This responsible gambling glossary explains, in plain words, the terms you meet on regulator websites, operator help pages and research reports. Each entry gives the short meaning first, then the detail that matters. Where a figure or a rule is involved, we link to the regulator, the scheme or the study it comes from.
The words in this field are not neutral. Some were written by health bodies, some by regulators, and some by the gambling industry. Where a term is contested, we say so. If you want the wider background first, start with what responsible gambling means and what problem gambling means.
How to use this responsible gambling glossary
Three things are worth knowing before you read on.
- Rules differ by country. A term like deposit limit means something slightly different in Germany than in Britain. We name the country each time.
- Screening tools are not diagnoses. A score on a questionnaire is not a medical finding. Only a trained professional can diagnose a disorder.
- A few letters of the alphabet have no established term in this field. We have not invented any to fill the gaps.
A
Affected other. A person harmed by someone else’s gambling. Usually a partner, child, parent or close friend. The World Health Organization estimates that for every person who gambles at high-risk levels, an average of six other people are affected, and most of them do not gamble themselves. Support services are open to affected others, not only to the person gambling. See our guide to helping a partner who gambles.
Affordability check. An informal name for a check on whether someone can afford what they are losing. British regulators avoid the phrase, because it suggests a judgement about how people should spend their money. The formal term is a financial risk assessment (see F).
Autoplay. A setting that spins a slot or plays a game round again and again without you touching anything. It removes the pause between bets. Features that speed play up are treated as a risk factor by regulators, and Great Britain has restricted them on online slots.
B
Bet (stake). The money you put at risk on one game round or one event. On online slots in Great Britain the stake per game round is capped at GBP 5 for adults aged 25 and over, and GBP 2 for adults aged 18 to 24. The GBP 5 cap started on 9 April 2025 and the GBP 2 cap on 21 May 2025. The limits apply to slots only, not to roulette or blackjack.
BetStop. Australia’s National Self-Exclusion Register. It is a free Australian Government service that blocks you from every licensed online and phone gambling provider in Australia. Once you are registered, those companies cannot take your bets, cannot let you open a new account, and cannot send you marketing. It does not cover venues with poker machines.
Bonus and wagering requirement. A bonus is free credit or free spins. A wagering requirement is the number of times you must bet that credit before you can withdraw anything from it. A requirement of 30x on a GBP 20 bonus means GBP 600 of bets. Bonuses extend play, which is why regulators treat them as a marketing risk rather than a gift.
C
Chasing losses. Betting more, or betting again sooner, to win back money you have lost. It is one of the nine DSM-5 criteria for gambling disorder, worded as returning another day to get even after losing. Researchers treat it as one of the strongest behavioural signs of harm.
Cooling-off period. A delay before a change takes effect. It is used most often on limit increases: if you ask to raise a deposit limit, the new, higher limit only starts after a set wait. Lowering a limit normally takes effect at once. The point is friction in one direction only.
CRUKS. The Dutch central exclusion register, short for Centraal Register Uitsluiting Kansspelen. A registration, called a gokstop, lasts at least six months and cannot be ended earlier. It blocks licensed Dutch gambling websites and also entry to licensed Dutch casinos and arcades. The official register is at cruksregister.nl. Commercial sites with similar names are not the register.
Customer interaction. The regulatory term for an operator contacting a customer whose play looks risky. In Great Britain it is governed by social responsibility code provision 3.4.3 of the Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice. An interaction can be a message, a pop-up, a phone call, a limit, or closing the account.
D
Deposit limit. A cap on how much money you can pay into a gambling account in a day, a week or a month. In most countries you set it yourself. Germany is different: under the 2021 state treaty there is a cross-operator cap of EUR 1,000 a month across all licensed providers combined, and you may set a lower personal limit at any time.
DSM-5-TR. The American Psychiatric Association’s diagnostic manual, now in its fifth edition, text revision. It lists nine criteria for gambling disorder. A person must meet four or more within a 12-month period. Severity is mild at four to five criteria, moderate at six to seven, and severe at eight to nine. Gambling disorder sits with the addictive disorders, not with the impulse-control disorders, which is where earlier editions put it.
E
EGM (electronic gaming machine). The general name for slot machines, fruit machines and poker machines. Australia calls them pokies. They allow fast, repeated bets, which is the feature most closely linked to harm in the research. See which gambling products cause the most harm.
Exclusion (venue). A ban from entering a specific physical place, such as one betting shop, one casino or one arcade chain. It is narrower than a national register, and it only works where staff can recognise you or scan your details at the door.
F
Financial risk assessment. A background check in Great Britain that looks for signs of serious financial difficulty in customers who deposit large amounts. The Gambling Commission announced a staged introduction on 7 July 2026. In the first stage the trigger is a net deposit of GBP 5,000 in a rolling 24 hours, or GBP 2,500 for customers under 25. The intended final thresholds are lower: GBP 1,000 in 24 hours or GBP 3,000 in 90 days, and GBP 750 or GBP 2,000 for under-25s. The Commission says the aim is to replace document requests, not to add them.
Frictionless check. A check that happens in the background, without the customer being asked for bank statements or payslips. In the British pilot, the Commission reported that 97 per cent of accounts above the threshold could be assessed frictionlessly, and fewer than 3 per cent could not.
G
GAMSTOP. The national online self-exclusion scheme for Great Britain. It is free, and it blocks your access to gambling websites and apps run by participating companies. You choose six months, one year, five years, or five years with automatic renewal. Six months is the shortest option. GAMSTOP covers companies licensed in Great Britain, so it does not reach unlicensed offshore sites.
Gambling disorder. The clinical name for the most severe form of gambling problem. It appears in DSM-5-TR (see D) and in ICD-11 as code 6C50 (see I). The World Health Organization estimates that 1.2 per cent of the world’s adult population has a gambling disorder. Our longer explainer covers signs, causes and treatment.
Gambling harm. Any negative consequence of gambling, for the person gambling or for anyone around them. Harm includes debt, lost sleep, arguments, missed work, poor health and loss of trust. The WHO is clear that harm also occurs well below clinical thresholds, and that around 5.5 per cent of women and 11.9 per cent of men globally experience some level of harm from gambling. This is the key reason harm is now measured on a scale, not as a yes-or-no condition.
H
Harm reduction. An approach that aims to lower the damage gambling causes across a whole population, rather than only treating the people worst affected. It focuses on products, prices, availability and advertising. The Lancet Public Health Commission on Gambling, published in October 2024, argued for exactly this: a public health approach that puts regulation ahead of revenue and keeps policy insulated from industry influence.
Helpline. A free phone, chat or text service staffed by trained advisers. Helplines are not only for emergencies and not only for the person gambling. Verified numbers are listed at the end of this page, and more countries are covered in our global helpline directory.
House edge. The share of all money staked that the operator keeps, on average, over a very long run. It is the mirror image of return to player (see R). A house edge of 4 per cent means an average return to player of 96 per cent. The edge is built into the rules of the game, so no system or pattern of play changes it.
I
ICD-11 (6C50). The World Health Organization’s classification of diseases. Gambling disorder is code 6C50. The WHO describes three elements: impaired control over gambling, increasing priority given to gambling over other life interests, and continuation despite negative consequences. ICD-11 is used by health systems worldwide; DSM-5-TR is used mainly in the United States and in research.
Illusion of control. The belief that skill or ritual can change a result that is purely random. Choosing your own numbers, pressing the button yourself, or pausing before a spin can all strengthen the feeling without changing the odds at all.
K
KYC (know your customer). The identity checks an operator must run before or shortly after you start gambling: name, date of birth, address and, in many countries, a check against the national exclusion register. KYC is what makes a register like CRUKS or BetStop enforceable at all, because the operator has to know who you are to block you.
L
LCCP. Short for Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice, the rulebook that every gambling business licensed in Great Britain must follow. It is split into operating licence conditions, code of practice provisions and personal licence conditions. Breaching it can cost an operator its licence.
Losses disguised as wins. A slot outcome that pays back less than you staked but is presented with the sounds and animations of a win. Stake GBP 1, win GBP 0.30, and the machine still celebrates. You have lost 70p. The effect is well documented in machine gambling research.
LUGAS. Germany’s central activity file. It is the system that enforces the cross-operator deposit limit and stops you playing with two licensed operators at the same moment. It is a regulator-run database, not an operator tool.
M
Markers of harm. The signals an operator monitors to spot a customer at risk. In Great Britain, code provision 3.4.3 requires remote licensees to monitor seven categories: customer spend, patterns of spend, time spent gambling, gambling behaviour indicators, customer-led contact, use of gambling management tools, and account indicators.
Mode effect. The change in survey answers caused by how a survey is run, rather than by any real change in behaviour. It is the single most important idea for reading gambling statistics, and it explains the gap between Great Britain’s two main sources. See the entry on push-to-web below, and our page on how prevalence is measured.
N
Near miss. An outcome that looks close to a win but is a loss: two jackpot symbols and the third just above the line. Near misses are losses. They are built into how reels are weighted, and they keep play going longer than plain losses do.
Net deposit. Money paid in, minus money withdrawn, over a set window. It matters because gross deposits can overstate what someone has actually risked if they have been cycling winnings back in. British financial risk assessment thresholds are set on net deposits.
O
OASIS. Germany’s nationwide player blocking system, run under the 2021 state treaty. A self-block lasts at least three months, and a block requested by a third party lasts 12 months. Both are free. OASIS covers licensed online gambling, betting shops and arcades across Germany.
Odds. A way of expressing how likely an outcome is and what it pays. Published odds always include the operator’s margin, so they are not a neutral estimate of what will happen. They tell you the price, not the probability.
P
Panic button. A one-tap control that blocks your account immediately for a short period. Germany requires it on licensed gambling pages, where pressing it triggers a 24-hour block. It is designed for the moment when you want to stop now and do not want to read a settings menu.
PGSI (Problem Gambling Severity Index). A nine-question screening tool, developed by Ferris and Wynne in 2001 as part of the Canadian Problem Gambling Index. Each question is scored 0 to 3, giving a total from 0 to 27. It is used in national surveys and in self-assessment tools.
| PGSI score | Usual label | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | No problems reported | No adverse consequences reported in the past year |
| 1 to 2 | Low risk | Some consequences reported, few or minor |
| 3 to 7 | Moderate risk | More consequences, some loss of control reported |
| 8 or more | Often called problem gambling | Many consequences reported; strongest signal on the scale |
The PGSI is a screening instrument, not a diagnosis. The Gambling Commission’s own guidance states plainly that its statistics should not be used as a measure of addiction to gambling, and that the PGSI should not be confused with a measure of gambling addiction. A PGSI figure cannot be converted into a count of addicted people.
Prevention paradox. The finding that most of the total harm in a population comes from the large number of people at moderate risk, not from the small number at the most severe end. It is the main argument for population-wide measures such as stake limits, alongside treatment for the people worst affected.
Push-to-web. A survey method where people are posted an invitation and complete the questionnaire online, by themselves. Great Britain’s Gambling Survey for Great Britain (Annual Report 2025, published 16 July 2026) uses it, with 20,775 adults surveyed across 2025. It reported 2.4 per cent of adults scoring PGSI 8 or more, 3.5 per cent scoring 3 to 7, and 7.8 per cent scoring 1 to 2.
The Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey 2023/24, published 27 November 2025, reported 0.4 per cent at PGSI 8 or more. The two figures are not a contradiction and neither is a correction of the other. In APMS, the gambling questions were answered in the self-completion part of an interview that an interviewer had recruited in the home; in the GSGB, the whole questionnaire is self-completed online after a postal invitation. The Commission’s own research into the gap, published 14 August 2025, points to how people are recruited and the setting in which they answer, not to one survey being wrong. Never place figures from different survey modes side by side without saying so.
R
Reality check. A pop-up that interrupts play to tell you how long you have been gambling and, usually, how much you are up or down. You normally choose the interval. Evidence that reality checks change behaviour is mixed, and they are weakest when they can be dismissed with one tap.
Return to player (RTP). The percentage of all staked money a game pays back, averaged over millions of rounds. An RTP of 96 per cent does not mean you get 96 pence back from every pound. It is a long-run average across all players, and your own session can land anywhere.
Reverse withdrawal. A feature that let you cancel a pending withdrawal and gamble the money again. It turned a decision to stop into a decision you had to keep making. Great Britain has banned it for licensed operators.
RGIAJ. Spain’s national self-prohibition register, the Registro General de Interdicciones de Acceso al Juego, maintained by the gambling regulator DGOJ. Registering blocks you from licensed online gambling in Spain. Spain’s regions also run their own registers for land-based venues, so people often need to register twice. We cover this in detail on a dedicated page rather than here, because the regional picture changes.
S
Safer gambling. A newer term, now preferred by most British regulators and operators over responsible gambling. The reasoning is that responsible puts the duty on the individual, while safer points at the product and the environment. Public health researchers tend to go further again and talk about gambling harm, as the Lancet Commission does.
Self-exclusion. Asking to be blocked from gambling, either with one company or across a whole country. National registers are the strongest version, because one registration covers every licensed operator at once. Our complete self-exclusion guide covers each scheme; the table below compares five of the largest.
| Scheme | Country | Shortest period | Covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| GAMSTOP | Great Britain | 6 months | Licensed gambling websites and apps |
| Spelpaus | Sweden | Short break, up to until further notice | All licensed gambling needing registration, online and in person |
| CRUKS | Netherlands | 6 months, cannot end early | Licensed sites, casinos and arcades |
| OASIS | Germany | 3 months (self-block) | Licensed online, betting shops and arcades |
| BetStop | Australia | Not stated on the register’s home page | All licensed online and phone providers |
Session limit. A cap on how long one continuous period of play can last. When the limit is reached, the session ends. It is different from a time-out, which blocks the account rather than ending a session.
Single customer view. A proposed system where several operators share risk signals about the same customer, so that someone cutting back with one company cannot simply move the same losses to another. It is technically and legally difficult, because it means sharing sensitive personal data between competitors.
Spelpaus. Sweden’s national register, a service from the regulator Spelinspektionen. It covers all gambling that requires registration, online and in venues, across licensed Swedish operators. You choose the length, and a registration cannot be reversed or ended early. The longest option, tills vidare or until further notice, cannot be lifted for 12 months.
Statutory levy. A compulsory charge on gambling operators to fund research, prevention and treatment, replacing voluntary donations. Britain’s levy started in April 2025, is collected by the Gambling Commission, and has raised just under GBP 120 million in its first year. It is split 50 per cent to treatment, 30 per cent to prevention and 20 per cent to research through UK Research and Innovation. From 1 April 2026, NHS England took commissioning responsibility for gambling harms treatment in England, funded from the treatment share. How harm services are paid for shapes who they answer to, which is why we publish our own funding and independence statement.
T
Time-out. A short, self-chosen block on your account, usually from 24 hours to six weeks. It is the lightest of the break tools: easier to start than self-exclusion, and it ends automatically. Useful as a circuit breaker, weaker as a long-term measure.
Tolerance. Needing to bet more money to get the same level of excitement. It is the first of the nine DSM-5 criteria for gambling disorder, and the clearest sign that the amount being staked has drifted upward over time.
U
UK Gambling Commission (UKGC). The regulator for commercial gambling in Great Britain. It issues licences, writes the LCCP, publishes the Gambling Survey for Great Britain, collects the statutory levy, and takes enforcement action. Northern Ireland has a separate legal framework. Other regulators are listed in our directory of gambling regulators.
V
Volatility (variance). How bumpy a game’s results are. High volatility means long runs of nothing followed by occasional large wins. Low volatility means frequent small returns. Volatility does not change the house edge; it changes how fast a given bankroll is likely to disappear, and how a losing run feels.
VIP scheme. A loyalty programme offering bonuses, a personal account manager, hospitality or faster withdrawals to high-spending customers. Because spend and harm are linked, these schemes concentrate rewards on exactly the customers most likely to be in trouble. Regulators have taken repeated enforcement action over them.
W
Wagering (turnover). The total amount staked, counting every round. It is not the same as losses. Stake GBP 1 a spin for 500 spins and your turnover is GBP 500, even if you finish only GBP 40 down, because winnings were restaked. Turnover is why a small deposit can produce an enormous amount of gambling.
Y
Youth gambling. Gambling by people below the legal age, and the gambling-like features young people meet in games. The Gambling Commission publishes an annual Young People and Gambling survey alongside its adult statistics. Age limits differ by product and country, so a game legal for a 16-year-old in one place may be adults-only in another.
Z
Zoning out. The absorbed, time-blind state some people describe during long sessions on machines or fast online games. People report losing track of time, money and their surroundings. Researchers link it to the speed and repetition of the product rather than to anything about the individual, which is why it shows up most on the highest-risk products.
Letters with no standard term
There is no established responsible gambling term beginning with J, Q or X that is in common use by regulators or researchers. We have left those letters out rather than pad them. If a term enters general use, we will add it and date the change in our corrections policy.
Where these definitions come from
Every definition above is drawn from a primary source: legislation, a regulator’s own pages, a national statistics publication, a diagnostic manual, or the scheme operator’s own website. Where two sources disagree, we say so in the entry rather than picking one quietly. Clinical definitions come from DSM-5-TR and ICD-11, prevalence figures from the named survey, and scheme rules from the scheme itself. Our approach to sourcing and review is set out in our editorial policy, and this page was written by Jose Del Pozo.
If you need help now
You do not need to use any of the words on this page to ask for help. These numbers are free and confidential, and they are also for family and friends.
- Great Britain: National Gambling Helpline, 0808 8020 133, free, 24 hours a day, every day of the year.
- United States: 1-800-MY-RESET (1-800-697-3738) to call, text or chat. The older number, 1-800-522-4700, still works.
- Australia: 1800 858 858, free counselling by phone, chat or email, 24 hours a day.
- Other countries: see our helpline directory or our guide on how to get help.
Last reviewed: 2 October 2026. Sources checked on this date.