When an entrepreneur first enters iGaming, they drown not in technology but in terminology. GGR, RTP, PAM, cascade, wager, postback — on the first call with a provider half the words sound like another language.
Publication date:
June 23, 2026
When an entrepreneur first enters iGaming, they drown not in technology but in terminology. GGR, RTP, PAM, cascade, wager, postback — on the first call with a provider half the words sound like another language. That's normal.
The problem lies elsewhere. Until you understand these terms, it's easy to be sold more than you need, to underestimate the project's economics or to choose the wrong launch model. Someone who confuses GGR and NGR signs a revenue share deal blind.
We've put together 30 terms an operator actually needs — without academic definitions. We explain each one in plain language and immediately show why it affects your money. This is not a glossary for the sake of a glossary, but a cheat sheet before launch.
The online industry of real-money gambling: casino, sports betting, poker, lotteries. An umbrella term that covers both the product (platform, games) and the business (operators, providers, affiliates). When you "launch a casino" — you're entering iGaming.
The games of chance for money themselves — slots, roulette, blackjack, betting. If iGaming is the whole industry, then gambling is its core, the moment a player places a bet. In practice the terms are often used as synonyms.
Wagers on sports and events. A separate vertical with its own economics, margins and licensing. Many operators add betting to a casino to keep the player inside one product — it's a separate module, the sportsbook.
The company that runs the casino: it takes on players, manages the wallet, pays out winnings and is responsible for the brand and traffic. It's the operator who "owns the business". A provider (like Betstore) gives the operator the technology — platform, games, payments.
B2C — working with the end player (accepting bets, payouts, bonuses). B2B — supplying infrastructure to another operator (platform, games, payments), without taking money from the player. These are different legal perimeters — and which one you are determines which license you need.
A launch model on the provider's ready-made infrastructure and license. A fast entry with minimal bureaucracy, but working within the supplier's framework. Suitable for testing a hypothesis and for teams without strong operations — the White Label model.
A model where the operator receives the software and integrations, but builds the license, payments and contracts themselves. More control over the product and economics, but more responsibility. It's the choice of those who build a brand as an asset — Turnkey.
Gross gaming revenue: all bets minus all payouts to players. The base metric from which revenue share is usually calculated. If players wagered 1,000,000 and took back 900,000 — your GGR is 100,000.
Net gaming revenue: GGR minus bonuses, provider fees, payment charges and taxes. What actually remains with the business. Operators often look at GGR, but live on NGR — that's what matters in the financial model.
The return-to-player rate — the share of bets a slot returns on average over the long run (for example, 96%). The remaining 4% is the casino's theoretical margin on that game.
The actual percentage the casino retained from the betting turnover over a period. Essentially the flip side of RTP, but based on real data rather than theory. A low hold is often a signal of bonus abuse or a misconfigured game lobby.
Average revenue per player over a period. It shows how much a player brings in on average and helps calculate how much you can pay to acquire them. As ARPU grows, so does the ceiling of your marketing budget.
The total revenue from a player over their entire lifetime in the project. A key metric for marketing: if LTV is higher than the acquisition cost, the project grows healthily. Retention and bonus logic directly drive LTV.
Retention — the share of players who return after a day, a week, a month. Churn — those who leave. The launch is only half the job; a sustainable business begins where there is retention, not one-off traffic.
The conversion from registration to first deposit. It shows how well the lobby, bonuses and payments bring the player to money. A weak Reg2Dep is almost always a problem in the cashier or onboarding, not in traffic.
The system for managing player accounts: a single profile, balance, history, limits, sessions. The operational core of a casino — this is where player data and control logic live. It's part of the platform.
Verification of the player's identity — documents, verification, access levels. Needed for withdrawals, fighting fraud and regulator requirements. In some models KYC is triggered on request, in regulated markets it's mandatory.
Countering money laundering: transaction monitoring, limits, reporting, checking the source of funds. Without a working AML policy the regulator won't issue a license, and a payment partner will refuse to connect.
A set of player-protection mechanics: deposit and bet limits, self-exclusion, informing about risks. It's both a regulator requirement and a reputational factor. A mandatory element for most jurisdictions.
The algorithm that determines the outcome of every spin and guarantees the fairness of the game. A certified RNG is the foundation of player trust and a requirement for licensing. Content with a fair RNG is connected through an aggregator.
A studio that develops slots and games (Pragmatic, Evolution, BGaming and others). The operator doesn't write the games themselves — they connect providers' content. Terms and availability depend on GEO and license.
An aggregator is a service that gives access to games from hundreds of providers through a single unified API, without a separate integration with each one. It saves months of development and simplifies managing the game lobby. At Betstore that's 20,000+ games through one connection.
The payout character of a slot: high volatility — rare large wins, low — frequent small ones. It affects player behavior and how quickly the balance "spins". A mix of volatility in the lobby is part of the product strategy.
The casino's cashier: accepting deposits and processing withdrawals via cards, e-wallets, P2P, crypto. Deposit conversion depends on it — a weak cashier zeroes out any traffic. The cashier architecture is best designed before launch — the payment gateway.
Logic in which a payment automatically switches to a working gateway if the first one declines. It raises the share of successful deposits, especially in difficult markets. Critical for the high-risk vertical.
A reverse payment: the player disputes a transaction through the bank, and the money is debited back. A high level of chargebacks leads to sanctions from payment systems and blocks. Anti-fraud and smart routing reduce the risk.
A category of business that banks and payment companies consider risky — gambling falls into it. It means stricter requirements, reserves and specialized providers. That's why the payment layer for a casino is built differently than for ordinary e-commerce.
A model of paying an affiliate for an action — usually for a registration or a player's first deposit. A fixed amount for a result, predictable for the budget. It's configured in the affiliate dashboard.
A model where the partner (or provider) receives a percentage of the GGR of the players they bring in. Unlike CPA, it's a long game: you pay for as long as the player brings in revenue. Important: revenue share with a provider is an ongoing cost item, not a one-time payment.
A bonus condition: how many times you need to roll over the amount before withdrawing winnings (for example, x35). It protects the casino from bonus abuse and directly affects the economics of promos. Flexible bonus logic is part of the loyalty module.
Got the terms down — time for the numbers. If you're planning a launch, start with a consultation: we'll break down your model by GEO, license, payments and economics.
