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Home/Crypto casino glossary

Crypto casino glossary

If a term on a review page sent you here, you are in the right place. Thirty-odd definitions for the jargon that matters when you bet with crypto. No filler, no marketing, no "industry-leading" anything. If a definition has a footnote, it is because the simple answer is wrong.

A

AML (anti-money-laundering). The legal framework casinos have to satisfy when you win or deposit big. In practice, AML is why a $5,000 withdrawal triggers KYC but a $50 one does not. See how to withdraw.

Affiliate link. A URL that pays a small commission to the site that referred you. Every outbound link on Cryptotips marked sponsored is an affiliate link. See the affiliate disclosure.

B

Bonus abuse. What the operator calls it when you beat their bonus math. Usually invoked after the fact, often invoked on technicalities, sometimes invoked fairly.

Bonus cap. The maximum amount a welcome bonus can match. A 100% up to 1,000 USDT bonus has a cap of 1,000. Deposit more than the cap and the overflow is not matched.

C

Cashout. The feature that lets you close a bet early for a fixed return, usually less than it is worth. The house edge on cashout is usually between 3 and 8 percent. Use it when you are emotionally compromised, not because the math is good.

Confirmation (on-chain). A blockchain confirmation of your deposit or withdrawal. Bitcoin needs between one and three. USDT on TRC-20 needs about twenty. Slower chains are safer; faster chains are cheaper.

Crash game. A multiplier-based original where the number keeps climbing until it crashes. You cash out before it does. Every crash game is provably fair in theory and engineered for dopamine in practice.

D

Deposit limit. A cap you set on yourself in the responsible gambling menu. Most operators let you set daily, weekly, or monthly limits, and some lock the change behind a 24-hour cooldown. Set one before you need one. See responsible gambling.

E

Expected value (EV). The statistical average return of a wager across infinite repetitions. Casino games are negative-EV by design. Skilled sports betting can be positive-EV. Welcome bonuses are usually negative-EV but less so.

F

Fiat. Government-issued money. At crypto casinos, fiat means card or bank-transfer deposits. Deposits are usually fast, withdrawals are usually not.

Free spins. Slot spins handed out as a bonus, usually on a specific game at a fixed bet size. Winnings are almost always subject to rollover.

G

Geo-blocking. When an operator refuses to serve a country. Sometimes for legal reasons (the USA at Stake), sometimes for licence reasons (the UK at most crypto casinos), sometimes for commercial ones. A VPN usually breaks it; using one to register is usually a KYC disaster waiting to happen.

H

House edge. The percentage of every wager the casino keeps on average. Slots typically sit at 2 to 8 percent. Blackjack with perfect play is under 1. Roulette is 2.7 on a single-zero wheel, 5.26 on double-zero. The house edge is the casino.

K

KYC (know your customer). The identity check the casino runs before it pays you out. Usually triggered above a threshold. Have your ID and a recent utility bill ready. Delay here is the number one cause of slow withdrawals.

L

Licence. A gaming-authority permission to operate. Curacao is the most common and the most permissive. Kahnawake, Isle of Man, Malta, and Anjouan are the rest of the crypto-casino licence map. None of them care as much as a regulated market regulator would.

Live dealer. A real human dealer streamed from a studio, shuffling actual cards or spinning a real roulette wheel. Evolution runs most of them. The house edge is fixed, the entertainment value is high, the stream latency is non-trivial.

M

Max bet (during bonus). A rule that caps the wager size while a bonus is active. Breach it and the bonus plus any winnings are voided. Usually 3 to 5 USD on slots. Read the T and Cs.

O

On-chain. Recorded on a blockchain. Your deposit is on-chain; your in-site balance is not. When the site goes dark, the on-chain record is what you have left.

Originals. Games the operator built itself rather than buying from a provider. Crash, mines, plinko, dice. Usually provably fair. Usually the best RTP on the site.

P

Payout (withdrawal) speed. The time from clicking withdraw to the coin appearing in your wallet. Stake and Razed clear sub-five minutes on a clean KYC. Slow operators take hours. See how to withdraw.

Provably fair. A cryptographic system that lets you verify a game's outcome was not tampered with after the fact. Every reputable crypto casino offers it on originals. See provably fair, explained.

R

Rollover (wagering requirement). The number of times you must wager a bonus before you can cash it out. 1x is rare and fair. 10x is normal. 40x is hostile. 100x is a trap. Always divide the bonus by this number before you celebrate.

RTP (return to player). The theoretical percentage of wagered money a slot returns over infinite spins. 96 percent is average, 97 percent is good, 98 percent is rare and usually labelled. Does not apply to a single session.

S

Self-exclusion. A feature that locks you out of your account for a fixed or permanent period. 24 hours, 7 days, 30 days, or forever. Operators we list all offer it. Use it if you need it.

Stake (bet size). The amount of money placed on a single wager. Not to be confused with Stake the operator.

T

TRC-20. The Tron network standard for tokens including USDT. Cheap, fast, widely accepted at crypto casinos. The default stablecoin rail.

V

Vig (vigorish, juice). The sportsbook's built-in margin on a bet. A typical two-way market runs at about 5 percent vig, meaning the book expects to earn that percentage over infinite volume. Lower is better for the bettor.

W

Welcome bonus. A one-time offer to new depositors. Usually a percentage match up to a cap, sometimes a rakeback or free spin package. The headline number is marketing. The rollover and game weighting are the product.

Further reading