Definitions of casino and gambling terms
A match deposit bonus is a promotion where the casino matches your deposit by a percentage and adds it to your balance as bonus funds. A 100% match up to £200 means a £200 deposit gives you £200 bonus, totalling £400 in playing balance. How match percentages work The percentage tells you how much of…
A sticky bonus (also called a non-cashable or locked bonus) is a bonus that can be used for wagering but cannot itself be withdrawn. Only the winnings generated from it can be cashed out after wagering requirements are met. The bonus funds themselves disappear from your balance when you withdraw. How a sticky bonus works…
A stake is the amount of money you risk on a single bet or spin. Every time you place a bet you’re putting your stake at risk. If the bet wins, you receive your stake back plus any winnings. If it loses, the stake is gone. Stake vs bet vs wager Stake, bet, and wager…
A low roller is a player who consistently bets at small stakes. The term is casual and relative — what counts as low depends on the context. In an online casino, a player spinning at £0.20 per spin or placing £1 table bets is generally considered a low roller. Low roller casino options Most online…
A lay bet means betting against an outcome — wagering that something will NOT happen. In traditional sports betting, you back a team to win. Laying that team means betting they will lose or draw. Betting exchanges like Betfair allow both backing and laying on most markets. How lay betting works When you lay a…
A whale is a casino industry term for an extremely high-value player — someone who gambles at stakes far above the typical high roller. Whales can wager millions per session and generate an outsized proportion of a casino’s total revenue. How casinos handle whales Casinos invest heavily in acquiring and retaining whale players. Dedicated VIP…
A cashback bonus returns a percentage of your losses back to you over a defined period — typically a week or month. If you lose £200 and the casino offers 10% cashback, you receive £20 back. Cashback is often paid as cash (real money, no wagering) or as bonus funds with wagering requirements. Cash cashback…
The maximum bet rule is a restriction in casino bonus terms that limits how much you can wager per spin or hand while a bonus is active. Exceeding this limit typically voids the bonus and can result in the forfeiture of any winnings earned while the rule was breached. Typical maximum bet limits Most casinos…
A push in gambling means a tie — the outcome results in neither a win nor a loss and your stake is returned. Pushes occur most commonly in blackjack (when your hand ties the dealer), baccarat (when Banker and Player total the same), and some sports bets where the result falls exactly on the spread…
The gambler’s fallacy is the mistaken belief that past random outcomes influence future ones in games of chance. It leads players to believe a ‘hot streak’ will continue or that a sequence of losses makes a win more likely soon. Neither is true. Classic examples After a roulette wheel lands on red 7 times in…
A proposition bet (prop bet) is a wager on a specific event or outcome within a game that doesn’t directly relate to the final result. In sports betting, prop bets cover things like how many goals a player scores or whether a coin flip starts a match. In casino games, prop bets are center-table bets…
Tilt is a state where emotional frustration causes a player to make poor decisions, typically betting larger amounts or more recklessly than normal to recover losses. The term comes from pinball machines but is now widely used in poker, casino gaming, and sports betting. What causes tilt A significant loss, a bad beat, a perceived…