Online Casino, casinos

Online Casino Glossary

The aim of this online casino glossary is to enlighten casino players about terms that are not always clear. Online casino jargon is not obvious to everyone and this glossary will give precise meanings of terms most often used in the casino world.  

Alternative Payment Methods (APM): Virtual banks like Moneybookers, Click2pay and Neteller offer bonuses of about 10 to 15% in addition to traditional bonuses to which every player has entitlement. These bonuses are to encourage players to open an account in these reliable virtual banks, whose advantages are legion.

Bonus: Bonuses are calculated as a percentage of a player’s wagers. Only free bonuses require no wager by the player. Bonuses allow players to maximise their playing time but impose special withdrawal requests conditions in order that playing remains fair. For example, an online casino offers a 100% bonus of up to 100 euros which means that a player who has deposited 100 euros can play with 200 euros. On the other hand, a player depositing 150 euros can play with 250 euros and not 300 euros as you might think.

Bonus code: A Bonus code is a word (possibly alpha-numeric) that a player enters on his first subscription to either “fun” or “real” mode. The bonus code enables players to benefit from special bonuses. Bonus codes are principally used in online poker games and sometimes in online casinos. Bonus codes are also spoken of as “free coupons”.

Casino games. Casino games are often included in two large groupings: Slot machines (including traditional slot machines) and card and table games.
Casino games bring together slot machines, baccarat, arcade games, Asian games, video poker, roulette and blackjack.

Complementary Points (or Comps): Complementary points points are points that the player accumulates as he makes his deposits. The more active a player is, the more points he will have. These Complementary points can be converted into real money.

Customer Support: Customer support is a team of operators available to players. True hotlines, worthy of international call centres, operators reply to player questions by telephone or emails. Customer service is an essential factor in supporting players for online casinos. Whether it is to download software, receive information about bonuses or on withdrawals of winnings, customer service is able to respond to all of these requests. All casinos help players 24/7.

Downloading Software: Installing the software enables access to virtual casinos for players. Downloading is very fast (give it about 3 minutes) and there is no risk of viruses or unwanted messages, like pop ups and pop unders. As for de-installing the software, it only takes 30 seconds.

Flash Games: Flash games need no software installation and are available in flash or java versions. This technology allows novice players to get an idea of the sort of games offered by online casinos.

Free Bonuses: online casinos offer free bonuses to players without their being obliged to make a payment to the casino. As a general rule, free bonuses are of 10 euros, perhaps a maximum of 20 credited to the player’s account. The aim of this bonus is to encourage the player to wager these 10 euros, so that he plays his own cash afterwards. (To learn more about free bonuses)

Fun mode (or free or demonstration mode): Players need to download casino software to subscribe in Fun mode. Once personal data has been registered (name, forename, address, telephone etc.) players access almost all of the casino games. In this case it’s not possible to play solely in “pretend” money and where there are winnings they can’t be withdrawn as it is in free mode.

Game Fairness:  Game fairness is a fundamental for both casinos and online casinos. Slot machines, cards or table software are set up so that the numbers or combinations coming up are random. A Random Number generator (RNG) is programmed so that the cards, balls, slot machine or images come up randomly. No adjustment to the machine can result in a combination that the player can guess in advance.

High Roller Bonuses: High Roller bonuses are initial deposit bonuses made to players who make high initial deposits. Some casinos, e.g. Europa Casino, offer 500 euros in bonuses to any player making an initial deposit of 1,000 euros.

Loyalty or VIP Bonus: Loyalty bonuses and VIP bonuses are similar since according to a player’s ranking, he will have more bonuses. Online casinos offer excellent conditions to VIP players by way of bonuses to retain their loyalty. Online casino players are volatile and any method is good that keeps them on the site so that they don’t go off to play in another virtual casino. Bonuses can be a strong argument in holding onto players. (More information on VIP bonuses)

Microgaming: Microgaming, a direct competitor of Playtech, is an online games and online poker designer. The big casino names, like Casino Splendido, Mummy’s Gold, Jackpot City, Casino Platinum Play, Spin Palace Casino and others, come from the Microgaming “factory”. Poker, Roxy Poker, Spin Palace Poker and Ladbrokes Poker are 100% Microgaming products.

Online Casinos: As its name suggests, an online casino is a casino that is available on the Internet, which presents the same characteristics as a physical casino. The player has access to the casino from his computer and the casino’s software needs to have been previously installed. The latter offers all of the games available in an ordinary casino with the sole difference that poker (Texas Hold 'em) is not often included in the range of games.

Playtech: Playtech is an online software publisher and quoted on the London stock exchange in the AIM market. A leader in Internet games programming, it is a successful designer with Casino Tropez, Europa Casino, Swiss Casino and many other casinos to its name.  In the area of Poker, Titan Poker is its centrepiece and Playtech has also developed other gaming rooms like CD Poker and Poker 770.

“Pretend” Money: “Pretend” money is played with at casinos in “fun” or “flash” mode.  The player puts his tokens in the slot machine or on the table games and the game is played as if “for real”. On the other hand, with “pretend” money, a player cannot pocket his winnings, given that he was not playing in real mode.    

Progressive Jackpots: Progressive jackpots are the part of the jackpot placed in a common slot machine pot by different casinos, which is reserved for the winner who has come up with the winning combination and wagered the three tokens necessary. The size of a progressive jackpot grows quickly as players bet. They are found in physical casinos as well as online casinos. Thousands of online players can play simultaneously on the same progressive jackpot and the amount can attain a considerable sum. In physical casinos, the amount is shown on a large screen and the player sees the sum getting bigger before his eyes.
Playtech slot machines offer the same progressive jackpots and players will see the same amount whether it is at the Casino Tropez, 32 Vegas or another online Playtech Casino.

Real Mode: Players wishing to play with real money in online casinos need to open an account in real mode after downloading the software. Opening a real account requires the player’s personal and banking data to play on all of the casino games.

Redistribution rate: The redistribution rate is the percentage of bets to be distributed to players. For example, legislation requires physical casinos to use a minimum redistribution rate of 85% for slot machines (slots and video poker) and 88% for table games.

Responsible Gambling : Casinos train their staff to pick out players who are addicted to gambling.  Online casinos do the same thing, refusing access to addicts. The Casinos’ aim is that playing should be a pleasure, not an ordeal. The pleasure of playing and enjoying yourself with casino games should not become an addiction or a drug.  Online casinos involve themselves in preventative measures by making bodies that are specialised in gambling addiction available to players.  

Security: Security and guaranteeing players secure transactions is a priority for online casinos. Most up to date technology is used to encode information, such as the user’s name, password and bank details so that careless people keep their data confidential.

Table Games: Table games are those like roulette, baccarat, blackjack, craps and sic bo. Slot machines are not table games.

Terms and Conditions: Terms and Conditions are most important as they tell players what they can or cannot do, in particular in the use of bonuses. Some points are essential to a player’s making a withdrawal and players need to play a certain number of times before making a withdrawal request depending on the game chosen. The rules are strict in the online games environment in order to guarantee playing fairness.

Welcome Bonus: Welcome bonuses are bonuses offered when the player makes his first payments into his account. It should be noted that before making a first deposit, you should look at how the bonuses are structured, as some online casinos work in percentages and others on an annual bonus. It’s a good idea to read the welcome bonus structure before choosing, to avoid disappointment.

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