Glossary
The terms used in gambling laws, state revenue reports and this site. Handle, GGR and hold explain most revenue figures; adjusted gross revenue and promotional credits explain most differences between state taxes.
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- Adjusted gross revenue (AGR)
- Gross gaming revenue minus the deductions a state allows before tax, most often promotional credits and sometimes the federal excise tax. Many states tax this figure instead of GGR, so a higher tax rate on a smaller base can collect less. Tax rates
- Advance deposit wagering (ADW)
- Betting on horse races online or by phone from a funded account, with bets pooled with wagers at the track. Online horse betting by state
- Card room
- A licensed room for poker and other card games outside a full casino. The house usually charges a fee per hand or per hour rather than playing against customers. Card rooms by state
- CFTC
- The Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the federal regulator of futures, options and event contracts, including prediction-market exchanges. Federal law and courts
- Class II and Class III gaming
- Categories under IGRA. Class II covers bingo, pull-tabs and electronic versions played against other players, regulated by tribes with federal oversight. Class III covers slot machines, table games and sports betting, and requires a compact with the state.
- Daily fantasy sports (DFS)
- Contests where players draft a lineup of real athletes and win based on their statistics, competing against other players for a prize pool. Daily fantasy by state
- Designated contract market (DCM)
- An exchange registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Kalshi is one. Exchanges argue that federal registration overrides state gambling law. Federal law and courts
- Earmark
- A rule in law sending gambling tax revenue or lottery proceeds to a set use, such as education or property tax relief, instead of the general fund. Where the money goes
- Federal excise tax on wagers
- A federal tax of 0.25% of the amount bet that licensed sportsbooks pay on sports wagers, on top of state taxes.
- Gross gaming revenue (GGR)
- What the operator keeps after paying winners: amount bet minus winnings paid. It comes before the operator's costs and taxes. Casinos and most state reports call it win or gross revenue. Revenue by state
- Handle
- The total amount bet. A $100 wager adds $100 to handle whether it wins or loses. Handle shows how much betting there is, not how much the operator earns. Revenue by state
- Historical horse racing (HHR)
- Machines that look and play like slots but base results on replays of past races, run as pari-mutuel pools. Historical horse racing by state
- Hold
- Gross gaming revenue as a share of handle. A sportsbook that takes $100 million in bets and keeps $9 million has a 9% hold. Parlays and same-game parlays raise it; a run of favorites winning lowers it.
- iLottery
- Lottery tickets and instant-win games sold online by the state lottery itself. Online lottery by state
- In-play betting
- Bets placed after a game has started, with odds that update as it goes. Micro-betting is a fast form: bets on the next pitch, play or point. Betting rules by state
- Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA)
- The 1988 federal law that governs gambling on tribal lands, sorting games into three classes and requiring a tribal-state compact for casino-style games. Federal law and courts
- Integrity fee
- A payment from sportsbooks to sports leagues, as a share of handle, that leagues have sought in exchange for policing betting-related misconduct.
- Lottery courier
- A company that buys official lottery tickets at a licensed retailer for customers who order them by app, then holds or scans the tickets for them. Lottery couriers by state
- Lottery proceeds
- What a state lottery passes to the state after paying prizes, retailer commissions and its own costs. State lotteries
- Market model
- How a state structures a gambling market: open to multiple licensed private operators, run by the state or one selected operator, or run by tribes under compacts.
- Official league data
- Statistics licensed from a sports league. A few states require sportsbooks to use it to settle some in-play bets.
- Online casino
- Real-money casino games played online: slots, table games and live-dealer games streamed from a studio. Online casinos by state
- Online sports betting
- Bets placed through a sportsbook app or website. States that allow it require the bettor to be inside the state, checked by geolocation. Online sports betting by state
- Pari-mutuel wagering
- Betting where all wagers on a race go into a pool and winners split it after the track takes its cut (the takeout). Horse racing works this way. Horse racing by state
- Parlay
- One bet that combines several picks and pays only if all of them win. Payouts are larger and so is the operator's margin, which is why parlays raise hold.
- Pick'em fantasy
- Fantasy contests where players pick whether athletes will go over or under stat lines, often against the operator rather than other players. Many states treat it as sports betting. Pick'em by state
- Prediction market
- An exchange where people trade contracts that pay $1 if an event happens and nothing if it doesn't. Federally registered exchanges now list contracts on sports games, which states say is sports betting without a state license. Prediction markets · Prediction markets vs. sportsbooks
- Promotional credits
- Bets or casino play an operator gives customers for free. Whether operators may subtract them from taxable revenue is one of the biggest differences between state tax systems. Tax rates
- Prop bet
- A bet on something within a game other than the final result, such as how many points a player scores. Player props on college athletes are banned in a growing number of states. Betting rules by state
- Racino
- A racetrack that also has slot machines or other casino games.
- Retail sports betting
- Bets placed in person at a casino, racetrack, stadium or other licensed sportsbook. In-person sports betting by state
- Self-exclusion
- A program that lets people ban themselves from casinos, sportsbooks or online gambling for a set period. Operators must refuse them service. Problem gambling
- Skill games
- Slot-like machines in stores and bars whose makers say an element of skill keeps them outside gambling law. States and courts are split on that claim. Skill games by state
- Free-to-play casino games with no way to win money or prizes. Players can buy more play but can't cash out.
- Sweepstakes casino
- An online casino-style site that sells one currency for free play and gives away a second currency that can be redeemed for cash prizes, claiming to be a legal sweepstakes rather than gambling. A growing number of states ban them. Sweepstakes vs. licensed casinos · Status by state
- Tax base
- What a gambling tax rate is applied to: gross gaming revenue, adjusted gross revenue, or handle. Comparing rates across states only works when the base is the same. Tax rates
- Tethered license
- An online license tied to a land-based casino or track, which lets a set number of online brands (skins) operate under it. Untethered licenses go directly to online operators.
- Tribal-state gaming compact
- An agreement between a tribe and a state, approved by the Interior Department, that sets the terms for Class III gaming, often including payments to the state.
- Video gaming terminal (VGT)
- Slot-style machines in bars, restaurants and truck stops rather than casinos, licensed by the state or run through its lottery. Video gaming terminals by state
- Vig
- The sportsbook's margin built into the odds. At -110 on both sides of a bet, a bettor risks $110 to win $100, and the book keeps the difference over many bets.