I don't think that house edge is the problem. There have been many casinos with almost 0% house edge but no one has succeeded over the ones that have 1% or higher house edge. It's also super easy for bustabit to change their house edge and make it match yours, so it's not a big deal. I think that you have to offer something unique and different, something that will be hard for bustabit to change and will require lots of hard work from them. To my mind, a crash game with one of the best UI/UX and animation effects with some new unique features will be the key for your success.
Remember, it's easy to copy UI but it takes hard work and dedication to copy features. From the rest of your post, it feels like you are on a right track.