What iGaming actually is
“iGaming” is the industry’s name for online gambling — casino games, sports betting, poker, bingo and lottery played for real money over the internet. This section is the first-principles layer: what it is, how the pieces fit together, and the history that shaped it. Everything else on the portal builds on what’s here.
How the industry fits together
A player places a stake with an operator (the brand you see). Behind it, a platform and game suppliers provide the software; independent testing labs certify that the games are fair; a regulator licenses the operator and sets the rules; and payment providers move the money. The one constant across almost every product is that the odds are set so the house keeps a margin over time — described through a game’s RTP and the house edge it implies. We frame everything as expected loss over time, never as a way to make money.
The main verticals
Casino & slots
RNG games where the return is fixed in the maths — slots, RNG table games.
Live casino
Real dealers streamed in real time — roulette, blackjack, game shows.
Sports betting
Odds priced with a built-in margin; pre-match and in-play.
Poker
Player-versus-player; the house takes rake, not a house edge.
Bingo & lottery
Pooled-stake and draw games, online and retail.
Crypto & emerging
Crypto casinos, provably-fair games, sweepstakes and prediction markets.
Where to go next
The history of iGaming
How we got here, 1994 to today — dated and sourced.
ReferenceThe glossary
The canonical definitions spine — every term, cross-linked.
LearnLessons
Guided explainers from first principles.
PlaygroundInteractive models
Watch the maths run — house edge, variance, odds.
Compliance ★The compliance hub
Regulators, labs, standards, AML, RG — the professional layer.
434 defined terms · 35 history milestones and counting. Independent, 18+, non-promotional — we explain the game, we never sell it.