Online casino jargon and terminology

When gambling at an online casino, you’ll start to come across some unfamiliar terminology you probably didn’t notice when playing in a land based casino. Although a knowledge of the specific casino jargon isn’t imperative to start playing real money games, having a general understanding of the most common terms will help you feel more comfortable when gambling online. This article will explain some of the casino jargon and terminology you’ll come across when playing at online.

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Common online casino jargon and terminology

• Aussie Millions – The Aussie Millions is a poker tournament in Melbourne Australia, which has been a part of the World Series of Poker in the past, and features most of the top players from around the world. It is richest tournament in Australia and gets International media attention.
• Bankroll – bankroll refers to the amount of money you have allocated to yourself to gamble with. When playing online your bankroll is whatever real money you’ve deposited to your casino account, while your bankroll when playing in a land based casino is the amount of chips you’ve paid for.
• Casino dress code: This is referring to the minimum standard of clothes that you must wear to enter the premises. Obviously if you are playing online you can wear whatever you like, but many casinos around the world enforce high standards, which can include leather closed shoes and a shirt with a collar. We have a fashionista on the team who loves to give out fashion advice to those heading out on the town.
• Casino resort: These are usually places people can stay at, be entertained by concerts and shows at night and of course the complex will contain an extensive casino. Las Vegas and Macau have many casino resorts that gain worldwide attention. There have also been some crazy headline grabbing publicity stunts over the years.
• Deposit bonus/match deposit/welcome bonus – it’s common for online casinos to entice players with welcome bonuses that come in the form of a matched deposit. These bonuses mean the casino will match the amount of real money you transfer to play with at their venue, up to a specified amount. For example, a casino may offer a 100% matched deposit bonus of up to $100, which means if you deposit $100 to your account the casino will match it with an additional $100, giving you $200 to play with.
• e-Voucher – an e-Voucher is a pre-paid card which allows you to place real money bets online using vouchers purchased using cash from real life retail outlets, so you don’t have to share your personal financial details online. E-Vouchers favoured for safe online casino depostis include Paysafecard, UKash and ecoPayz.
• e-Wallet – an e-Wallet (also referred to as a web wallet) is an online payment system commonly favoured for safe deposits to an online casino. Popular web wallets include Neteller and Skrill, both which provide secure and immediate real money deposits.
• A fish – This is someone who is new to, or bad at a game, with this term usually reserved for the poker tables. You will also often hear a gun poker player called a shark. A fish will often make really bad bets and give up his bankroll quickly.
• Free spins – exactly as it sounds, free spins allow you to place extra spins on a pokies game with no risk to your bankroll. Free spins can be awarded as a promotional bonus by the casino, or as a bonus feature within a game.
• High-stakes/high-roller/whale – some players have the financial means and the guts to make bigger risks than other players, placing higher bets in the hopes of winning higher rewards, and these are known as high rollers or high-stake players. In land based casinos, high rollers receive VIP treatment in exclusive gaming lounges with all kinds of fancy perks, while online high-rollers receive access to dedicated VIP hosts, higher betting limits and other advantages.
• Instant Play/No-Download/Browser-Based – instant-play casinos are sites accessed directly over your web browser (Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Explorer, Microsoft Edge etc) without requiring the need for additional downloads. A majority of online users now favour no-download sites, with games accessible over both mobile and desktop using Flash, HTML5 or Java software.
• James Packer – This is a name you will hear frequently if you are involved in gambling in Australia, or if you simply read the newspaper. The billionaire businessman is the boss of Crown Resorts and majority shareholder. He sits comfortably among the most influential people in the gambling world with casinos in Australia, Las Vegas, Macau and Sri Lanka.
• Land-based – land based casinos are the brick and mortar gambling establishments we visit in real life, like Melbourne’s Crown Casino, Jupiter’s Casino or The Star Sydney.
• Live dealer – live dealer games are casino games hosted from high-end studios designed to replicate sophisticated land based casinos. Games are hosted by real human croupiers with the same level of professionalism you’d expect from playing in a bricks and mortar casino. Live dealer games are streamed using HD video directly to your computer, allowing you to place real money bets and watch results in real time.
• MegaSpin – MegaSpin pokies allow you to play multiple games at once all within the one screen. Up to nine pokies game can be activated at the same time, requiring an individual wager for each game.
• Multiplier – a basic pokies term, multipliers are found in a majority of online pokies games as well as real life pokies. A multiplier is a bonus feature which will multiply your winnings by an amount determined by the game, for example 2X, 3X and so on. As an example, if you win $20 in a spin which has a 2X multiplier in place, your total win for said spin will be $40.
• Play-through/wagering requirement – when gambling for real money online you’ll notice most of the promotional offers and bonuses come with play-through or wagering requirements. This is the amount of money you need to have deposited or wagered at a casino before you are able to withdraw any cash winnings earned from your bonus money.
• Pokies – This is slang in Australia and New Zealand for the Poker Machine or the slot machine as they are known in the USA. Online pokies have also become popular in Australia although many politicians like South Australian Senator Nick Xenophon have called for major reforms. If you are looking to play online pokies bonus codes can be a great way to enhance your experience.
• Practice play – online casinos offer the option of practice-play, which means you can try games for free in demo mode first before committing to place any real money wagers.
• Problem gamblers – These are generally people who don’t know when to stop. There is plenty of commentary surrounding the pitfalls of gambling, but enjoyed responsibly it can be a great outlet. Many celebrities including sports stars have fallen foul of gambling.
• Progressive jackpot – progressive jackpots are games where the jackpot increases anytime a real money wager is placed on that game anywhere within the linked network. Progressive jackpots can work on a local or large scale network, with online progressives providing higher payouts than land based progressives, with winnings often exceeding millions of dollars.
• RNG – RNG stands for Random Number Generator. Online casino games and land based pokies are powered by highly advanced computer algorithms using complex RNG technology in order to produce unbiased game results. Certified RNG’s like the ones you’ll find used in all games at our recommended casinos can’t be influenced by any external factors or tampered with by the casino vendor, so you can assure the results of the game are fair.
• RTP – RTP stands for Return to Player and refers to the percentage of money paid back in winnings within a game or a casino compared to the amount of money wagered. Generally, online casinos provide better RTPs than land based casinos given the lower operational costs involved with running an Internet venue.
• Social gaming: This generally refers to online games that require other people to participate, like Texas Hold’em for instance. It can also refer to games played on social media channels, like Facebook, Twitter and Youtube. One thing is for sure the internet has changed how we gamble.
• Sign up offer: This is often how the casino lures news players in. Some casinos will give you money for nothing, while others will give you deposit bonuses. From month to month the bonuses at casinos will change significantly. This means the bonus in November might be completely different to a bonus running in December. It pays to agree to have bonus offers and promos sent to your email inbox even after you have signed up.
• Trump Entertainment Resorts – Founded by now President Donald Trump, Trump Entertainment Resorts was the parent company of several now closed casinos in the USA.
• Ways to Win – online pokies can come in the form of 243, 1024 and 3125 Ways games, which are sometimes referred to as All-Ways pokies. This means there are many possible winning combinations within the game, with wins paid from left to right anywhere across the reels.