- Maths reviewed by Josh Miller
- Tested by Diana Westfield
A casino rakeback calculator that puts a deal in pounds. Say you wager £20,000 a month on slots with a 3.5% house edge. That’s an expected loss of £700. A 10% rakeback deal pays back £70 of it, which brings your real edge down to 3.15%. A “0.1% of every bet” reward on the same play is £20. The CasinoCalcs calculator is free and compares rakeback, wager-based rewards and cashback on the same numbers.
How casino rakeback is calculated
Rakeback borrows the poker idea. The casino works out your theoretical loss, the amount it expects to win from you, and hands back a share regardless of whether you actually won or lost.
Theoretical loss = wager × house edge Rakeback = theoretical loss × rakeback %
£20,000 × 3.5% × 10% = £70. Play blackjack with good strategy instead (0.5% edge) and the same £20,000 earns only £10 of rakeback, because the casino expects to make so little. That’s the deal working as designed: rakeback follows the house edge.
Three kinds of deal, side by side
| Deal on £20,000 at a 3.5% edge | Monthly value | Effective edge |
|---|---|---|
| 10% rakeback on house edge | £70 | 3.15% |
| 0.1% of every bet | £20 | 3.40% |
| 0.25% of every bet | £50 | 3.25% |
| 10% cashback on net losses | about £70 | about 3.15% |
Wager-based rewards look tiny as percentages, which is why they’re quoted that way. Divide by the house edge to compare: 0.1% of every bet on a 3.5% game is about 3% rakeback.
Rakeback or cashback?
At the same percentage, the average value is about the same. The difference is when it pays. Rakeback arrives every month, even a winning one. Cashback on net losses only arrives when you’re down, and the bigger the losing month, the bigger the payment. Watch for wagering on cashback paid as bonus money: a 10% cashback with 10× wagering is worth a lot less than 10% in cash. The cashback calculator handles that.
Comps and VIP schemes
Land casinos rate your play the same way: average bet × hours × hands per hour × house edge gives your theoretical loss, and comps usually come back at 20 to 40% of it. Online VIP schemes are similar, just less open about the rate. Put the comp value in as a rakeback percentage and the calculator shows what it’s worth. Nothing here makes the house edge disappear, though, so the RTP and house edge calculator is the place to start, and the poker version is the poker rakeback calculator.
Rewards are built to keep you playing. Never wager more to reach a tier. BeGambleAware.org is free if gambling is costing more than you want.