A
- Affiliate
- A website or creator paid a commission by an operator for sending new players. HotStakes is an affiliate directory: we may earn a commission when you sign up through our links, at no cost to you.
- AML (anti-money laundering)
- The rules and checks that stop criminal money being cleaned through a business. Licensed casinos must monitor accounts, verify identity and report suspicious activity. Read the explainer →
B
- Baccarat
- A card game where you bet on Player, Banker or Tie. Banker has the lowest house edge (about 1.06% with the usual 5% commission); Tie has the highest. Read the explainer →
- Banker commission
- The fee (usually 5%) taken from winning Banker bets in baccarat. It exists because Banker wins slightly more often than Player. Read the explainer →
- Bonus buy
- A slot feature that lets you pay a fixed price, often 50–100× your bet, to go straight to the bonus round instead of waiting to trigger it.
C
- Cashback
- A bonus that returns a percentage of your net losses over a period. It reduces losses but does not change the house edge of the games you play.
- Concessionaire
- One of the six companies licensed by the Macau government to run casinos: Sands China, Galaxy, MGM China, Melco, SJM and Wynn Macau. Read the explainer →
- Curaçao Gaming Authority (CGA)
- The regulator created by Curaçao's National Ordinance on Games of Chance (LOK). It replaced the old master-licence and sub-licence system with direct licences. Read the explainer →
D
- Demo mode
- Free play with virtual credits. The maths are the same as the real-money game, but nothing is won or lost. Every slot on HotStakes has a free demo. See games →
- DICJ
- Macau's Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, the regulator that licenses casinos and gaming promoters and publishes gaming revenue data. Read the explainer →
- Dragon Tiger
- A fast two-card live game: one card to Dragon, one to Tiger, highest wins. Ties usually cost half of a Dragon or Tiger bet. See games →
E
- Expected value (EV)
- The average result of a bet if you could repeat it forever. On casino games the expected value is negative: stake × house edge is the average cost. Try the tool →
G
- Gambler's fallacy
- The false belief that a result is "due" because it has not happened for a while. Each spin or hand is independent; past results do not change the odds.
- Game contribution
- How much of each bet counts towards a wagering requirement. Slots often count 100%; table and live games often count 10–20% or nothing. Try the tool →
- GGR (gross gaming revenue)
- What players lose to the operator: total bets minus winnings paid out, before costs and tax. Regulators tax and report GGR.
H
- Hit frequency
- How often a slot spin returns any win at all. A high hit frequency does not mean profit: many "wins" pay back less than the bet. Read the explainer →
- House edge
- The casino's built-in average profit on each bet, as a percentage of the stake. It is 100% minus the RTP: a 97% RTP game has a 3% house edge. Read the explainer →
J
- Junket
- A middleman that brought high rollers to casinos, often lending them money and running private VIP rooms. Macau tightened the rules from 2023. Read the explainer →
K
- KYC (know your customer)
- Identity checks a licensed operator must run: ID, proof of address and sometimes source of funds. Strong regulators expect them before you play, not only at withdrawal. Read the explainer →
L
- Live dealer
- Table games streamed from a studio with a real dealer, such as baccarat, roulette and Dragon Tiger. Bets are placed on screen. See games →
M
- Malta Gaming Authority (MGA)
- Malta's gambling regulator, one of the most widely used licences in online gambling. Its public register lets you check a licence. Read the explainer →
- Max bet rule
- A bonus term capping how much you can stake per spin or hand while a bonus is active. Breaking it is a common reason winnings get voided. Read the explainer →
- Max win
- The largest payout a slot can give on one spin, usually shown as a multiple of the bet, such as 5,000×. Read the explainer →
- Money mule
- Someone who lets criminals move money through their bank account. In Malaysia giving others control of your account is an offence with up to 7 years' jail. Read the explainer →
P
- PAGCOR
- The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation, the state-owned regulator and operator of casinos in the Philippines. Read the explainer →
- Pig-butchering scam
- A long-con fraud (shā zhū pán) where a stranger builds trust over weeks, then steers the victim into a fake investment or betting platform. Read the explainer →
- POGO
- Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator: firms licensed in the Philippines to serve gamblers abroad. The Philippines banned them in 2024. Read the explainer →
- Proxy betting
- Placing bets in a casino on behalf of someone who is not there, often relayed by phone or video. It is illegal in Macau. Read the explainer →
R
- Recovery scam
- A second scam aimed at fraud victims: someone promises to get lost money back for an upfront fee. Real police and banks do not charge to recover funds.
- Responsible gambling
- Tools and habits that keep gambling within limits: deposit limits, time-outs, self-exclusion and only playing with money you can afford to lose. Read the explainer →
- RNG (random number generator)
- The software that decides each slot or digital table result. In licensed games it is tested by independent labs so outcomes cannot be predicted.
- Rolling chip
- Non-negotiable chips used in VIP gambling. Junkets were paid on "rolling", the total value of chips bet, not on what players lost. Read the explainer →
- RTP (return to player)
- The share of all money staked that a game pays back over millions of rounds. A 96% RTP slot keeps 4% on average; it says nothing about one session. Read the explainer →
S
- Scam compound
- A guarded site, often in Myanmar, Cambodia or Laos, where trafficked workers are forced to run online fraud such as pig-butchering scams. Read the explainer →
- Self-exclusion
- Asking an operator, or a national scheme, to block you from gambling for a set period. Licensed operators must honour it.
- Source of funds
- Proof of where the money you gamble comes from, such as payslips or bank statements. Operators ask for it under anti-money-laundering rules. Read the explainer →
- Sticky bonus
- A bonus that can be played with but never withdrawn; only winnings above the bonus amount can be cashed out. Read the explainer →
U
- UK Gambling Commission (UKGC)
- Great Britain's gambling regulator. It publishes licensing rules, enforcement actions and a public licence register. Read the explainer →
- Under-the-table betting
- Private bets placed alongside a recorded casino bet, settled off the books. Courts in Macau treated it as illegal gambling that cut tax. Read the explainer →
- Unlicensed casino
- A gambling site with no valid licence, or a fake one. Players have no regulator to complain to and withdrawals can be refused at will. Read the explainer →
V
- VIP room
- A private high-limit gaming area. In Macau many were run by junkets until the 2023 law ended revenue-sharing arrangements. Read the explainer →
- Volatility
- How spread out a slot's results are. High volatility: rare, large wins and long dry spells. Low volatility: frequent small wins. Read the explainer →
W
- Wagering requirement
- How many times you must bet a bonus (or bonus plus deposit) before you can withdraw. 35× on a RM100 bonus means RM3,500 of bets. Read the explainer →
- Welcome bonus
- An offer for new players, often a deposit match or free spins. Always read the wagering, max bet and game rules before accepting. Try the tool →
- White label
- A casino brand run on another company's licence and platform. The brand markets; the licence holder is legally responsible. Read the explainer →
