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Glossary for online casino gambling

Are you new to the online casino industry or just having problems understanding the gambling expressions? No need to worry as we have you covered with this extensive list of online gambling phrases and expressions.

The gambling expressions and phrases are listed alphabetically, making it easier for you to find specific expressions. You also have the opportunity to directly search for a word or expression by using your browser’s ‘Find’ function (usually CTRL+F on PC or Command+F on Mac). A box will then appear in the top right corner of your browser, where you can insert the needed expression/word.

A

Affiliate: a third-party working to promote one or several online casinos.

AGCC: Alderney Gambling Control Commission. Some smaller online casinos are based here, due to the local tax advantages, and as a result must have an Alderney license to operate.

Aggregate payout limit: a limit that can apply to winnings on some casino table games.

Ante: Ante can either mean the first initial bet you make in poker, which is required to start the play. It can also mean a commission charged per hand in the game of blackjack.

B

Bonus: A bonus in the casino world is usually extra money to play for or another type of gambling credit given to players. The bonus usually comes with special rules regarding wagering, terms for payout etc. A bonus can also be a special feature in a game, e.g. a bonus round with free spins.

Bonus abuse: This term is usually used by the online casinos in describing any kind of undesirable use of the bonus play.

Bonus ban: when a casino player is denied from participating in future bonus offers. Will most likely be a result of previous abuse of the terms and conditions related to a special bonus offer.

Bonus bet: see ‘side bet’.

Box cars: in the game of craps this term means double sixes.

Bust: Bust can mean two things. In blackjack and other games where the goal is to get 21, bust means to exceed 21. Bust can also mean to go broke, bust out or simply run out of money/credit.

C

Cashable: Typically used in the term of a cashable bonus, which means a special type of bonus where it is possible for the player to withdraw the bonus amount itself

Cashback: Cashback, or cashback bonus/credit, typically refers to a common practice among the online casinos where the player will receive a percentage of the credit lost over a given period back into their account.

Chargeback: the term chargeback generally refers to a person disputing charges made to a credit card. In the online gambling world, it would typically be a player disputing a deposit made into an online casino due to fraudulent practice.

Comp points: a specific type of loyalty points earned by players for using a specific site or service. The player will typically earn points for gaming activity, which can then be converted into gaming credit or free spins when a specific amount has been collected.

Contribution: the percentage of wagers that will go towards a bonus playthrough requirement on a particular game. Some games might contribute more to the playthrough requirements than others, depending on the game type. It is common procedure that some live casino games, including blackjack, does not contribute fully to the wagering requirements.

D

Dice: slang term used for the live casino game Craps.

Double up: Double up can in game situations with slots and video poker games be to risk winnings for double up on the odds applying. Double up is also a common option in games where the goal is to hit the number 21 and refers to a doubling of the initial wager.

E

Even money: 1:1 odds on a bet, meaning that if you bet $200 – then you will, if the bet succeeds, win $200 on top of your deposited sum.

E-wallet: An online account where players can store funds. The E-wallet functions as an online payment service, where customers can deposit money from or withdraw money to. The E-wallets have become increasingly popular with especially casino customers, as the online based payment services often functions faster and more efficient than a normal bank account.

F

Field: known from the popular live casino game craps and is described as a bet that pays when 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, or 12 is rolled.

Full house: Full house is an expression known from poker games. A full house consists of a set of 3 cards with the same rank with an additional pair. The hand ranks above flush and below four-of-a-kind in most games.

Flush: A flush in the online casino world can generally mean two things. One is a set of cards (usually 5) of one suit. The hand ranks below the full house but above the straight in most games. A flush can also mean to manually turn off the pending period for a withdrawal of funds.

Free chip: see ‘no deposit bonus’.

Freeroll: The term freeroll typically refers to a type of card or dice tournament where no fee is required to play.

Fruity: Fruity is a term used to express two different things. One use of the word, typically heard in the UK, is a general expression for a slot machine. The other is a specific kind of arcade-style slot machine with a fixed payout percentage in the short-term.

H

Hard: This term is used to describe any hand in blackjack that is not soft. A hard hand is basically any two cards not involving an ace, where a soft hand is any two cards including an ace.

Hard ways: Known from craps and are double 2s, double 3s, double 4s, and double 5s.

Hit: in most card games it means to take another card.

Hole card: in most variants of blackjack, the initial dealer card not exposed. Not used in European Blackjack, Australian Pontoon, and some others.

House edge: The house edge is the percentage of a given bet that the casino can mathematically expect to win in the long run.

I

Insurance: is a bet offered towards players in the game of blackjack, when the dealer holds an ace and therefore have a good chance of hitting 21 (blackjack).

J

Jackpot: the largest possible payout in a given game.

L

Live chat: most casinos offer customer support through direct messaging where the customer can chat directly with a support employee to solve issues or have questions answered.

M

Martingale: This expression covers a betting strategy used for even money bets where the casino player doubles his bet after each loss until he wins.

Match bonus: a special type of bonus that apply at most casinos when depositing money to your casino account. The match up bonus is typically based on a fixed percentage of the deposit.

Max cashout: means the maximum amount you can cash out from your player account at once. This rule often applies to bonuses with no deposit and some large match up bonuses. Several casinos also have specific rules for how much a player can cash out weekly and/or monthly, which can depend on the country you play from.

MG: Microgaming, a casino games developer with a wide range of quality content games such as the popular titles Thunderstruck 2 or Burning Desire.

Muck: generally known from video poker and draw poker games and means to discard.

N

NDB: see ‘no deposit bonus’.

Network progressive: see ‘wide area progressive’.

Nickel: can be used as slang for a $5 chip in the US.

No deposit bonus: is a type of bonus provided to players without requiring them to add any money to their account. These bonuses often have a maximum cashout limit, which will typically be stated among the bonus conditions.

O

Odds: The expression “odds” have several meanings in the casino world. It can either mean the payout of a particular bet or the probability of an outcome. A third version, known from the game of craps, can mean a zero-edge bet that may be placed on a Pass Line, Don’t Pass, Come, or Don’t Come bet, up to a certain limit.

P

Paint: recognized by many casino players as slang for face cards.

Parlay: means to add winnings to an existing bet.

Playthrough: see ‘wagering requirement’.

Pokies: the general term for slot machines in Australia.

PT: Playtech is a widely recognized casino games developer, known as the developer of famous slot titles as “X-Men” and “A night out”.

Progressive: is a special type of jackpot that increases by a percentage of wagers made on the game.

Q

Quarter: Often refers to a $25 chip in the US casinos.

R

Rake: is an expression known from poker, where it means the percentage of the pot taken by the poker room.

Reload bonus: functions typically as a match up bonus given to existing players as appreciation of their loyalty towards the casino site

RNG: is an abbreviation of ‘Random Number Generator’, which is a software used to determine outcomes in slot games or other casino games that are not dealt by hand.

RTG: means ‘Real Time Gaming’.

Rollover: see ‘wagering requirement’.

Royal flush: known from poker games and is the combination of Ace-King-Queen-Jack-Ten of one suit. The Royal Flush is the highest ranking hand in most poker games.

RTP: means the ‘Return to Player’, or the percentage of wagers the player can expect to get back in the long-term, in casino games. The RTP is the same as 100% minus the house edge.

S

Scatter: known from slot games and is a symbol that pays in any position.

Self-exclusion: is a process where casino customers can request to be excluded from playing at a casino.

Side bet: an extra bet placed on a game in addition to the standard wager bet.

Snake eyes: means double ones in the game of craps.

Soft: a term known from blackjack, where a hand composed of an ace is counted as eleven.

Split: Split has two meanings. One means to separate two cards of the same rank into two separate hands in 21 games like blackjack. It can also mean a bet that covers 2 numbers next to each other on the betting grid in the game of roulette.

Sticky: is a special type of bonus where the bonus amount cannot be withdrawn.

Straight flush: The straight flush is another expression known from poker. It is a name for a hand consisting of (usually 5) consecutive cards of one suit. This hand ranks above four-of-a-kind and below royal flush in most games.

Straight-up: is a bet on a single number, known from roulette.

Street: is slang for a bet that covers a column of 3 numbers on the betting grid in roulette.

Sucker bet: is an expression for a wager that gives the house a significantly larger house edge than most other bets, especially when on the same game.

Suit: Suit can mean two things when it comes to online casinos. To follow suit can mean to copy the move of your predecessor (e.g. to play a card of the same colour as the player before you). Suit can also mean a specific type of cards, e.g. hearts, clubs, spades, or diamonds.

Stand/stick: means to stop taking cards and turn the play to the next player or to the dealer and is known from 21 games like blackjack.

T

T&C/Terms and Conditions: the terms and conditions of a site elaborates the rules applying to all users. This can be in terms of who may play, what the policies are regarding the different bonuses, and all other aspects of using the casino’s services.

Third base: known from multi-player table games and is used about the last player to act.

Tip/toke: means to place a bet for or to give a chip to the dealer or another service worker in the casino.

Tourney: short for ‘to¬urn¬ame¬nt’.

Trigger: means to activate a special feature in the game and is most commonly seen in video slots.

Trips: is a slang expression for three-of-a-kind in poker and poker-based casino games.

Twist: see ‘hit’.

W

Wagering requirement: means the amount a player must play for before they can withdraw funds from their casino balance. The wagering requirement usually applies to bonuses and is typically mentioned as a multiple of the bonus amount itself (e.g. 45x).

Wide-area progressive/WAP: a wide-area progressive jackpot is a jackpot for a specific game that applies at all casino sites offering the game.

Welcome bonus: is a bonus offered to new players at a casino to get them started.

WR: see ‘wagering requirement’.

Y

Yo: means eleven in the game of craps.

Glossary for online casino gambling

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Y

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