Interactive Gaming Glossary & Briefings

A plain-English reference for the words the UK online gambling industry uses — and the rules behind them. No casino rankings, no bonus offers, no affiliate links. Just definitions you can check against the source.

Start with the glossary

The A–Z glossary covers around sixty terms you will meet on a licensed gambling site, in a game's help screen, or in a Gambling Commission notice: from affordability and autoplay to wagering requirement and white label. Each entry is short. Where a term needs more than three sentences, it has its own page.

The six terms people ask about most have full articles:

• RTP — return to player: what the percentage means, what it does not promise, and why the same slot can have several RTP versions.
• Volatility: why two games with the same RTP feel completely different.
• Wagering requirements: how "35x" turns a £10 bonus into £350 of required bets.
• GAMSTOP: the national self-exclusion scheme every GB-licensed online operator must be part of.
• Financial vulnerability checks: the £150 check, the staged financial risk assessments, and what a customer actually has to provide (nothing).
• White label: why a brand you have never heard of can run on a licence held by a company you have.

Briefings

Short notes on a single rule, written from the Commission's own documents rather than from press coverage:

• RTS 14: the design rules that changed online slots — 2.5-second spins, no turbo, no multi-game, no fake wins.
• The credit card ban — what has been off the table since April 2020.
• How to check a gambling licence — the public register, and what a licence does not tell you.
• Reading bonus terms — the five numbers that decide whether an offer is worth anything.

How this site works

Every article shows the date it was last reviewed and links to the primary source at the end. Definitions are written by Eleanor Whitlock, who is not a lawyer and is not paid by any operator, affiliate or regulator. If a definition is wrong or out of date, the contact page is the place to say so.

This site does not recommend where to gamble. If gambling has stopped being fun, the responsible gambling page lists free, confidential help.