I have worked, about 15 years ago, on a contract for a company that amongst other things produced automated roulette tables.
They had a large hall packed with those that would constantly spin up, drop the ball and record results. There was mathematician employed to check series for any statistical anomalies. I had few chats with the guy, I was quite impressed the level of detail and care to make sure the wheels are perfectly symmetrical and fair.
Most of the cost of the machine goes into making the wheel symmetrical. I remember something like 20 or 30 thousand dollars spent on the single piece of metal that becomes the wheel.
Until that 5% edge turns out to be a 7% edge (thanks to the bias) and the relevant regulators come down on you like a ton of bricks for cheating your players.
Any fixed predictability can only decrease the house edge. The players make the bets, not the house. Obviously if you could vary the predictability you could cheat people by selectively avoiding payouts for large bets, but that's separate.
Yes, from what I understand, the casino edge is required to be extremely precise. Returning too much money to gamblers is penalized just as harshly as returning too little.
This is why casinos like you to gamble more, regardless of what form, because their edge is fixed by regulators. Only by increasing volume can they increase returns.
They had a large hall packed with those that would constantly spin up, drop the ball and record results. There was mathematician employed to check series for any statistical anomalies. I had few chats with the guy, I was quite impressed the level of detail and care to make sure the wheels are perfectly symmetrical and fair.
Most of the cost of the machine goes into making the wheel symmetrical. I remember something like 20 or 30 thousand dollars spent on the single piece of metal that becomes the wheel.