ABC of online gambling

In this ABC list of online gambling you will find the most frequently used words, expressions and abbreviations as you will find them in the online gambling industry.

AML

Abbreviation for anti-money laundering. AML policies are measures that online gambling providers take to prevent them from being used as a platform to launder money. These include: intensive analysis of player behaviour and financial transactions, stringent customer identification processes and the use of deposit limits.

Betting exchange product

sports betting market where customers do not play against the bookmaker, but against each other. The provider of the platform charges a commission on the winnings.

BGC

This is short for Betting and Gaming Council. The BGC is the only betting and gambling industry association for betting shops, online gambling companies and casinos with the goal of pursuing a well-regulated and non-discriminatory gaming environment in the UK. It is the result of a merger of the Remote Gaming Association and the Association of British Bookmakers.

Bookmaker or bookie

A provider of betting on mostly sports-related events. The main task of the bookmaker is to estimate the probability of a certain outcome. On this basis he draws up his quotations.

Bonus

A financial incentive that is given to the customer by the online gambling provider that the customer can use to participate in online games of chance.

Casino game

That is the denominator for the products offered by casinos. The most popular casino game formats are roulette, poker, baccarat, blackjack and slot machines. The casino makes money by using a pay-out percentage that is below 100 percent for prize money (such as in blackjack or roulette), or by charging a commission when customers play against each other (such as in poker or baccarat).

CEN standard

The European standard for responsible participation in remote games of chance, intended for providers, software suppliers, service providers and other industry stakeholders. Its purpose is twofold: on the one hand to ensure adequate consumer protection, on the other to encourage responsible behaviour on the part of games of chance providers, software suppliers and other service providers.

Channelisation

This describes the effect where consumers are drawn away from the unlicensed (or non- Dutch licensed) gambling offer (.com), towards online games of chance that are offered by providers operating under a Dutch licence (.nl).

Channelisation degree

This is the extent to which Dutch consumers make use of offers regulated in the Netherlands, expressed as a percentage. The degree of channeling determines to a large extent the extent to which the government’s policy objectives, namely the prevention of crime and fraud, the prevention of gambling addiction and the protection of consumers, is achieved. The higher the channelisation, the better the Netherlands scores against its objectives.

Deposit

Also referred to as: “payment”; the money that the customer transfers to his personal player account via his external bank account or via another financial service provider in order to participate in online games of chance.

EGBA

The abbreviation for the European Gambling and Betting Association, the umbrella organisation of online gambling providers regulated in Europe. EGBA works with national governments, European authorities and other stakeholders to provide a safe, well-regulated and attractive gambling offer for residents of the Europe.

EU Athletes

The Federation of European Players and Athletes Unions. In total, EU Athletes represents more than 35 national unions and 25 thousand individual athletes, from all over Europe and active in different sports and disciplines. EU Athletes, together with IBIA (International Betting Integrity Association), EGBA (European Gaming and Betting Association) and BGC (Betting and Gaming Council), has developed a code of conduct to help athletes manage sports betting. This project is financially supported by the European Commission.

Gambling tax

This is a direct tax on games of chance, which is levied by the government. Gambling tax is a tax that participants of games of chance or organisers of games of chance must pay on the winnings from the games of chance. The tax is levied on the basis of the Dutch Gaming and Betting Tax Act (Wet KSB) and Chapter VIIa of the Dutch Tax Act BES. Since 1 January 2018, the Netherlands has a gambling tax of 30.1 percent on the value of the prize that can be won. This seems unambiguous, but it is not. In practice, the value of the prize is determined in various ways. In addition, there are exemptions. For example, Holland Casino pays 30.1 percent gambling tax on the gross game result (stake minus the prizes). The lotteries also have an exemption from gambling tax for prizes up to € 449. A very significant portion of the lottery prizes fall under this category, which means that the lotteries effectively only pay around 10 percent gambling tax.

GGR

That’s short for gross game result. That is the sum of the bets placed by players minus either the winnings paid to the player, or minus the commissions charged by the games of chance provider.

GGR tax

This is the tax on the sum of the bets placed by the players minus the winnings paid out to the player or the commissions charged by the gambling provider.

Gross sales tax

This is the tax on the gross gaming income minus the operational costs.

Gross turnover

The total gross gaming income minus operational costs.

IBIA

The abbreviation for the International Betting Integrity Association, the integrity body for online and offline betting providers developed by the gaming industry itself. The goal of IBIA is to protect the integrity of the sport and to prevent match fixing. The members of IBIA take care of this by exchanging information about suspicious betting patterns.

ISP blocking

Blocking Internet Service Providers (ISP’s). ISP blocking is regularly used to prevent consumers from participating in online games of chance by blocking certain internet addresses. The effectiveness of this measure is limited, because such blockages are easy to avoid.

Ksa

This is the abbreviation for the Netherlands Gaming Authority ‘Kansspelautoriteit’, the Dutch regulator of the games of chance market. The Ksa is exclusively authorised to issue licenses for games of chance, to supervise licensees, to combat illegal games of chance and to protect consumers against gambling addiction.

KYC

This is the abbreviation for Know Your Customer. This term describes all measures that an online games of chance provider takes from the perspective of risk management and compliance, in order to obtain and check relevant information from the customer with whom he enters into a business relationship. An example of this is requesting a scan of an identification document, in order to verify the identity of the customer.

KYT

This stands for Know Your Transaction and describes the process and the measures that an online games of chance provider takes from risk management and compliance, in order to obtain and check relevant information about the financial transaction to be processed. An example of this is the use of a monitoring tool that maps out in detail what the risks are in a transaction and how they can be contained.

Match fixing

This is the illegal manipulation of the outcome of sports matches by improperly determining the course or outcome of a competition or specific events within it (such as individual matches or races, or events during matches). This is done, among other things, by offering athletes or club representatives a financial reward if they manipulate the outcome of a match or competition.

Online games of chance

These are all games of chance that are offered remotely through the internet. The most popular online games of chance are sports betting, casino, poker and bingo. Under Dutch law remote gambling does not include lotteries that are offered via the internet.

Operational costs

These are the costs (not including the prize money) that a gambling provider incurs to enable itself to offer its products. Operational costs include personnel costs, IT costs, rent or depreciation of office buildings and costs incurred to comply with permit requirements.

Pay back ratio

Also called the Prize ay-out ratio or PBR: the percentage of the total bet that is paid out to players in the form of prize money.

Player account

In Dutch called ‘spelersrekening’. This is the personal account that a consumer opens with the online gambling provider after registration and which he can use to participate in online games of chance, make deposits and make withdrawals.

Policy objectives

These are the Dutch government’s gambling policy objectives, being: the prevention of crime and fraud, the prevention of gambling addiction and the protection of consumers.

Prevention measures

This is an important part of the prevention policy of online games of chance providers. Examples of measures that can be taken:

• A self-test that provides the customer with insight into their own gaming behaviour;
• Deposit limits that can be imposed in order to control gaming behaviour;
• Inserting a cooling-off period when the gaming behaviour requires it;
• (Self) exclusion of players who exhibit structurally problematic gaming behaviour.

Prevention policy

This is the policy that providers of online gambling have developed to prevent their customers from developing a gambling addiction or making irresponsible use of their gambling offer.

Primary server

This is the server that manages the online gambling platform and personal player accounts and arranges online gambling transactions.

PSP

This is the abbreviation of Payment Service Provider and stands for a provider of a payment solution for offline and online services. Examples are debit and credit cards, iDEAL, PayPal and banks.

PSP blocking

This is the blocking of services by Payment Service Providers, in order to prevent customers of online games of chance providers from using a specific payment method.

Quotes

This concept expresses the probability (probability) of the indefinite outcome of a (sports) event, expressed in decimal figures. Estimating odds is an ongoing and complex process involving many factors (competitor strength, form, injuries, circumstances, etc.). Example: if the Netherlands plays against England and has a odds of 2.55, a bet of € 10 on the Netherlands on a win will pay out 10 x 2.55 = € 25.50.

Responsible gambling

This is participating in online games of chance in a safe and controlled manner, whereby use is made of an offer regulated in the Netherlands.

RNG

This is short for Random Number Generator, a program or device designed to generate a completely random sequence of numbers. This generator is used to ensure that the outcome of lotteries or casino games is completely random. To ensure they are not tampered with, RNG’s are regularly tested by means of audits by external parties.

Stake

This is the amount risked when entering into a sports bet or transaction in a casino game.

Substitution

This is the effect that occurs when participants in games of chance make use of the online games of chance offer instead of the current country-specific games of chance offer.

Withdrawal

This is also known as “payout”: the money that the customer requests from an online gambling provider and that is transferred from his personal player account to his external bank account or another financial service provider.