Key lingo to know in the sports betting and casino industry
Although our careers play a vital part in life, finding fun ways to stay entertained in our spare time is also important. This stops boredom setting in and helps us live in a happier, more fulfilled way. In the modern world, there are more ways than ever to stay busy – from catching up on social media sites to streaming the latest hit TV shows or movies.
Many people all over the world also love to get involved with betting on sports in their spare time, and playing online casino games. Both these activities have soared in popularity and there are millions of people across the planet who like to stay entertained in this manner.
Sports betting and online casino gaming – what is the current picture?
Sports betting is a growing industry around the world and is a sector that has recently undergone something of a digital revolution. The best legal sportsbooks for US bettors show how this digital change has happened and why bettors love making online wagers. When you also add in countries such as the USA opening up to legal wagering on sports, it is easy to understand why the sports betting market size was an estimated $66.98bn in 2020.
Playing classics like poker digitally is also huge on a global scale and has led to the online casino sector being worth multi-billions. As with sports betting, a lot of this industry’s recent growth is down to the convenience and features that iGaming platforms deliver, compared to gaming at land-based casinos. With more countries beginning to allow online casino play within their borders, this sector is looking at a bright future.
If you plan to get involved with either, though, it is vital to know the most common lingo. Just as it is key to find ways to improve your personal finance when broke, it is crucial to know the right terminology before betting on sports or playing casino games online.
Common sports betting lingo
If you are interested in giving sports betting a go, it’s important to understand these key terms:
- Alternate lines – odds that are different than the main posted line odds.
- Bankroll – the money you deposit in your sportsbook account to bet with.
- Chalk – this means the same as favorite when talking about teams involved in a game.
- Each way – common in horse race betting, this is a type of bet that sees a Win bet placed and a bet which pays out for second place. Both are paid if the horse finishes first, while just the Place bet is covered if it finishes second.
- Live betting – also known as in-play betting, this refers to placing wagers after a game has started and is still going on.
- Odds – this refers to the betting lines bookies set for betting on games/events. They also show how much you could win from that bet and also give an idea of how likely you are to win the bet (i.e. odds on a horse to win a race of +10000 show it is not that likely to happen!).
- Parlay – this is a bet made up of two or more individual bets that must all win for your parlay to be paid out. While this can be tricky, the bigger payout these bets offer make them popular.
- Stake – your stake is the amount of money you risk on a bet.
Online casino play – what common terms do you hear most?
Although it also involves gambling, you will find online casino gaming comes with its own set of unique terms. But which should you know about?
- Ante – the amount you need to stake to join a game/hand.
- Deck – another name for the pack of cards used in some casino games.
- Fish – players who lose often at online casino games.
- RTP – this refers to how much money casino games online return to players over a set period of time, and is shown in percentage terms.
- RNG technology – RNG tech is used by internet casinos to ensure games are fair and results in them are generated randomly.
- Volatility – how often a game pays out in general. Low volatility games tend to pay out smaller amounts more frequently, high volatility games are the opposite.
- Welcome bonus – the package given out to new players by iGaming sites, which includes things like Free Spins or matched deposit bonuses.
Common sports betting and casino lingo
As the list above shows, there are some common terms across both sports betting and online gambling that you should get familiar with before trying either. Doing this will not only help you understand what is going on but also allow you to have a lot more fun.