A
Accumulator
A special game feature in certain slot games where successive wins contribute to a growing prize pool. This often results in a bonus round or jackpot once enough points/prizes are accumulated.
Active Paylines
The number of paylines that are active throughout the rounds.
All-ways Slots
Games without fixed paylines/ winning ways.
Advantage
A statistical representation of the amount of money wagered which the casino will win, usually expressed as a percentage or ratio; players can work out the casino’s edge for a given game by subtracting the theoretical payout percentage from 100%.
Ante Bet
A bet placed on top of the original wager to increase winning chances. See also Bet Boost and Golden Bet.
Auto Play
The option to select a number of spins that will automatically spin using the selected stake.
Avalanche Reels
Cascading reels or Tumbling reels.
B
Bank
This term refers to a group of gambling machines, usually games that share a common feature. Slots may be in banks with other games of a similar style, made by the same designer, or with similar wager varieties.
Bankroll
A player’s budget; money set aside for a specific duration of casino gambling.
Bet
The amount wagered on a single round in the game. Synonymous with stake and wager.
Bet Boost
A special bonus game functionality allowing players to place a slightly bigger wager which increases the chances of winning special features. See Golden Bet.
Bet per Line
The amount wagered on a single payline. In multi-line slots, the total bet is calculated by multiplying the bet per line by the number of active paylines.
Bonus Feature/ Bonus Round
A special feature inside a game that has special properties or bigger payouts. Typically, bonus rounds must be activated by a specific sequence or number of symbols which rewards the player with prizes like cash prizes or free spins.
Branded Slots
Slots themed after a famous TV show, movie, music band, game franchise, etc. Some releases can come out only if the studio has the right special licenses.
Buy Feature
An extra slot option allowing players to pay and directly get into the bonus game feature (typically Free Spins) without waiting for the feature to trigger naturally.
Buy-a-Pay
A slot game machine in which activating more paylines or betting more credits unlocks additional winning combos or features.
C
Candle
This is a light or other signal placed on top of a slot machine used to alert casino staff in case of a need for maintenance or a hand pay. Used to appear in land-based casinos.
Cascading Reels
A game mechanic in which winning symbols disappear after a payout, allowing new symbols to fall into their place. The new symbols can potentially form additional wins.
Cash Out
Withdrawing money from the casino after the game round ends.
Classic Slot
A game with some modern features designed in imitation of early mechanical titles. Classic games usually have a single pay line and 3 or 5 reel, as well as fruit or Las Vegas themes.
Cluster Pays
A payout mechanism in which groups (clusters) of matching symbols, rather than paylines, generate wins by landing in clusters on adjacent reel positions on the grid.
Credit Size
The same as Coin size.
Coin Hopper
An internal part of a gambling machine where coins used for payout are stored.
Coin Size
An amount of money representing the cost of a single credit bet for a specific slot machine.
D
Drop Bucket
Sometimes called a drop box, this part of a slot machine’s internal mechanism stores a number of coins that don’t fit in the hopper, normally only used when a machine is full. This feature is less common now that slots paying coins are disappearing from casinos.
E
EGM
Abbreviation for Electronic Gaming Machine.
Expanding Wild
A type of Wild symbol that covers an entire reel, not just 1×1 position on the grid.
F
Five-reel
Five-reel or 5-reel slots are online slots with 5 reels. Besides 3-reel games, this is the most common slot format seen in slots online.
Fixed Paylines
A slot with a fixed number of paylines that are all active throughout the session. Typically, the number of paylines is low (3-10).
Fixed Jackpot
A jackpot that is fixed, meaning the amount is always the same.
Freeplay
Demo games that can be played for free, without investing real money.
Fruit Slots
British slang for slot machines, named for the heavy use of fruit symbols in early versions of the game.
G
Gamble Feature
An optional mini-game bonus round where players can risk their winnings for a chance to double or multiply them, often by guessing the outcome of a card draw or coin flip.
Golden Bet
A special bet option that increases the total bet a little and doubles the chances of hitting special features (such as Free Spins). The name of the option might vary (some call it ante bet, some Golden bet, others Bet Boost/Enhancer).
H
Hand Pay
The name for a payment made directly to a gambler by casino staff, used when a jackpot is too large to be paid automatically.
Hit
This is a slang term commonly used to describe a win on the slot machine.
Hit Frequency
An estimate of the ratio of winning spins to losing spins for a particular machine. Slots with a high hit frequency pay out more often than those with a low one.
Hold Percentage
A number representing the portion of player bets that a particular machine is designed to win; the opposite of payout percentage.
Hot Slots
A term used to describe machines believed to be paying out frequently, though outcomes are always random.
I
Icons
Icons are symbols in online slots. Another name is tiles.
J
Jackpot
The top prize payable by the slot.
Jackpot Meter
A visual display indicating the current value of a progressive jackpot.
L
Line
A payline, or a winning way.
Loose Slot
A machine rumored to have a higher payout percentage compared to others in the casino.
M
Max Bet
This number represents the largest amount that can be wagered on a single spin; most modern games have a button on the display that automatically places a wager of this size.
Megaways
A very popular game slot mechanics allowing up to 117,649 ways to win. The mechanic was invented and patented by Big Time Gaming, and all studios boasting Megaways slots must first obtain a licence to use it from BTG.
Min Bet
This number represents the lowest amount that can be wagered on a single round.
Multiplier
This special symbol increases a payout by a fixed amount, indicated by a number and the letter x, as in “5x.” If the winning combination contains a Multiplier, the payout will be multiplied by the value carried by the special symbol.
Multi-Line Slots
Slot machines with more than one pay line; bettors can choose to activate one line or additional ones, each with a separate wager.
N
Network Jackpot
Games linked into a network jackpot offer players a chance to win a progressive jackpot. Player can trigger the same progressive jackpot by playing any game in the network.
Nudge
A feature allowing stacked symbols, such as Expanded Wilds, to move and fully cover the reel if they are partially visible when the spin ends. This is typically only possible if the Wild can participate in a winning combination.
O
One-Armed Bandit
Slang for slot machine. The game itself is the bandit while the lever used to set the reels in motion is the bandit’s “arm.” This is an archaic name for old-school game cabinets.
P
Penny Slot
A slot machine that allows players to bet a minimum bet of $0.01 per payline. It is popular amongst classic slots and old slots, while newer slots rarely feature this option.
Payback Percentage (RTP)
A theoretical number indicating what portion of bets placed on a machine gets returned to players as winnings given an infinite amount of time. Also called Return to Player (RTP).
Payline
A winning pattern in a slot. Slots feature paylines indicating the possible patterns symbols can create to generate winning combinations.
These lines may be vertical, horizontal, diagonal, or laid out in any pattern as described by the machine’s pay table and rules. Paylines are labelled as such while there are 40 of them. If there are more than 40 paylines, the more commonly used term for these patterns becomes winning ways.
Pay out (also Payout)
An amount won for a specific combination of symbols usually displayed in credits.
Pay table (also Paytable)
The name for the list of winning combinations, payouts, bonus rewards, rules for progressive jackpots, wilds, and other jackpots. This table is usually located on the front of a game’s case or displayed on the main screen.
Primary Jackpot
The largest fixed jackpot listed on a game’s pay table.
Progressive Jackpot
A jackpot prize amount that grows over time as gamblers place bets in the game. Players can also wager on other machines in the same network if the game is part of a network jackpot. Rather than rewarding a fixed amount, this jackpot gets larger and larger until it is won then resets to a fixed minimum amount and starts to grow larger again.
R
Random Number Generator (also RNG)
Algorithm generating random number sequences used in online slots. This ensures each outcome in the game is 100% unpredictable and random.
Reel
A vertical line (column) that spins and contains symbols; these symbols are used to determine winnings on the slot grid.
Respin
A special game feature allowing players to spin a specific reel or select icons on the grid again for a chance to improve their outcome. Respins are often part of another special game feature.
Row
The horizontal line of the slot grid spinning and containing symbols. Together with reels it makes up the game grid.
S
Scatter
A special game symbol used in a slot that triggers a special feature of Free Spins. Scatters do not have to land in specific paylines to trigger wins, they can land anywhere. They can also have Wild properties in some cases.
Scatter Pay
A payout mechanism in which symbols generate winning combos when they land on the grid regardless of their position. The only requirement is that the required number lands (for instance 6, or 7 symbols).
Short Pay
A partial payment of a jackpot. This is common with older games, as it occurs when a machine’s coin hopper is empty or close to empty.
Slot Tournament
Special casino tournaments where qualifying games are only slot games.
Static Jackpot
This type of prize rewards a fixed number of credits; the opposite of a progressive jackpot. Also called a fixed jackpot.
Stacked Symbols
Symbols that appear in groups or “stacks” on a single reel, typically covering all positions in the column. They increase the likelihood of filling a reel or multiple paylines with the same symbol.
Sticky Wild
A Wild symbol that remains on the reels for multiple spins, increasing the chances of forming winning combinations. This is a special ability for some Wilds in certain games.
Symbols
Images on specific positions on a slot machine’s reels; combinations of these images are used to determine wins. Another name is icons/tiles.
T
Theoretical Hold Worksheet
This document created by game manufacturers lists information like a machine’s payout percentage, specific reel settings, payout schedule, accepted wager sizes, and other data necessary for operation and certification.; a statistical blueprint used by auditors and government regulators to verify that a machine is legal for play in a given jurisdiction.
Taste
A small win that is played out to players as an incentive, an encouragement to play.
Three-reel
Three-reel or 3-reel games are slots that have 3 reels.
Tight Slot
Slot machines that pay out less frequently than other games.
Tilt
Slang for stealing from gambling machines by pushing or shaking them. Mechanical slots were vulnerable to this form of cheating because of flaws in design. Modern manufacturing methods basically prevent tilt. The term is obsolete as it relates to cabinet machines, not online slots.
Total Bet
The total amount that players are ready to stake on a single round in a game.
Trail
A type of bonus slot feature that entails a progressive level game where players unlock parts of the trail as they progress to the highest prize.
Tumbling Reels
A synonym for cascading reels, where winning icons are removed and new symbols fall onto the grid in a cascade after each win.
V
Video Slot
A slot machine that uses a video screen to display the reels and game animations, rather than mechanical reels. In other words, an online slot, and not an actual slot machine cabinet.
Volatility
A slot metric representing the risk that comes with playing the corresponding game. It shows how often the game is expected to pay out and the size of potential payouts.
W
Wager
The money used as the bet for one round or spin in a casino game, stake.
Well
This is a bin at the bottom of a slot machine where jackpots are paid to players in coins or credits.
Wild
Wilds are special game symbols which substitute for other reel symbols to form winning combinations. Similar to Jokers in card games. Wilds can have multiple bonus properties, including Multipliers and Bonus game triggers.
Win Multiplier
Multiplier that applies to the total win in the spin before the player receives the payout.
Win-both-Ways
Slots that pay both ways – from left to right and right to left. In other words, winning combinations are counted from both sides, giving players more chances to win.
Winning Combination
A combination of symbols that matches the game’s paylines.
Winning Ways
Winning ways, or ways to win, represent the number of winning patterns a game has. Also called paylines (for games with 40 patterns the term used is paylines, if there are over 40 available patterns, the term is winning ways).
