Glossary
The vocabulary, without the sales pitch.
Short definitions of the terms that decide what an offer or a game actually is. Terms with a full page of their own, like RTP or the house edge, live in the mechanics section; this glossary covers the rest.
Bankroll
The money set aside for gambling, kept separate from money needed for anything else, and treated as the price of the entertainment.
BankrollBonus buy
A slot feature letting you pay a fixed multiple of your stake, commonly around 100x, to trigger the bonus round immediately instead of waiting for it.
Bonus buyCashback
A bonus that returns a percentage of your net losses over a period, usually with no wagering requirement attached.
CashbackChargeback
A card payment reversal requested through the issuing bank. On gambling deposits that were genuinely authorised, it usually fails and closes the account.
ChargebackDeposit limit
A cap on how much can be deposited per day, week or month, set by the player in the account settings and enforced by the operator.
Deposit limitExpected value
The average result of a bet if it were repeated a very large number of times: each outcome's probability multiplied by its payoff, summed.
Expected valueFree spins
Slot rounds played without staking your own money. As a promotion, their winnings usually arrive as bonus funds with wagering conditions attached.
Free spinsGambler's fallacy
The belief that an outcome becomes more likely because it has not happened for a while. On independent events, it is false.
Gambler's fallacyGame contribution
The percentage at which stakes on each game count towards a wagering requirement: slots usually 100%, table games a fraction, some games nothing at all.
Game contributionGGR (gross gaming revenue)
Total stakes minus total winnings paid out: the money an operator keeps from play. Industry revenue and players' collective losses are the same number.
GGR (gross gaming revenue)High roller
A player wagering amounts large enough for individual treatment: raised limits, personal hosts, tailored rebates and faster service.
High rollerHit frequency
The percentage of rounds that produce any win at all, regardless of size, as distinct from how much the game returns overall.
Hit frequencyKYC (know your customer)
The identity checks a licensed operator must run: confirming who you are, that you are of legal age, and, above certain thresholds, where your money comes from.
KYC (know your customer)Martingale
A staking system that doubles the bet after every loss, so that the first win recovers everything lost plus one unit. It does not change the expected result.
MartingaleMaximum bet rule
A cap on the stake permitted while a bonus is being wagered. Exceeding it, even once and by accident, typically voids the bonus and all winnings from it.
Maximum bet ruleMegaways
A licensed slot mechanic where reel heights change every spin, varying the number of ways to win, up to 117,649 on the classic six-reel format.
MegawaysNGR (net gaming revenue)
GGR minus deductions such as bonus costs, payment fees and gaming taxes. Unlike GGR, its exact definition varies by contract and jurisdiction.
NGR (net gaming revenue)No-deposit bonus
A small bonus or set of free spins granted for registering, before any deposit, with winnings usually subject to high wagering and a withdrawal cap.
No-deposit bonusProgressive jackpot
A prize pooled from a levy on every stake, often across many sites, that grows until one spin wins it and it resets to a seed value.
Progressive jackpotProvably fair
A scheme where the operator commits to a hashed seed before a round and reveals it after, letting anyone verify the result was not altered or chosen late.
Provably fairRakeback
A loyalty mechanic that returns a fixed share of the house edge on every bet you place, win or lose, usually with no wagering requirement.
RakebackReality check
A periodic on-screen interruption during play showing how long the session has run and what it has cost, with an explicit option to stop.
Reality checkReload bonus
A deposit match offered to existing players, usually on a weekly or monthly cycle, at lower percentages than a welcome package.
Reload bonusRNG (random number generator)
The certified software component that decides every outcome of an online casino game, producing results that are statistically unpredictable.
RNG (random number generator)Self-exclusion
A single request that blocks your access to every operator licensed in your country at once, for a fixed minimum period, free of charge.
Self-exclusionSide bet
An optional extra wager decorating a main game, resolved by the same cards or dice but priced with a much larger house edge.
Side betSticky bonus
A bonus whose amount can be wagered but never withdrawn: only the winnings it generates can ever be cashed out, and the bonus itself vanishes at withdrawal.
Sticky bonusTable limits
The minimum and maximum stake allowed at a table or game, set by the operator per table and per bet type.
Table limitsTrue odds
The payout that would make a bet exactly fair, matching the real probability of the event. The gap between true odds and paid odds is the house edge.
True oddsVIP program
A tiered loyalty ladder that unlocks increasing rewards, rakeback, reloads, hosts, limits, based on accumulated wagering volume.
VIP program
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