Casino terms and conditions lean on jargon, and some of it is there to be skimmed past. This page defines the words you will meet at a British online casino, in plain English and with the UK rule attached where there is one. Where we have a full guide on the subject, the definition links to it.
A to C
ADR (alternative dispute resolution)
An independent service that rules on disputes between you and a casino. Every licensed operator must name an ADR provider, it is free for the customer, and you can use it once the casino's own complaints process has run for eight weeks or reached deadlock.
Autoplay
A feature that spins or deals repeatedly without you pressing anything. It has been banned on online slots in Britain since 31 October 2021 and on other online casino games since 17 January 2025.
Bonus funds
Money credited by the casino that you can play with but cannot withdraw until the offer's conditions are met. It is kept apart from your cash balance, and your own deposit should remain withdrawable.
Bonus spins
Spins on a named slot given as part of a promotion, usually after a deposit. Many operators use the term where the spins are tied to a deposit, since "free" would be misleading. Check whether the winnings are paid as cash or as bonus funds.
Cashback
A share of your losses, or sometimes of your stakes, returned to your account over a set period. The useful questions are whether it is paid as cash or as bonus funds and what counts as a loss.
Closed loop
A banking policy under which withdrawals go back to the payment method you deposited with, at least up to the amount deposited. It is an anti-money-laundering control, and it is why depositing by a method that cannot receive money, such as pay by mobile, means choosing another method to withdraw.
Credit card ban
Since 14 April 2020, licensed gambling businesses in Britain cannot accept credit cards, including through an e-wallet funded by one. See debit card casinos for what replaced them.
Customer funds rating
The label a casino must give to how well your balance is shielded if the company goes bust: not protected, medium or high. It has to appear in the terms and at your first deposit. Our UKGC licence guide explains the three levels.
D to G
Deposit limit
A cap you set on how much you can pay in over a day, week or month. Casinos have had to prompt you to set one before your first deposit since 31 October 2025, and decreases take effect at once while increases are delayed.
Deposit match
A bonus sized as a percentage of your deposit, so a 100% match on 20 pounds adds 20 pounds of bonus funds. It nearly always carries a wagering requirement.
Dormant account
An account with no activity for a period set in the casino's terms. Some operators then charge an inactivity fee against any remaining balance, so withdraw what is left before you stop using a site.
En prison
A French roulette rule. When zero lands, an even-money bet is held ("in prison") for the next spin instead of losing, and it is returned if it then wins. It roughly halves the house edge on those bets. More in our roulette guide.
Expected value
The average result of a bet or bonus if you could repeat it a very large number of times. It describes the long-run average, not what will happen in one session. Our wagering calculator works it out for a bonus.
Financial vulnerability check
A check of public records, such as bankruptcy orders and county court judgments, that an online operator must run once your net deposits pass 150 pounds in a rolling 30 days. It is done in the background and does not involve sending documents. See UK gambling law.
Free spins
Spins on a slot at a fixed value that cost you nothing per spin. Winnings may be paid as cash or as bonus funds with wagering attached, and there is often a cap on the total you can win.
Gambling Commission
The regulator of commercial gambling in Great Britain, often shortened to UKGC. It licenses operators, sets the rules and takes enforcement action, but it does not resolve individual complaints.
Game weighting
The share of each bet that counts towards a wagering requirement, set per game type. Slots usually count 100%, while table and live games often count far less or nothing, which multiplies the amount you would need to stake.
GAMSTOP
The free national self-exclusion scheme for online gambling. One registration blocks you from every licensed online operator for six months, one year or five years. See what GAMSTOP is.
Gross gambling yield
What an operator keeps: stakes taken minus winnings paid out, before its costs. It is the figure the statutory levy is calculated on.
H to L
House edge
The casino's built-in average advantage on a game, as a percentage of each stake. European roulette has a house edge of 2.7%, and it is the mirror image of RTP: a 96% RTP slot has a 4% edge.
Insurance
A blackjack side bet offered when the dealer shows an ace. It pays 2 to 1 if the dealer has blackjack and loses otherwise, and over time it costs more than it saves.
KYC (know your customer)
The identity checks a casino must complete. In Britain your name, address and date of birth have to be verified before you can deposit or play. See casino verification.
La partage
A French roulette rule that returns half of an even-money bet when zero lands. Like en prison, it cuts the house edge on those bets to about 1.35%.
LCCP
The Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice, the Gambling Commission's rulebook for licensed operators. When a casino says a rule is "a regulatory requirement", this is usually where it lives.
Licensee
The company that holds the Gambling Commission licence and is legally responsible for a casino site. It is often a different name from the brand on the logo.
Live casino
Table games and game shows run by a human dealer in a studio and streamed to you, with bets placed on screen. See our live casino guide.
Loss limit
A cap you set on how much you can lose over a period, counting stakes minus winnings. It is a different tool from a deposit limit, and since 30 September 2026 a casino may not label it as one.
M to P
Maximum bet rule
A term that limits your stake per spin or hand while bonus funds are active. Breaking it can void the bonus and its winnings.
Max win cap
The most you can keep from a bonus or a set of free spins, whatever you actually win. It can also mean the highest payout a slot can deliver in one spin, usually quoted as a multiple of the stake.
Megaways
A slot mechanic created by Big Time Gaming and licensed to other studios, in which the number of symbols on each reel changes every spin. The standard six-reel version offers up to 117,649 ways to win. See online slots.
Must-drop jackpot
A jackpot guaranteed to pay out before a deadline, such as daily, or before the pot reaches a stated amount.
Net deposit
Your deposits minus your withdrawals over a period. It is the figure used for financial vulnerability checks.
Net position
Your wins minus your losses since the session began. Online casino games in Britain must display it, along with time played.
No deposit bonus
Bonus funds or spins given for registering, before you pay anything in. Expect small amounts, a win cap and verification first. See our no deposit bonus guide.
No-wagering bonus
An offer whose winnings are credited as withdrawable cash with no playthrough. Other terms, such as expiry and minimum deposit, still apply.
Pay by bank
A payment made straight from your bank account through open banking, approved in your banking app, with no card details given to the casino. See pay by bank casinos.
Pay by mobile
A deposit charged to your phone bill or taken from pay-as-you-go credit. Limits are low and you cannot withdraw to it. See pay by mobile casinos.
Payline
A set line across a slot's reels on which matching symbols must land to pay. "Ways to win" slots drop fixed lines and pay for matching symbols on adjacent reels instead.
Progressive jackpot
A jackpot that grows with a small slice of every stake until someone wins it, often pooled across many casinos. The contribution usually comes out of the game's base RTP.
Public register
The Gambling Commission's searchable list of every licence holder, with its brands, web addresses and any sanctions. It is the only reliable way to confirm that a casino is licensed.
Q to S
Reality check
An on-screen reminder, at an interval you choose, of how long you have been playing. You have to acknowledge it to carry on.
Remote Gaming Duty
The tax operators pay on their profits from online casino play by UK customers. It rose from 21% to 40% in April 2026. Players pay nothing on winnings, as our gambling tax guide explains.
Remote operating licence
The Gambling Commission licence a company needs to offer online gambling to people in Great Britain, wherever the company is based.
Reverse withdrawal
Cancelling a pending withdrawal so the money returns to your playing balance. Licensed operators in Britain have been barred from offering it since 2021.
RNG (random number generator)
The software that produces the outcome of each spin or deal. In Britain it must be tested by an approved independent test house before a game goes live.
RTP (return to player)
The share of all stakes a game pays back as winnings over a very large number of plays, such as around 96% for many slots. It is a long-run average, and the same slot can be offered at different RTP settings by different casinos.
Scatter
A slot symbol that pays or triggers a feature wherever it lands, without needing to sit on a payline.
Self-exclusion
A formal request to be blocked from gambling for at least six months. You can do it with one operator or, through GAMSTOP, with all licensed online operators at once.
Side bet
An optional extra wager alongside the main game, such as Perfect Pairs or 21+3 in blackjack. Side bets generally carry a higher house edge than the main hand.
Soft 17
A blackjack hand worth 17 that counts an ace as 11, such as ace and six. Whether the dealer stands or hits on soft 17 is a table rule, and standing is slightly better for the player.
Source of funds
Evidence of where the money you gamble with comes from, such as payslips or bank statements. Casinos ask for it under anti-money-laundering rules, usually when deposits become large.
Stake limit
The legal maximum on a single online slot spin: 5 pounds for players aged 25 and over, 2 pounds for those aged 18 to 24. It does not apply to table or live games.
Statutory levy
A compulsory charge on licensed operators, in force since 6 April 2025, that funds gambling research, prevention and treatment. It replaced voluntary donations.
T to Z
Time-out
A short break from an account, from 24 hours up to six weeks. It is lighter than self-exclusion and the account reopens when the period ends.
Turbo or quick spin
A setting that speeds up a game's animation. It is banned in Britain, where a slot spin must take at least 2.5 seconds and other casino games at least five seconds.
Turnover
The total value of the bets you place, counting winnings that are staked again. A wagering requirement is a turnover target, not a loss target.
Volatility
How a game's returns are spread out, also called variance. A high-volatility slot pays less often but in bigger amounts, while a low-volatility one pays small wins frequently. Two slots can share an RTP and feel nothing alike.
Wagering requirement
The number of times you must stake bonus funds before they become withdrawable cash. It has been capped at 10x for licensed casinos since 19 January 2026. Full detail in wagering requirements explained.
Welcome offer
A promotion open to new customers only, normally usable once per person and household. Compare current types on our bonus page.
White label
A casino brand run on another company's licence and platform. The licence holder stays responsible for the site, and sister brands often share terms and support.
Wild
A slot symbol that stands in for other symbols to complete a win, normally excluding scatters and bonus symbols.