House edge and RTP: what 0% house edge really means
By Egor S.27 Oct 2026
Every casino game has a built-in margin called the house edge. It decides how much of your money the casino keeps over time, and it matters more than any bonus. Here is what it is, how to work out what it costs you, and what Duel.com means when it says its own games have 0% house edge.
House edge and RTP
RTP, or return to player, is the share of all bets that a game pays back over the long run. The house edge is the rest: a game with 97% RTP has a 3% house edge. On Chicken.gg, for example, Double lists an RTP of 93.33% (a 6.67% edge) and Mines 90% (a 10% edge). CSGOEmpire’s help centre lists 0.5% for coinflip, 6.66% for roulette and 8.8% for cases and case battles.
House edge on $100 of bets, on average
What it costs you
The house edge is taken from every bet, not from your deposit. That is why it adds up: your expected loss is the total you wager times the edge.
| Total wagered | 3% edge | 1% edge | 0% edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| $1,000 | $30 | $10 | $0 |
| $10,000 | $300 | $100 | $0 |
| $100,000 | $3,000 | $1,000 | $0 |
The total wagered grows faster than people think. Bet $10 a round for 1,000 rounds and you have wagered $10,000, even if you only ever deposited $100 and kept playing with your winnings.
What 0% house edge means at Duel
Duel.com marks its own games — Dice, Blackjack, Plinko, Crash, Mines, Keno, Limbo and others — as 100% RTP: a 0% house edge. Over a long time, neither you nor Duel has an advantage on those games. Duel’s “Zero Edge” page shows what that means at scale: with a 3% edge, a player who wagers $100 million has, by Duel’s numbers, a 99% chance of ending with a big loss, while at 0% a big loss and a big win are equally likely.
What it doesn’t mean
- You don’t win on average either. The expected result is zero, but the swings are real: you can lose your whole deposit on a 0% game.
- It covers Duel’s own games only. Slots and live games from other studios have their own RTP.
- It doesn’t make a strategy work. No betting system changes the edge; it only changes how fast the swings come.
House edge against bonuses
A bonus gives some money back; the house edge takes some on every bet. What matters is both together. Two examples:
- A 5% deposit bonus on $100 gives you $5. If you then wager $2,000 on a game with a 3% edge, the expected cost is $60, twelve times the bonus.
- A $20 bonus with 40x wagering means $800 of bets before you can withdraw it. At a 3% edge, that costs $24 on average, more than the bonus itself.
Bonus you get Average cost of the bets
5% deposit bonus on $100, then $2,000 wagered at a 3% edge
The cost is twelve times the bonus.
$20 bonus with 40x wagering: $800 of bets at a 3% edge
The cost is more than the bonus itself.
That is the argument of Duel’s “Why Bonuses Suck” page, and it is why we show wagering next to every bonus on DAKEbits. To run the numbers for any bonus, use our wagering calculator.
How to use this
- Look for the RTP in a game’s rules or info panel before you play.
- Count the total you wager, not just what you deposit.
- Read the wagering requirement before you take a bonus.
- Set a budget and a time limit, and stop when either runs out.
More: our guide to provably fair games, our guide to crypto deposits, our Duel page and our responsible gambling page.
Sources: Duel.com “Zero Edge” and “Why Bonuses Suck” pages (updated 20 July 2025) and its game lobby; Chicken.gg game rules (checked on 18 October 2026); CSGOEmpire help centre house edge pages (May–June 2026, read on 20 October 2026). The cost examples are our own arithmetic.
Last updated 20 October 2026