular sessions. When playing slots, the outcome may vary. If you lose or have a hot streak, the casino may collect more than their house edge, or you may walk away with an unexpected jackpot payout.
How to Play Online Slots?
Playing online slots is very easy and extremely beginner-friendly. You can get started playing by following these simple steps:
- Sign up at Prime Casino and make your first deposit. Browse our selection of online slots and pick the game which speaks to you. We have categorised our slot games into:
a. Jackpot,
b. Jackpot King, and
c. Megaways - Check out the information on the game page as here you’ll see the RTP and house-edge percentages.
- Load your game on your preferred device (all games are optimised for mobile play). See the game rules and payables to learn what symbols to look for and how bonus features work. The game information will also show the RTP percentage, but sometimes not the house edge. If this is the case, all you need to do is subtract the RTP from 100% to reveal the house edge value.
- Set your bet. Some slots have fixed pay lines, so you only need to enter an appropriate wager amount before spinning because your bet will be evenly distributed over all pay lines. If the slot contains unfixed pay lines, you must first choose how many lines to activate and then how much to gamble on each line.
- After choosing a bet, click or tap spin to start the reels.
- Reels spin and stop randomly. Winning combinations are highlighted and all payouts are credited to your account before the next spin can begin.
How Does Online Slots’ House Edge Vary From Other Casino Games?
As you can see in the list below, online slots are the casino game which has the largest variance in house edge, with a fluctuation of 15%. As mentioned, the majority of slots will fall within the 94-98% range, resulting in a 2-4% range, which sits online slots as the perfect middle ground between low house edge titles like roulette and blackjack, and high house edge titles like American Roulette and Keno.
- European Roulette: 2.70%
- American Roulette: 5.26%
- French Roulette: 1.35%
- Blackjack: 0.42% – 1.5%
- Video Poker: 0.46%
- Caribbean Stud Poker: 5.22%
- Texas Hold ‘Em: 2.19%
- Keno: 25 – 29%
- Craps: 0% – 16.67%
- Online Slots: 1% – 16%
Is it Possible to Lower the House Edge in Online Slots?
Whereas in table games like blackjack, a lack of skill can reduce the RTP for the player due to non-optimal gameplay decisions, slots are entirely luck-based, with the player not making any active gameplay decisions outside of setting a bet and/or clicking or engaging with any triggered bonus feature.
Slot machines determine payouts and fairness using a Random Number Generator. Players simply select their paylines, spin the wheel, and hope for the best. Casino slot machines are abundant because they can offer a higher house edge than games with a degree of strategy such as poker.
You’ll find the RTP and house edge percentages both on the slots’ game page and within the in-game slot information. A detailed payout table includes all paylines and payouts on every slot machine. They will also state their RTP to help you choose and set gaming expectations.
Therefore, there is no legitimate way to increase the RTP and lower the house edge when playing online slots beyond the values stated. This works both ways and therefore protects the player as the casino cannot alter the house edge from its stated statistics.
Takeaway
To conclude, the house edge represents the statistical advantage the online casino site has over the player on each specific game, with the remaining percentage known as the return to player (RTP). These figures are formed based on data gathered from hundreds and thousands of rounds, which means it is possible for random chance to allow the player to win or lose more than statistically predicted.
In general, the house edge of online slots should be used as a general guideline of what you can mathematically expect from the respective online slot. As with any casino game, you should always gamble responsibly; avoid taking excessive risks, and never wager more than you can afford to lose.
Now you’re clued up on online slots House Edge, why not put your new knowledge to the test and play online slots with Prime Casino?
