Home | News | Features | Casino Terms – A Basic Guide

Casino Terms – A Basic Guide

December 17, 2024

No matter the online casino game, part of understanding it fully is learning its lingo and specific terms. This can be overwhelming for many when rolling the dice and entering the casino world, and it can often feel like the deck is stacked against you.

But never fear. That is precisely why we have compiled this guide—so beginner online slot players can grasp some of the simpler terms used in the gambling world before deciding whether to play or not. And because we know you may find this interesting, we’ll throw in a couple more advanced terms that will definitely not leave your head spinning like a roulette wheel.

Basic Casino Terms

Knowing these phrases will come in handy whether you’re playing at a reputable casino like Pokerstars or a land-based casino.

House Edge

When a casino has a statistical edge over a player (and you will find this in varying degrees in every casino game), it is known as the house edge. Essentially, it is the percentage of each bet the casino expects to win over a period of time.

Wager

In a casino environment, a wager refers to the action of betting on a game or even a sporting event if you prefer sports betting.

Bet

A bet is simply the amount of cash you wager on a specific outcome in a casino game. It may also be known as your stake in the game.

Bamkroll

The bankroll is the amount of money you have set aside to use at your chosen casino. As always, it should be an amount that has been specifically budgeted for the purposes of entertainment.

Jackpot

You may think this is an obvious term to include in our guide, but although you may know that the jackpot is the top prize a player wins (usually at a slot game), did you know there are different types of jackpots? Some of them are:

  • Progressive jackpots: a percentage of every bet a player makes in a game goes towards this jackpot.
  • Fixed jackpot: as the name suggests, these have a capped payout limit that is decided by the game developer.
  • Multiple jackpots: some slot games offer jackpot levels that players can win, such as mini, minor, and major, for example.

These are the most common types of jackpots you will find in slot games, but you can also get local jackpots, network jackpots, and must-drop jackpots.

Dealer

A dealer is the person in charge of the game, usually a table game such as blackjack, roulette, or baccarat. They will either spin the wheel or deal the cards, and they are the staff member who controls the game. In live dealer roulette, for example, you may hear the dealer say, “No more bets, please,” indicating that players can no longer wager on the current game. (Thanks to this guide, you now know what a wager is too!).

Advanced Casino Terms

By now, we think you should be feeling pretty confident when it comes to the basic casino terms, so let’s up the ante (yet another casino term, basically meaning to up your bet).

Vigorish

This casino term even has its own slang: the “vig.” It is the fee a casino charges for taking a bet and also how the operator makes its money. It’s similar to the house edge, which is another way a casino turns a profit.

Random Number Generator (RNG)

RNG software is used in every legitimate and trustworthy casino to ensure all the games’ outcomes are fair and random.

Return to Player (RTP)

This is a gambling term that is used to describe the percentage of money a player can expect to win back over time. The higher the RTP, the better it is for players.

Casino Terms Aced

See, that wasn’t so bad, was it? Now, you are equipped with a little more knowledge when it comes to the world of gambling and gaming, and you know what they say: knowledge is power.

Written By
David Lynch

Experienced writer and editor based in Ireland. Attends poker events, covers all casino games and slots, but is really a keen blackjack and roulette player at heart. A sports fanatic among all other things with a soft spot for soccer and F1