Crypto Casino Glossary
Crypto Casino GlossaryCrypto casinos mix gambling jargon with blockchain jargon. This glossary explains 60 terms in plain English: payments and networks, game maths, bonuses, licences and responsible gambling tools. Knowing the terms does not change the odds: every casino game has a built-in house edge.
Jump to: A · B · C · D · E · F · G · H · K · L · M · N · O · P · R · S · T · U · V · W
A
AML (anti-money laundering)
Rules that require licensed operators to detect and report money laundering. AML checks can be triggered at any time, typically by large or unusual deposits and withdrawals, even at casinos that advertise no KYC. See our KYC guide.
Anjouan licence
A gambling licence issued on Anjouan, an autonomous island of the Union of the Comoros. It is relatively quick to obtain, but player protection and dispute options are generally weaker than with stricter regulators. Learn how to verify one in the licences guide.
B
Bankroll
The money you set aside for gambling, which should only ever be money you can afford to lose. A bankroll does not change the odds; it only affects how long you can absorb losing streaks. Try the bankroll calculator.
BEP20
The token standard on BNB Smart Chain. USDT sent as BEP20 must arrive at a BEP20 address; choosing the wrong network can lose the funds. Compare networks in TRC20 vs ERC20 vs BEP20.
Bet sizing
How much you stake per bet relative to your bankroll. Smaller bets do not reduce the house edge, but they make a bankroll last longer and soften the swings within a session. See the bet sizing simulation.
Blackjack basic strategy
The mathematically best decision (hit, stand, double, split or surrender) for every combination of your hand and the dealer’s up card. Under common rules it lowers the house edge to roughly 0.5%, but it never removes it. See basic strategy vs gut feeling.
Block explorer
A public website that shows every transaction on a blockchain, such as Etherscan for Ethereum or Tronscan for Tron. Paste a TXID to check whether a deposit or withdrawal was actually sent and how many confirmations it has.
Bonus abuse
An operator term for using bonuses in ways the terms forbid, such as multiple accounts or betting patterns designed to clear wagering with little risk. Definitions are often vague and can be used to void winnings; vague bonus clauses are one of our red flags.
C
Cashback
A refund of a percentage of your net losses over a period, sometimes paid as bonus money with its own wagering. Typical cashback lowers the cost of play but does not make it profitable. See cashback vs rakeback.
Client seed
A value you control (or your browser generates) that is combined with the server seed and nonce in provably fair games. Because you can change it, the casino cannot fix the result in advance. Try it in our provably fair demo.
Cold wallet
A wallet whose private keys are kept offline, which makes it much harder to hack. Casinos often keep most reserves in cold storage, so very large withdrawals may wait for a manual top-up of the hot wallet.
Confirmations
The number of blocks added to the blockchain after the block that contains your transaction. Casinos credit deposits only after a set number of confirmations, which is why speed depends on the coin and network; see withdrawal times.
Crash game
A game in which a multiplier rises from 1.00x until it “crashes” at a random point; you win only if you cash out before the crash. The house edge is built into the distribution of crash points, so no cash-out target beats it. See the crash game simulation.
Curaçao licence
A licence from Curaçao, one of the most common jurisdictions among crypto casinos. Curaçao has been reforming its system since 2023, replacing the old master-licence and sub-licence model with licences issued directly by the regulator, so check the operator in the public register. See the licences guide and Curaçao-licensed casinos.
D
Deposit limit
A cap you set on how much you can deposit per day, week or month. Lowering a limit usually applies immediately, while raising it typically takes effect only after a cooling-off delay. More tools on our responsible gambling page.
E
ERC20
The token standard on Ethereum. ERC20 transfers are widely supported but pay gas fees in ETH, which can be high when the network is busy. Compare in TRC20 vs ERC20 vs BEP20.
European vs American roulette
European roulette has 37 pockets (one zero), giving a house edge of 2.70%; American roulette has 38 pockets (zero and double zero), giving 5.26% on almost every bet. Same payouts, nearly double the cost; see the roulette simulation.
Expected value (EV)
The average result of a bet if it were repeated endlessly, with each outcome weighted by its probability. For casino games EV is negative: on average you lose your total stake times the house edge.
F
Free spins
Spins on specific slots at a fixed bet value, given as a bonus. Winnings are usually credited as bonus money with a wagering requirement and sometimes a cap; see the bonus wagering guide.
G
Gambler's fallacy
The mistaken belief that past results change the odds of independent events, for example that red is “due” after a run of black. Each spin is independent; see 1,000,000 roulette spins and betting systems tested.
Gambling licence
Permission from a regulator to offer gambling, with rules on fairness, AML and complaints. Licences differ greatly in strictness; see the licences guide and how licensing affects our methodology.
Game weighting
The share of each bet that counts towards a wagering requirement. Slots often count 100%, while table games and live casino may count much less or not at all. The wagering calculator shows how weighting changes the turnover you need.
Gas fee
The fee paid to process a transaction on Ethereum and similar networks; it rises when the network is busy. Casinos may pass network fees on to you or absorb them; see no withdrawal fee casinos.
H
Hash
The fixed-length output of a one-way function such as SHA-256. Anyone can compute the hash of some data, but nobody can recover the data from the hash, which is why casinos publish the hash of the server seed before you bet.
Hit frequency
The share of rounds that return any win, including wins smaller than the stake. A high hit frequency does not mean a high RTP; see low vs high volatility.
Hot wallet
A wallet connected to the internet that can sign transactions automatically. Casinos pay withdrawals from hot wallets, so a well-funded hot wallet is one reason some sites pay quickly; see fast withdrawal casinos.
House edge
The casino’s average profit as a percentage of each bet, built into the game’s rules or payouts. It equals 100% minus RTP: a slot with 96% RTP has a 4% house edge. See the house edge simulation.
K
KYC (know your customer)
Identity verification, usually an ID document, proof of address and sometimes a selfie. “No KYC” casinos may still request it at withdrawal or when AML checks are triggered; see our KYC guide and no KYC casinos.
L
Losses disguised as wins (LDW)
A slot result that pays back less than the stake but is celebrated with win sounds and animations, such as 0.40 returned on a 1.00 spin. LDWs make a session feel more successful than it is.
M
Martingale
A betting system that doubles the stake after every loss to recover all previous losses with one win. It produces many small wins and rare, very large losses, and table limits and finite bankrolls make it fail; it never changes the house edge. See Martingale on 10,000 players and the Martingale calculator.
Max bet rule
A bonus term that caps the size of each bet while a bonus is active. Exceeding it, even once, can void the bonus and its winnings; see the bonus wagering guide.
Memo / destination tag
An extra field required by some coins (for example XRP, XLM or TON) when the casino uses one shared deposit address. Without the correct memo or tag the deposit cannot be matched to your account; see memo and destination tag.
MGA licence
A licence from the Malta Gaming Authority, an EU regulator with strict rules on player protection, KYC and complaints. MGA-licensed sites generally verify identity before you can play; compare jurisdictions in the licences guide.
Minimum withdrawal
The smallest amount you can cash out, usually set per coin and network. A high minimum combined with a fixed fee can make small withdrawals expensive.
Multiplier
The factor applied to a stake to calculate a payout: a 2.5x multiplier on a stake of 10 returns 25, including the stake. In crash games the multiplier rises until the crash.
N
Near miss
An outcome that looks close to a big win, such as two jackpot symbols with the third just off the payline. It has no effect on the next spin but encourages players to keep going; see 665 near misses in 1,000,000 spins.
Network
The blockchain a transfer runs on, such as Tron, Ethereum or BNB Smart Chain. The same coin, like USDT, exists on several networks, and sender and receiver must use the same one.
Nonce
A counter that increases by one with every bet made with the same server seed and client seed pair, so each bet gets a different result from the same seeds.
O
Operator
The company that runs a casino and holds its licence. Its name should appear in the site footer and terms and match the regulator’s register; a missing company name is one of our red flags.
P
Pending withdrawal
A withdrawal request that is waiting for approval. Some casinos let you cancel (“reverse”) a pending withdrawal and gamble the money again, which is a well-known temptation; see the withdrawal checklist.
Provably fair
A system that lets you verify each game result from the server seed, client seed and nonce. It proves the result was not changed after you bet, not that the game has a good RTP. Read provably fair explained or see provably fair casinos.
R
Rakeback
A return of a share of the casino’s theoretical edge on your bets, paid whether you win or lose. It lowers the effective house edge slightly but does not remove it.
Reality check
A pop-up that interrupts play at set intervals to show how long you have been playing and your net result. It is one of the simplest tools on our responsible gambling page.
Restricted countries
Countries whose residents a casino does not accept, because of its licence or local law. Playing from a restricted country can lead to a closed account and withheld winnings; the crypto casino finder filters by country.
RTP (return to player)
The theoretical percentage of all stakes a game pays back over a very large number of rounds; RTP plus house edge equals 100%. It says nothing about a single session; see what 96% RTP means for $100.
S
Self-exclusion
A request that the casino close your account for a fixed period or permanently, so you cannot gamble there. At offshore casinos it usually covers one site only; see responsible gambling.
Server seed
A secret random value generated by the casino for provably fair games. Its hash is shown before you bet and the seed itself is revealed when you rotate it, so you can check that it was not changed; see provably fair explained.
Source of funds (SoF)
Documents that show where your money came from, such as payslips, bank statements or exchange history. Casinos may request them for large amounts under AML rules, even after you have deposited; see the KYC guide.
Stablecoin
A token designed to keep a stable value, usually 1 US dollar, such as USDT and USDC. Stablecoins remove crypto price swings from your balance, but not issuer or network risk.
T
Transaction hash (TXID)
The unique ID of a blockchain transaction. Ask the casino for it when a withdrawal is marked as sent and look it up in a block explorer; see how to withdraw.
TRC20
The token standard on the Tron network, widely used for USDT because transfers are fast and fees are usually low. See TRC20 vs ERC20 vs BEP20 and USDT TRC20 casinos.
Turnover
The total amount you have wagered, counting every bet, including winnings you bet again. Wagering requirements are expressed as turnover: 35x a bonus of 100 means 3,500 in bets.
U
USDC
A dollar-pegged stablecoin issued by Circle and available on several networks. Check which networks a casino accepts for USDC before sending; see TRC20 vs ERC20 vs BEP20.
USDT (Tether)
The most widely used dollar-pegged stablecoin, issued by Tether and available on networks such as Tron (TRC20), Ethereum (ERC20) and BNB Smart Chain (BEP20). See USDT TRC20 casinos.
V
Variance / volatility
How widely results swing around the average. High-volatility games pay rarely but more, low-volatility games pay often but less; both can have the same RTP. See slot volatility explained.
VIP program
A tiered loyalty scheme that rewards turnover with rakeback, reload bonuses or a personal manager. Because rewards grow with the amount wagered, VIP perks are designed to encourage more play.
VPN
A service that hides your real location. Using a VPN to get around restricted countries usually breaks the casino’s terms and can lead to confiscated winnings, often discovered at KYC.
W
Wagering requirement
The number of times you must bet a bonus (sometimes bonus plus deposit) before you can withdraw. The expected cost is roughly turnover times house edge: 3,500 wagered at a 4% edge costs about 140 on average. See the bonus guide, the 35x simulation and the wagering calculator.
Wallet
Software or hardware that holds the private keys to your crypto. A casino balance is held by the casino, not by you, so withdraw to a wallet you control; see the withdrawal checklist.
Withdrawal limit
The maximum you can cash out per transaction, day, week or month. Large wins may be paid in instalments, which can matter more than headline speed; see withdrawal times and fast withdrawal casinos.
18+ only. Gambling always carries a risk of loss and is not a way to make money; if it stops being fun, see our responsible gambling page.