What Is Rakeback? The Casino Reward Explained in Euro

Eoin Fahy, BitcoinSpins editor By Eoin Fahy · Updated 7 October 2026

Rakeback is a small refund on each bet you place, regardless of if the bet is a winner or loser. At a casino it is worked out as a share of the house edge: the slice of each bet the casino expects to keep. The amounts are small, a few euro per thousand wagered, but it is paid as cash with nothing to wager afterwards.

  • €2back per €1,000 of slot bets at a 5% rate
  • 1% to 10%of the house edge, the range we found
  • Win or loseit is paid on every bet
  • 0xwagering on it at the casinos we cover

The short answer

  • Rakeback is a share of the house edge. Amount wagered, times the game's house edge, times the rakeback rate.
  • It is paid on every bet. A winning session earns it the same as a losing one.
  • The sums are small. At a 5% rate, €1,000 of slot bets returns about €2.
  • It is cash. At the six casinos we cover that pay it, rakeback carries no wagering requirement.
  • It lowers the cost of playing. It never turns a losing game into a winning one.

What is rakeback, in one sum

What is rakeback: a worked example showing €1,000 wagered at a 4% house edge with 5% rakeback returns €2
The rakeback sum, at three rates and on two games.

Each game at the casino is structured so the house keeps a small share of the money bet on it. This small share is known as the house edge. On a slot that pays back 96%, the edge is 4%.

Rakeback gives you back a share of that edge. So if the house edge is 4% and the rakeback is 5%, the casino gives you back 0.2% of what you wagered. Bet €1,000 and €2 comes back.

The outcome of the bets plays no part in rakeback. Only the amount you bet is taken into account.

Where rakeback comes from

The word is from poker. In poker, players are playing against one another and the house (the casino) takes a small fee (rake) from each pot. The room hands part of that fee back to players, in the form of rakeback, to keep them at the tables.

Casino games have no rake. The house earns from the edge instead. Crypto casinos took the poker word and applied it to the edge, so "rakeback" at a casino means a refund on the house's built-in advantage.

That is why search results for the word are filled with poker pages. The principle is the same with both: the house returns a slice of its cut.

The rakeback formula casinos use

Share of the house edge

Wagered
€1,000
House edge
4%
Rakeback rate
5%
Rakeback
€2.00

Used by Cloudbet, Shuffle, Metaspins, Betpanda and BC.Game.

A percentage, rate unpublished

Wagered
€1,000
Rate
Not stated
Rakeback
Unknown

Roobet describes rakeback as a percentage of your wagered amount.

Most casinos that offer rakeback state it as a share of the house edge. Shuffle's help centre gives the rate in a sentence: 5% of the house edge back as cash. Its own example is 1,000 USDT wagered on a game with a 2% edge, which returns 1 USDT.

Be careful with percentages. "10% rakeback" does not mean 10% of your bets are returned. It means 10% of the house edge is returned. In a game with a 4% edge, that is a 0.4% return.

A casino that will not post its rakeback rate cannot be compared to one that does. Treat an unknown rakeback rate as a low rate.

What rakeback pays on each kind of game

Since rakeback is a share of the edge, the amount is determined by the game you play. These bars show 5% rakeback on €1,000 wagered.

  1. Slots at 96%€2.00 house edge 4%
  2. European roulette€1.35 house edge 2.7%
  3. Baccarat, banker bet€0.53 house edge 1.06%
  4. Dice and crash games€0.50 house edge 1%
  5. Blackjack, basic strategy€0.25 house edge about 0.5%

Slots earn the most rakeback because they cost the most to play. That is no reason to change games. Losing €40 to get a €2 return is a worse deal than losing €5 to get a 25 cent return.

Rakeback, cashback and lossback: the difference

RakebackCashback or lossback
Paid onEverything you wagerYour net losses
A winning weekStill paysPays nothing
A losing weekPays the same small amountPays more, the more you lost
Typical rate1% to 10% of the house edge5% to 20% of net losses
PaidInstantly, hourly or dailyWeekly, on a set day

Cashback sounds bigger because it is a percentage of losses, not of the edge. Over many weeks the two can come out close. The true difference is how it feels. Rakeback is steady, consistent, and small. Cashback is a lump sum that arrives after you have a bad week.

With cashback, you must check the terms and conditions to see if there is wagering. Of the ten casinos we cover, Betpanda and Metaspins pay theirs with no wagering. 7Bit's weekly cashback carries wagering of up to 35x at the lowest VIP levels.

Is rakeback worth having?

What it does

Cuts the cost of play. A 4% house edge becomes 3.8% with 5% rakeback, and 3.6% with 10%.

Pays in cash, with no wagering, at the casinos we cover.

So it is the most honest reward a casino offers.

What it does not do

Change the odds of any bet. The game is the same game.

Make more play a good idea. Every extra euro wagered costs more than it earns back.

So collect it on play you were doing anyway.

The six rakeback schemes among the casinos we cover are ranked in crypto casino rakeback. To see how a match bonus compares once its wagering is priced, read wagering requirements in Bitcoin.

Rakeback is a discount. Nobody gets rich on a discount, but it is the one casino reward that does exactly what it says.
Eoin Fahy Eoin Fahy, BitcoinSpins

What is rakeback? FAQ

What is rakeback in gambling?

A reward that returns part of the casino's expected profit on your bets. It is paid on the amount you wager, win or lose, usually as a percentage of the house edge.

What is the meaning of rakeback?

This term is from poker. The rake is the fee a poker room takes from each pot. Rakeback is the portion of that fee given back to the player. Casinos have borrowed this term for a refund of the house edge.

How is casino rakeback calculated?

The amount of the wager is multiplied by the game's house edge and the rakeback percentage. A €1,000 wager at a 4% edge with 5% rakeback would be a €2 refund.

Is rakeback the same as cashback?

No, all wagers are included with rakeback. Both cashback and lossback are included only with net losses for the period. Therefore, with a profitable week, no refund is given.

Do I have to wager rakeback before I withdraw it?

Not at the six casinos we cover that pay it. It lands as cash. See no wagering crypto casinos for the full list of rewards paid that way.

Which casino has the best rakeback?

The highest published rate is with Cloudbet at 10% of the house edge for 30 days. Crypto casino rakeback ranks the six schemes.

Can you make a profit from rakeback?

No. Rakeback returns a fraction of what the games cost you. At a 5% rakeback, you get back one twentieth of the house edge and pay the other nineteen.

Eoin Fahy, BitcoinSpins editor from Galway

About the author

Eoin Fahy writes BitcoinSpins from Galway. He works out what a reward pays per €1,000 wagered before he decides whether it is worth thinking about.

Play it safe

You must be 18 or over to gamble. Set a limit before you deposit and treat any loss as the cost of the fun. If gambling stops feeling like a pastime, GamblingCare runs a free 24-hour helpline on 1800 936 725. Our responsible gambling page lists more Irish support services.