Crypto casino jargon matters more for a no-KYC or anonymous-play audience than at a typical fiat casino: you're often reading contracts, licensing terms, and platform policies without the fallback of a customer-support relationship built on verified identity. Knowing what a term actually means before you deposit is part of vetting a platform, not just trivia. This glossary covers 50+ terms across five categories, each with a plain-English definition and — where relevant — a link to the EliteBonusHub page where that term matters most.
Blockchain & Payments
- Crypto wallet — Software or hardware that stores the private keys needed to send and receive cryptocurrency. Your casino deposits and withdrawals move to and from a wallet address, not a bank account.
- Hot wallet — A crypto wallet connected to the internet (an exchange account, a browser extension like MetaMask) — convenient for frequent transactions, but more exposed to online attack than a cold wallet.
- Cold wallet — A crypto wallet kept offline (a hardware device or paper key) — more secure for long-term storage, less convenient for active casino play.
- Blockchain confirmation — The process by which a network verifies and permanently records a transaction. Withdrawal speed depends partly on how many confirmations a network requires before treating a transfer as final — see our withdrawal times comparison for how this varies by casino and network.
- Stablecoin — A cryptocurrency (like USDT or USDC) pegged to a stable asset, typically the US dollar, to avoid the price swings of coins like Bitcoin or Ethereum.
- Gas fee — The transaction fee paid to a blockchain network to process a transfer, separate from anything the casino itself charges.
- On-chain / off-chain — "On-chain" means a transaction is recorded directly on the public blockchain. "Off-chain" means a casino tracks a balance internally and only settles to the blockchain when you withdraw — most casino gameplay itself is off-chain even when deposits/withdrawals are on-chain.
Compliance & Verification
- KYC (Know Your Customer) — The identity-verification process a casino runs to confirm who you are, usually triggered by a withdrawal threshold rather than required upfront at a no-KYC casino. Full breakdown in our safety and verification guide.
- AML (Anti-Money Laundering) — The broader set of laws and regulatory obligations that KYC exists to help satisfy. KYC is one tool inside an AML compliance program, not a synonym for it.
- Curaçao license — A gambling license issued by Curaçao's Gaming Control Board — the most common license among no-KYC crypto casinos. See our legality guide for what this license does and doesn't guarantee.
- Anjouan license — A gambling license issued by the Gaming Control of Anjouan (Comoros) — a newer, similarly lighter-touch alternative to Curaçao licensing.
- Source-of-funds check — A deeper compliance check, sometimes requested alongside standard KYC for very large transactions, asking a player to document where deposited funds originated.
Bonuses & Promotions
- Wagering requirement — The multiple of a bonus amount you must bet before any related winnings become withdrawable (e.g. a 30x wagering requirement on a $100 bonus means $3,000 in total bets first). See our welcome bonuses ranked guide for how this affects real bonus value.
- Rakeback — A percentage of the house edge generated by your wagers, returned to you based on turnover — paid regardless of whether you won or lost that session.
- Cashback — A percentage of net losses over a set period (daily, weekly) returned to your account — distinct from rakeback, which is based on turnover rather than losses.
- No-deposit bonus — Bonus funds or free spins credited without requiring a deposit first — see our no-deposit bonuses guide.
- Deposit match — A bonus calculated as a percentage of your deposit (e.g. a "100% match" doubles your deposit in bonus funds, subject to wagering requirements).
- Bonus abuse — Exploiting bonus terms in ways that violate a casino's intended use (e.g. running many accounts to claim the same offer repeatedly) — one of the most common triggers for an unexpected KYC request.
Games & Fairness
- Provably fair — A cryptographic method (typically combining a server seed and a client seed) that lets a player independently verify a game result wasn't manipulated after the fact. Full explainer: our provably-fair guide.
- RTP (Return to Player) — The theoretical long-run percentage of wagered money a game pays back to players over time; a higher RTP means a smaller average house edge.
- House edge — The mathematical advantage built into a game's rules that ensures the casino profits over the long run — the inverse of RTP.
- Crash game — A popular crypto-native game format where a multiplier climbs from 1.00x upward until it randomly "crashes" — players must cash out before that happens or lose the bet. See our best crash game sites guide.
- Seed (client/server) — The two inputs combined in a provably-fair algorithm: a server seed the casino commits to in advance (hashed, so it can't be changed after the fact) and a client seed you can set yourself, together determining the game outcome.
- Hash verification — Checking that a revealed server seed matches the hash the casino published before the round — the actual mechanical step of verifying a provably-fair result.
Trust & Security
- 2FA (Two-Factor Authentication) — An extra login-security step beyond a password (typically a code from an authenticator app), strongly recommended on any account holding crypto funds.
- Dispute resolution — The regulator-mandated process for resolving a disagreement between a player and a licensed casino — check what body a casino's license routes disputes through before you rely on it.
- Reserve proof / proof of reserves — Public evidence (sometimes cryptographically verifiable) that a casino actually holds the funds needed to cover player balances — a genuine trust signal, though not every operator publishes this.
- Audit — An independent review of a casino's game fairness, financial reserves, or security practices, conducted by a third party rather than the casino itself.
FAQ
What does KYC stand for?
Know Your Customer — the identity-verification process financial institutions and licensed casinos use to confirm who a customer is, usually to satisfy anti-money-laundering regulations.
What's the difference between AML and KYC?
KYC is the specific process of verifying a customer's identity. AML (Anti-Money Laundering) is the broader set of laws and obligations KYC exists to help satisfy — KYC is one tool within an AML compliance program, not a synonym for it.
What is a provably-fair game, exactly?
A game where the outcome is generated using a cryptographic method (typically combining a server seed and a client seed) that lets a player independently verify, after the fact, that the result wasn't manipulated. See our full provably-fair guide for the step-by-step verification process.
What is rakeback and how is it different from cashback?
Rakeback returns a percentage of the house edge generated by your wagers, calculated on turnover regardless of whether you won or lost. Cashback typically returns a percentage of net losses over a period. They're related loyalty mechanics but calculated differently.
For more on how identity verification actually works in practice, see our safety and verification guide, and for how to access these platforms on your phone, see our mobile and app access guide.