Calculating the House Edge

Have you ever wondered how much money an online bingo site keeps back from each game? If you have then you will be pleased to learn that calculating this “house edge” is fairly straightforward, and in a few moments we’ll explain how it is done. But first, perhaps we ought to explain why would calculating the house edge can be of use to the average bingo player.

The reason why calculating the house edge is useful is because it allows you to compare the edge at different bingo rooms and use this information to decide where to play most often. All bingo sites have to make a substantial profit just so that they can stay in business, so you will never find a site that has absolutely no edge in the game. However, you will be able to play with the full facts once you know how to calculate what their edge is.

That said, here is how it’s done:

• Multiply the total number of tickets that are in play by the cost of those tickets.
• Add together all of the prize money for the game in question.
• Divide the prize money by the total ticket cost and multiply by 100 to get the payout as a percentage.
• Take 100 and deduct the payout percentage to get the house edge.

For example, in a 75 ball game there might by 80 tickets in play at a cost of 25p each, and the prize might be worth £12.50. In this case our calculations would be:

80 x £0.25 = £20

£15 divided by £20 x 100 = 75%

100 – 75 = 25%

This means that the house edge is 25%, because it only pays out 75% of monies raised back to the players.

It is important to note that not all of this 25% is pure profit for the bingo site. The site will have to pay out a lot of money to cover its costs – everything from paying the CM’s their salaries to paying for the site to be hosted and maintained – so the actual profit that the bingo site makes from each game will usually be considerably smaller than the house edge. Many bingo sites also use part of the house edge to add money to progressive jackpots, so although it may only pay out 75% directly, such a site would actually be payout out a higher percentage overall.

Not all online bingo sites publish the total number of tickets that are played in each game or session (though traditional clubs generally do). If you want to find out what the house edge in these cases then sending an e-mail to the customer service team will generally provide the answer you are looking for. However, knowing how the house edge is calculated is invaluable in and of itself, because the more you understand about the mathematics of bingo games, the more power you have as a player.

It is never a good idea to join bingo sites or clubs on the basis of the house edge alone because other factors (such as the number of games on offer, the quality of the customer service and the sheer entertainment value you get from the experience of playing there) are just as important. That said, if you ever have to make a choice between two or more sites that are fairly equal in these respects, knowing the house edge will help you to choose between them.

 

30th January 2008