Glossary of State-Sanctioned Gambling Terms

Baccarat: It is a game played with 6-8 decks with multiple players. It is a game of chance rather than chance of skill.

Bailout: Money given to the gambler to allow him/her to pay debts without suffering consequences. A form of enabling.

Bank (Bankroll): The inventory of currency, coins, chips, and tokens in the cage, pit area, change booths, and electronic gaming devices and on the playing tables; used

to make change and pay winning bets.

Banking Games: A casino game where the player risks money against the money of the casino.

Base Jackpot: The fixed minimum amount of a progressive gambling or electronic gambling device payout for a specific combination.

Bet: The amount of money or object that is risked in a wager.

Betting Limit: The minimum and the maximum betting limits proclaimed on the table by the casino.

Bingo: A game of chance played for prizes, including monetary prizes, with cards bearing numbers or other designations in which the holder of the card covers such numbers or designations when objects, similarly numbered or designated, are drawn or electronically determined, and in which the game is won by the first person covering a previously designated arrangement of numbers or designations of the cards, including (if played in the same location) pull-tabs, lotto, punch boards, tip jars, instant bingo, and other games similar to bingo (Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, P.L. 100-497 [S. 555]).

Blackjack: a total of 21 points with an initial two-card hand.

Bookie: A person who permit bets.

Cage: A secure work area within the gaming facility for cashiers and a storage area for the gambling facility bankroll.

Casino: A gambling facility that normally includes all or a combination of the following: slot machines, video games, card games, and other games such as keno, craps, and bingo.

Casino Advantage: The house edge casino have over players.

Chasing: The urgent need to keep gambling, often with larger bets, or the taking of greater risks in order to make up for a loss or a series of losses

Class I Gambling: Social games solely for prizes of minimal value or traditional forms of Indian gambling engaged in by individuals as a part of, or in connection with, tribal ceremonies or celebrations (Indian Gambling Regulatory Act, P.L. 100-497 [S. 555]).

Class II Gambling: The game of chance commonly known as bingo (whether or not electronic, computer, or other technologic aids are used in connection therewith), and card games that are explicitly authorized by the law of the State or are not explicitly prohibited by the laws of the State, but only if such card games are played in conformity with the laws and regulations (if any) of the State regarding hours or periods of operation tribal ceremonies and celebrations (Indian Gambling Regulatory Act, P.L. 100-497 [S. 555]).

Class III Gambling: All forms of gaming that are not Class I or Class II gaming, such as table games and slot machines (Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, Public Law 100-497 [S. 555]).

Combined Pari-Mutuel Pools (Combined Pools): The pari-mutuel wagers at one or more off-track wagering facilities being contributed into the pari-mutuel pools of a host association.

Compact, Tribal Compact, or Tribal State Compact: A voluntary agreement between an Indian Tribe and a state that regulates Indian gambling.

Complimentary Services: The free or reduced-price provision of goods or services to a patron of a gambling facility or such patron’s guest, including food, transportation, lodging, and coupons or other representations of money for use in wagering.

Compulsive Gambling: The inability to resist the urge to gamble, often leading to damage to one’s personal life, family, or job. This may be referred to as pathological gambling.

Convenience Gambling: The placement of slot machines and video poker terminals in restaurants, bars, drug stores, and other retail businesses meant to attract the business of local residents, as opposed to tourists.

Cover: The betting result on a point-spread wager. For a favorite to cover, it has to win by more than the spread; an underdog covers by winning outright or losing by less than the spread.

Craps: A game of chance in which a player throws two dice. If the total of the two dice is 7 or 11, then the player wins.

Credit: The smallest unit of value that may be used to play a game on an electronic game of chance or that may be redeemed in currency.

Credit Limit: A term used for the maximum dollar amount of personal checks a patron may cash in a specified period of time.

Customer Deposits: The amounts placed with a cage cashier by customers for the customers’ use at a future time.

Daily Game: Games, such as Pick 3 and Pick 4, which have a daily draw. Some lotteries also offer multiple draws per day.

Drop: In electronic gambling devices, the drop is the amount of money deposited by the player into the machines. This is different than the total amount of money bet, which is known as the handle. The handle includes money bet that was made from winnings, the drop does not. For example, if a players puts $100 into a machine, wins a $50 jackpot, and keeps on playing until all her money is gone (including that $50 “win”), she has generated a drop of $100 and handle of $150.

Drop Box: The metal container attached to a gambling station for deposit of cash drop/rake and certain documents received at a gaming station as provided by these standards. The game type, table number, and shift are indicated in the box.

Electronic Gambling Device: A microprocessor-controlled electronic device that allows a player to play games of chance, some of which are affected by skill. The device is activated by the insertion of a coin, token, or currency, or by the use of credit, and awards game credits, cash, tokens, replays, or a written statement of the player’s accumulated credits, which is redeemable for cash. A video lottery terminal is an electronic gaming device.

Fill: A transaction whereby a supply of chips, coins, and tokens are transferred from a bankroll to a table or an electronic gambling device.

Gambling: To bet money on the outcome of a game, contest, or event.

Gambler’s Anonymous (GA): A treatment/support group in which members share their experience, support, and hope in order to help one another to stop gambling.

Gam-Anon: A fellowship in which families of compulsive gamblers learn effective ways to cope with the gambling problems of their loved ones by seeking help for themselves

Gambling Chips: Chips approved for use on the gambling tables of the casino. These chips will represent a monetary value for gambling purposes only.

Gray Machines: Illegal video lottery terminals or other types of gaming machines not authorized by the jurisdiction in which they are operated.

Gross Gaming Revenues (GGR): Money won by the casino through gambling activity less money paid out to players as winnings.

Handicapper: A person trying to predict the winners of an event.

Handle: The total amount of wagers by the player including money won on previous games. For example, if a players puts $100 into a machine, wins a $50 jackpot, and keeps on playing until all her money is gone (including that $50 “win”), she has generated a drop of $100 and handle of $150.

High Stakes Bingo: The type of bingo that is played in Tribal casinos. The prizes are larger than at bingo games run by charitable organizations, such as a churches.

Hold: Money from player’s drop won by the casino.

Hold Check: A check that is held in the custody of the gambling facility and that has not been deposited at the request of the issuing customer.

House: A gambling facility.

House Bank Game: Each player opposes the gambling facility and the gambling facility opposes each player.

In-game wagering: A service offered by books in which bettors can place multiple bets in real time, as the game is occurring.

Instant Game (Scratcher): A lottery ticket on which a player scratches latex coating from one of more play areas to determine if he or she has won, as indicated by the symbols and words that are revealed. (See also Scratcher/Scratch Ticket.)

 Juice: The commission the bookie or bookmaker takes. Standard is 10 percent. Also called the “vig/vigorish.”

Keno: A game of chance where players pick numbers on a grid similar to lotto.

Lawful Gambling: Games including pull tabs, bingo, tip boards, paddlewheels, and raffles that are operated by nonprofit groups under state regulations.

Layoff: Money bet by a sportsbook with another sportsbook or bookmaker to reduce that book’s liability.

Lines:  slang for odds.

Lottery: 1) A game of chance in which all plays have an equal chance of winning. 2) A game with three components for the players: a prize to be won, a chance to win and not win, and an element of consideration (such as buying a ticket) to enter the game.  3) An entity that operates or administers lottery games – usually a governmental or quasi-government agency or a corporation licensed by a government.

Machine Payout: The amount paid out to the customer by coin/currency operated gambling as the result of a winning combination.

Max Bet: the maximum amount of credits that can be bet per spin. Usually found on an electronic gambling machines like slots.

Meter: An electronic or mechanical apparatus in an electronic gaming device. May record the number of coins wagered, the number of coins dropped, the number of times the handle was pulled, or the number of coins paid out to winning players.

Mini Baccarat: Same rules as Baccarat with less players, less size on table with less decks.

Multi-Jurisdiction Lottery: Lottery games that are offered in more than one jurisdiction, allowing lotteries to generate larger jackpots than they could individually. Jackpots may be paid in lump sums or annuities. The prize pool is shared by all participating lotteries. Examples include Powerball, Mega Millions, Hot Lotto, Tri-State Megabucks, Cash4Life and Lucky for Life in the United States, and Lotto 6/49 and Lotto Max in Canada.

Multi-line Game: a slot with more than one pay line. Usually found on an electronic gambling machines like slots.

Multiplier: a feature that increases the size of a payout. Usually found on an electronic gambling machines like slots.

Net Proceeds: Amount of money left after all prizes are given out, taxes are paid out, and expenses are paid.

Net Revenue: The amount of money a gambling enterprise makes in profits after payment of prizes.

Non-Banking Games: A casino where the player risks money against the money of another player, includes parimutual systems.

Numbers Game: Pick 2, Pick 3, Pick 4 and Pick 5 daily games, offering various options for placing bets (straight, box, combination).

Off-Shore Wagering: Wagering services outside of U.S. borders that illegally accept wagers from U.S. citizens.

Off-Track Betting: Pari-mutuel wagering conducted on a race at a location other than the race course where the race is actually being held.

Paddlewheel: Round wheel that is used in some games of chance. Sometimes used in raffles to select winning numbers.

Pari-Mutual Systems: A form of gambling where the gambling establishment pools the bets of the players and does not risk any of its own money. The winnings are taken from the pool of bets. The value of winnings is decided on by the pattern of bets placed by the players.

Parlay: A wager in which multiple teams are bet, either against the spread or on the money line. For the wager to win (or pay out), all of them must cover/win. The more teams you bet, the greater the odds.

Par Sheet: A document, provided by the electronic gambling device manufacturer, which depicts the possible outcomes from the play of an electronic gambling device, the probability of occurrence of each, and the contribution of each winning outcome to the payback percentage of the electronic gambling device.

Pathological Gambling: Addiction to gambling as marked by the inability to stop gambling despite harmful effects to a person’s personal life, family or job.

Pay Line: an imaginary line on which symbols must appear in specific combinations to win prizes.

Payout: The amount paid out on a winning wager.

Payout Schedule (Award Schedule Card, Award Schedule): A statement printed on cards, paper, Plexiglas, and so on, of the payoffs or awards applicable to a particular game or device.

Pit: The area enclosed or encircled by an arrangement of table gaming stations in which gaming facility personnel administer and supervise the games played at the tables by the patrons located on the outside perimeter of the area.

Player: One person to whom a hand has been dealt.

Point spread:  a statistical head start given to the underdog for betting purposes.

Predatory Gambling: when national and/or state governments partner with powerful corporate gambling interests to operate and market for-profit gambling to citizens and their communities’

Proposition (or prop) bet: A special or exotic wager that’s not normally on the betting board, such as which team will score first or how many yards a player will gain. Sometimes called a “game within a game.” These are especially popular on major events, with the Super Bowl being the ultimate prop betting event.

Pull Tabs: A game of chance in which the player pulls tabs on a card to match symbols to find out if he/she wins or loses.

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Racino: A common term used to describe a race track that also offers casino-style gaming, such as the video lottery terminals and table games run by many lotteries.

Rake: The fee the gambling facility charges a customer for using a position at a gambling table.

Random Number Generator (RNG): It is a software that generates random number in game of slots, roulette and keno.

Scratcher/Scratch Ticket (Instant Game): A lottery ticket on which a player scratches latex coating from one of more play areas to determine if he or she has won, as indicated by the symbols and words that are revealed. (See also Instant Game.)

Self-Exclusion: usually refers to a policy enacted by some governments and/or individual casinos as a way of giving the appearance they are addressing the issue of problem gambling. When an individual gambler requests that their name be added to the self-exclusion list, the person in question becomes legally banned from all participating casinos within the self-exclusion coverage area.

Simulcast or Simulcasting: Live audiovisual electronic signals emanating from a race meeting and transmitted simultaneously with the running of the racing events at the meeting, and includes the transmission of pari-mutuel wagering odds, amounts wagered and payoff on such events, and other programming relating to the race animals or participants.

Slot machine: A term often used to describe an electronic video gambling machine.

Straight Bet: bets on just one team, athlete or horse.

Sweepstakes: Typically a game where prizes are awarded to a specified number of entrants drawn from a pool. As opposed to a lottery, there is no cost or purchase required to be entered in to the pool.

Tribal Gambling Operation: The economic entity that is licensed by the Tribe, operates the games, receives the revenues, issues the prizes, and pays the expenses involving the Class III games authorized under the Tribal- State Compact. A gaming operation may be operated by a tribe directly; by a management contractor; or, under certain conditions, by another person or other entity.

Tipboards: a game of chance in which tickets are sold off a board and then the seal is broken to show the winner.

Tout (service): a person (or group of people) who either sells or gives away picks on games or events.

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Video Gambling Device/Video Lottery Terminal/VLT: A free-standing electronic gambling terminal offered by some lotteries and connected to a central gambling system, on which the player may play a variety of casino-style games similar to slot machines.

Video poker: It offers the immediate gratification of a slot machine and (possesses many other features of video slots) but players can use some skill in holding the most advantageous cards.

Vigorish: The money or commission taken by the casino.

Volatility: Low volatility gambling machines, like video poker, pay back more frequently but in smaller amounts, while high volatility games, like the Megabucks progressive, have fewer, bigger (think several million dollars at most) hits. So while the potential payoff from a high volatility game can be bigger, a player’s money will usually buy them more time playing on a low volatility game.

Wager: A sum of money or thing of value risked on an uncertain occurrence.

Win: What’s left after the machine pays out its jackpots is the casino win, also known as revenue.

There are currently no terms in this section.

There are currently no terms in this section.

There are currently no terms in this section.