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Every term, in plain English.

The 30+ casino terms a reader needs to read a bonus T&C without getting trapped. Linked from every guide and review on this site.

Regulation & Licensing Bonus Math Gameplay Payment Methods Responsible Gambling

Regulation & Licensing

7 terms

MGA (Malta Gaming Authority)(Malta Gaming Authority)#mga: Malta Gaming Authority. The Maltese gambling regulator and the strictest license in common use on the EU grey market. MGA enforces audited RTP on every slot, mandatory player-fund segregation, mandatory KYC at deposit, a regulator-mediated dispute path (the MGA player complaint form), and minimum responsible-gambling tooling. License numbers look like MGA/B2C/123/2017 and verify at mga.org.mt. If a casino is MGA-licensed and you have a dispute, the regulator will respond inside 5 business days.
UKGC (UK Gambling Commission)(UK Gambling Commission)#ukgc: UK Gambling Commission. The strictest responsible-gambling regime in the industry: mandatory GAMSTOP integration, mandatory affordability checks above certain deposit thresholds, mandatory credit-card deposit ban. UKGC only covers UK-resident players, so if you are an EU player the badge does not directly apply to you — your relationship with the operator is governed by whichever other license they hold (typically MGA or Curaçao for dual-licensed operators).
Curaçao GCB(Curaçao)#curacao-gcb: Curaçao Gaming Control Board. Consolidated regulator since 2024, replacing the older sub-licensing system. The new framework is genuinely stricter: mandatory regulator-mediated dispute path, player-fund segregation, ID verification at withdrawal, and RTP audits via approved test labs. Complaint response time runs 10-15 business days, slower than MGA. Curaçao GCB license numbers look like OGL/2024/123/ABCD and verify at gaming-curacao.com. Older format numbers like 1668/JAZ are legacy sub-licensed and do not benefit from the new framework's enforcement.
Kahnawake#kahnawake: Mohawk Council of Kahnawake gaming license, regulated by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission based in Quebec, Canada. About 25 active operators globally hold this license, enforcement is real, and the response window for player complaints is 10 business days. The license has been issued since 1999 — most Kahnawake-licensed operators have years of verifiable history rather than months. Strong choice when present, but the operator pool is small.
Anjouan (Comoros)#anjouan: Anjouan eGaming under the Union of the Comoros. Popular with crypto-only operators since 2023. The regulatory framework is light: no mandatory KYC at deposit, no mandatory dispute mediation, no published audit requirement. Disputes are settled directly between you and the operator. Trade-off is documented — crypto operators get operating freedom in exchange for weaker player-side protections. Worth considering only when other factors (provably-fair RNG, sub-hour same-coin payouts) compensate.
KYC (Know Your Customer)#kyc: Know Your Customer. The verification a casino runs before approving your first withdrawal. Every licensed operator does it. The differences are in when (at deposit vs at withdrawal) and what they ask for (passport, address, payment-method ownership, sometimes source of funds). KYC at deposit means slower signup but no surprise delays at cash-out. KYC at withdrawal means fast signup but expect 12-72 hours of extra wait on your first withdrawal. Voluntary upfront KYC after deposit is the single most effective lever to compress first-withdrawal time.
AML (Anti-Money Laundering)#aml: Anti-Money Laundering. The compliance framework operators must follow to detect and prevent suspicious financial activity. Triggers source-of-funds checks above certain withdrawal thresholds (commonly €2,000-€5,000 depending on jurisdiction), enhanced due diligence on PEPs (politically exposed persons), and transaction-pattern monitoring. From a player perspective, AML usually surfaces as a bank statement request when you withdraw a large amount — provide the document, withdrawal continues.

Bonus Math

10 terms

Wagering Requirement(wagering)#wagering-requirement: The multiplier that determines how much you must bet (wager) before any winnings from bonus play become withdrawable. Published as 'Nx', where N is the multiplier. 35× on bonus alone means: 35 multiplied by the bonus amount equals the total wagering volume you owe. 35× on deposit+bonus combined means: 35 multiplied by (deposit + bonus) — roughly double the play volume for the same headline. Read every bonus T&C to confirm which base the multiplier applies to; the same headline number means very different things.
No-Wager Bonus#no-wager: A bonus whose winnings are immediately withdrawable with no wagering multiplier. About half the bonuses labeled 'no-wager' are genuine; the other half have a hidden 1× or 5× multiplier disguised in the T&Cs. The 30-second check: search the T&C document for the word 'wagering'. If the result reads '0×' or 'no wagering applies', the bonus is genuine. Any number, even 1×, means it is structurally a wagering bonus dressed up. Genuine no-wager bonuses are the cleanest deal in the industry.
Max-Bet Cap#max-bet-cap: The maximum bet allowed per spin or per hand while wagering on a bonus is active. Industry standard is €5. Below €3 is hostile because it means you cannot clear the wagering at a reasonable pace. €0.50 caps exist and are designed to make sure you give up before finishing. Check the cap, multiply by required wagering volume (35× €100 bonus = €3,500 of play), divide by the cap (700 spins at €5, 7,000 at €0.50). Plan the math before claiming.
Game Weighting#game-weighting: The percentage each game contributes toward your wagering total. Slots usually count 100%. Table games might count 10%. Live dealer often counts 5%. Some bonuses exclude specific games entirely — typically the highest-RTP slots and any progressive jackpots. A bonus that excludes every game with RTP above 96% is structurally hostile: you can still play, but every spin advances wagering more slowly. Watch for the excluded-games list at the bottom of the T&Cs. More than ten excluded games is a flag.
Max-Withdrawal Cap#max-withdrawal-cap: The maximum amount you can withdraw from winnings generated by bonus play. Sometimes capped at 5× the bonus amount, sometimes a flat figure like €500. You can clear the wagering, win €2,000, and only be able to cash out €500 of it because of this clause. The cap is usually buried in the T&Cs — search for 'maximum withdrawal' or 'cap on winnings derived from bonus funds'. If it is there at all, factor it into whether the bonus is worth the time.
Welcome Bonus(welcome offer)#welcome-bonus: A bonus offered to new players, structured as a percentage match on the first deposit (or split across the first two or three). Headline match rates range from 100% to 300% with caps usually between €100 and €2,000. The headline number is rarely the operative figure — wagering, max-bet, game weighting, and withdrawal cap together determine whether a welcome bonus is a real edge or marketing copy.
Free Spins#free-spins: Bonus spins on selected slot games without wagering your own money. Often bundled with deposit bonuses or offered as standalone promotions. Winnings from free spins usually carry their own wagering requirement (most commonly 35× on the winnings amount). A 50-free-spin offer that pays out $5 in winnings means $175 of required play to withdraw the $5. Worth claiming when the wagering is light or the spin count is high enough to matter.
No-Deposit Bonus#no-deposit: A bonus credited to new accounts without requiring a deposit — register, claim, play. Winnings caps are universal (commonly $100). Bonus expiry windows are short (often 24 hours). Claim same day or lose it. No-deposit bonuses are the cheapest way to test an operator's experience before committing real money, but the cap and expiry mean they are not a path to meaningful winnings.
Cashback#cashback: A percentage of your net losses returned as either bonus credit or real cash. Weekly cashback is the common cadence. Rates range from 5% to 25%; most operators cap the return at €100-€500 per period. The cleanest model returns the cashback as withdrawable real money with no wagering, which makes the bonus mathematically work for steady players. Hostile variants return it as bonus credit with 20× wagering attached.
Reload Bonus#reload: A deposit bonus offered to existing players who top up their account after the welcome offer is spent. Match rates are smaller than welcome bonuses (typically 20-50% rather than 100-200%) but terms are usually friendlier — wagering is almost always on the bonus alone, not deposit+bonus. Useful for maintaining a bankroll over time.

Gameplay

7 terms

RTP (Return to Player)#rtp: Return To Player. The mathematically expected percentage of money wagered that a slot or table game pays back to players over an infinite sample. A 96% RTP slot returns $96 of every $100 wagered, on average, across millions of spins. RTP is audited by independent labs (eCOGRA, iTech Labs, GLI) and the published number on the game info screen is the audited number. RTP describes long-run expectation, not session results — variance dominates short sessions.
House Edge#house-edge: The casino's expected percentage profit on a game — the inverse of RTP. A 96% RTP slot has a 4% house edge. A 99.5% RTP blackjack game (with optimal play) has a 0.5% house edge. The house edge applies across an effectively infinite sample; on any single session your result can vary wildly above or below it due to variance.
Volatility (Variance)(Variance)#volatility: Volatility (also called variance) measures how spread out a game's outcomes are around its RTP. Low-volatility games pay back the RTP with many small wins; high-volatility games pay the same RTP but mostly in rare, large hits. Two games with the same RTP can have radically different session experiences and bankroll requirements. Top high-volatility slots in 2026 (Dead or Alive 2, Money Train 4, San Quentin xWays) routinely publish 10/10 variance ratings — plan to lose your stake before the big hit lands, or do not play them.
RNG (Random Number Generator)#rng: Random Number Generator. The cryptographic algorithm that determines outcomes on every slot spin and most other casino games. Licensed operators run audited RNGs verified by independent labs. Some crypto-only operators publish provably-fair RNGs that allow players to verify outcomes against on-chain seeds themselves — Bitcoin Den on the current shortlist runs this model.
Live Dealer(live blackjack / live roulette)#live-dealer: Casino games streamed in real time with a human dealer running the game. Tables typically include blackjack, roulette, baccarat, and game-show variants (Crazy Time, Lightning Dice, Monopoly Live). Evolution Gaming is the dominant studio with 80%+ of live tables in the licensed-operator market; Pragmatic Live and NetEnt Live are the credible alternatives. Live dealer roster depth varies dramatically between operators — Diamond Royale runs 31 Evolution tables; Phoenix Reels has none.
Progressive Jackpot#progressive-jackpot: A slot jackpot that grows with every spin across a network of casinos until it is won, then resets to a seed amount. Mega Moolah, Divine Fortune, and Mega Fortune are the most common progressives. Published RTP on progressive slots includes the jackpot pool — meaning the base-game return is lower than the headline RTP suggests, because the pool is paid only to one player. Treat progressives as lottery tickets, not entertainment.
Paytable#paytable: The in-game help screen showing each symbol's payout value, the paylines or ways the slot uses, the bet ranges, and (critically) the published RTP. Tap the menu icon and scroll to 'Paytable' or 'Game Info'. Every reputable slot publishes RTP here. If a game does not display its RTP anywhere, that is itself a red flag.

Payment Methods

3 terms

Skrill#skrill: European e-wallet, widely accepted by EU-facing casinos. Deposits credit in seconds. Withdrawals from licensed operators typically hit Skrill inside 24-48 hours once approved. The combination of speed and broad acceptance makes Skrill the default funding method for serious players on the shortlist. Verification is required on first use but is a one-time process.
Neteller#neteller: European e-wallet owned by Paysafe Group (same as Skrill). Performance is broadly similar — fast deposit, fast withdrawal at licensed operators. Choose Neteller over Skrill only if a specific operator's fee schedule is lower for Neteller, or if you already have funds in a Neteller account from another use.
Trustly#trustly: Open-banking deposit method allowing instant transfer from a player's bank account to a casino without a card or e-wallet intermediary. Common in Nordic markets. Deposits are nearly instant. Withdrawals run at SEPA speed (typically next business day) and arrive directly in the same bank account that funded the deposit.

Responsible Gambling

6 terms

GAMSTOP#gamstop: The UK national self-exclusion register. Free, covers every UKGC-licensed operator at once. Active for 6 months, 1 year, or 5 years depending on choice. Once registered, you cannot access any UK-licensed operator's site until the period expires; the operator must verify you against the register before accepting deposits. Strongest enforced self-exclusion scheme in the industry.
OASIS#oasis: Germany's national self-exclusion database (Spielersperrsystem OASIS). Covers all operators licensed under the German Glücksspielstaatsvertrag. Registration is processed through any licensed operator and applies across the German licensed market.
CRUKS#cruks: The Netherlands' Central Register of Exclusion from Games of Chance, operated under the Kansspelautoriteit (KSA). Mandatory check on every deposit at a Dutch-licensed operator. Registration applies across the Dutch licensed market; minimum exclusion period is 6 months.
Deposit Limit#deposit-limit: A self-imposed cap on how much you can add to your casino account in a given period — daily, weekly, or monthly. Every licensed operator must offer this tool. Limits are immediately enforced when lowered, but typically delayed 24 hours when raised (regulatory requirement to prevent impulse increases). The most effective single tool for controlling spend.
Self-Exclusion#self-exclusion: A voluntary ban from gambling, either at a single operator or — through national registers like GAMSTOP, OASIS, and CRUKS — across every licensed operator in a jurisdiction at once. Once active, you cannot access your account or place bets until the exclusion period ends. Periods commonly run 6 months, 1 year, or 5 years; permanent exclusion is available on most national registers.
Reality Check#reality-check: A periodic pop-up reminder configured by the player that shows total play time and net win/loss for the session. Intervals are typically settable from 15 minutes to 4 hours. Strongest defense against losing track of time during a session.

Term missing or definition incomplete? Email corrections@lepresean.com — I add new entries every couple of weeks.

Sean Murphy · Last revised June 2026