Casino Vocabulary Explained
Casino sites use a set of recurring terms that appear across game descriptions, rules pages, and settings menus. Understanding what each one means makes it easier to read a game's information panel and make informed choices before playing.
RTP (Return to Player)
RTP is a percentage that describes how much of all the money wagered on a game is, in theory, paid back to players over a very large number of rounds. A game with an RTP of 96% would, over millions of spins, return £96 for every £100 wagered across all players combined. It is a long-run statistical average, not a guarantee of what any single player will receive in a session.
House Edge
House edge is the mirror figure to RTP. Where RTP expresses what players get back, the house edge expresses what the game retains. A 96% RTP corresponds to a 4% house edge. It represents the mathematical advantage built into every game, which is how a casino sustains itself over time. Lower house edge generally means the game is more favourable to the player in the long run. See Candy Casino overview for the main page.
Volatility and Variance
Volatility and variance are used interchangeably to describe the risk profile of a game — how frequently it pays out and how large those payouts tend to be.
- Low volatility: wins occur more often but tend to be smaller in size.
- High volatility: wins are less frequent but can be significantly larger when they do land.
- Medium volatility: a balance between the two extremes.
Volatility does not change a game's RTP, but it does affect how a playing session feels and how quickly a bankroll can rise or fall. See the live dealer page for background on this topic.
Jackpots and Progressive Jackpots
A jackpot is a top prize available in a game, usually shown clearly in the game's interface. A progressive jackpot is one that grows over time: a small percentage of every wager placed on the game — and sometimes across a network of linked games — is added to a shared prize pool. This pool accumulates until a player triggers the winning condition, at which point it resets to a base value and begins growing again. Progressive jackpots can reach very large sums when many players are contributing across multiple connected titles.
Demo Play
Demo play (sometimes called practice mode or fun mode) allows a person to load a game and play it using virtual credits rather than real money. No account is required on many platforms, and no real funds are at stake. It is a straightforward way to learn how a game's reels, paylines, and feature rounds work before deciding whether to play with a real balance. The mechanics in demo mode are identical to the real-money version, as the same underlying game software runs in both cases.
Session and Deposit Limits
Session limits and deposit limits are tools that allow a player to set a ceiling on how long they play or how much money they put into their account within a given period. Once a chosen limit is reached, the platform will either pause play or prevent further deposits until the time period resets. These controls sit in the responsible gambling or account settings section of most platforms and are designed to help players stay within boundaries they have chosen for themselves in advance.