Casino operators tend to look at a theoretical measurement when determining a reinvestment strategy because it eliminates the swing of actual good or bad luck on any one visit. As marketers, we typically look to 'actual' win or loss as a secondary option for determining a reinvestment strategy. A theoretical win is the expected win by the casino throughout a significant length of play. The longer the gambling session, the closer the actual win will be to the theoretical win. The Central Limit Theorem states that over a large number of independent trials, the casino will see a normal probability distribution.

How often is it you meet a 3rd party service provider or even an agency that doesn't know your lingo? ADT, theo win, slot occupancy – these are just few terms that are tossed around daily by casino executives, marketing teams and database marketing departments. We get it, we know your language, and we're here to help.

If you're new to gaming or training new employees, please refer to the below glossary of casino marketing terms. This list should help make meetings and casual conversations with casino industry veterans less stressful.

Casino Theo Wine

• A

  Acquisition

  The process of acquiring new guests. In gaming this refers to gathering new player’s club members.

  Active

  Player’s club members that have played within a certain time period, usually in the last 12 months.

  Actual Win

  The monetary amount the casino actually wins from a player. There can be a large discrepancy from theoretical win (Twin) if someone hits a jackpot or if there is a savvy table games player. Also known as 'casino win.'

  ADT

  Average Daily Theoretical win (See Theoretical win).

• B

  Bonus Points

  Points that are not earned but rather awarded based on a promotion or event.

• C

  Carded Play

  The portion of total gaming revenue that was tracked using player’s club cards.

  Casino Win

  The monetary amount the casino actually wins from a player. There can be a large discrepancy from theoretical win (Twin) if someone hits a jackpot or if there is a savvy table games player. Also known as 'actual win.'

  Coin-in

  Total bets cycled through a machine that includes both cash-in and credits played. Also referred to as ‘bet,’ ‘handle’ or ‘wager.’ Total coin-in reflects both carded and non-carded coin-in. Carded coin-in reflects only coin-in generated using a players club card.

  Core Program

  Regular monthly life-cycle program. (Acquisition, Loyalty, Downtrender, Recapture, Birthday, etc.)

  Criteria

  The selected parameters that need to be met to receive an offer or enter a tier or segment.

• D

  Database

  All player data collected through the player's club, including gaming data, demographics,preferences, etc.

  Demographics

  Characteristics such as annual income, age, sex, distance to the casino, etc., which can be used to project or influence behavior.

  Direct Mail

  Mail programs in which offers are targeted to guests based on specific, pre-selected criteria with a specific marketing goal (acquisition, retention, reactivation, etc.). Can include email as well.

  Downtrender

  A player’s club member whose current play is lower based on Twin per month or quarter than it has been in the past. This can be attributed to a loss in frequency or spend.

• F

  Frequency

  How frequently (often) a player visits and has activity. Trips in a distinct time period can also define this.

• G

  Goal

  The purpose toward which an endeavor is directed. The state of affairs that a plan is intended to achieve and that (when achieved) terminates behavior intended to achieve it; “the ends justify the means.” Most gaming program goals involve Acquisition, Retention/Loyalty, Stretch, Recapture.

• H

  Hold

  The amount the game or group of games made for the organization. This is based on game type, skill level, odds and system settings.

  Hotel Occupancy

  The amount of rooms occupied/sold expressed in a percentage of those available.

• I

  Incremental Win

  The difference between win that normally would have occurred based on a guest’s RFM score (see RFM definition below) and win when provided with a stimulus (i.e.: a coupon).

• K

  Key Metrics

  Identified areas of measurement that are considered high priority in analyzing operational performance.

• L

  Layering

  Creating offers and promotions in such a way as to allow players to redeem multiple things in one trip/day.

• M

  Marketing

  Everything involved in the movement or sale of goods.

  Marketing Mix

  The percentages and dollars budgeted to each sub department in the overall marketing department.

  Market Share

  The amount of Guests that patronize our casino vs. visiting other casinos in the area.

  Member File

  The entire database of player’s club members; all enrolled members including active and non-active.

  Modeling

  Identifying particular demographics that model a particular behavior such as gaming characteristics. Used primarily in determining acquisition efforts.

• N

  New Members

  New patrons joining the player's club database.

  Non-Active/Inactive

  Player’s club members on our member file who have not played within a specified time period.

• O

  Offer Redemption Percentage

  The quantity of players that redeem a specific offer expressed against the total number of offers distributed. (total offers redeemed / total offers issued = offer redemption percentage)

• P

  Player Development

  This definition varies widely; it is used to describe the internal department and functionality of casino hosts. In actuality, it is everything involved in increasing loyalty and therefore the RFM of each player. This includes one-to-one service, personalized benefits, direct mail offers and copy, etc.

  Player Type

  Usually used as a stratification tool based on distance of residence or by arrival type. Examples include local, junket (bus), group (convention), destination, etc.

  Postforma

  A document that measures the profitability of a specific program. This includes all program-specific expenses and revenue. Preforma is a similar document that is used for forecasting a program's profitability.

  Preforma

  A document that projects the profitability of a specific program. This includes all program-specific expenses and forecasted revenue. Postforma is a similar document that is used for measuring acutal profitability of a program.

  Profit Margin

  The percentage of expense compared to revenue. Net Revenue / Gross Revenue = X%

• R

  Reactivation

  The process of attracting guests who have not played for an extended period of time, but at one point were active.

  Recency

  A method of measurement that identifies how recently a wager or purchase has been made.

  Response Rate

  The quantity of players who responded to an offer expressed against the total group of players issued offer(s). (total player responders / total number of players who received offer(s) = response rate)

  Retention

  The process of retaining current guests on the member file. The period of time used depends on the overall RFM of the member file. This sometimes means re-activating members from the member file that have become inactive. Reactivating members is 1/3 of the cost of Acquisition.

  RFM

  Recency, Frequency, Spend. A common method of assessing value of customers through recency, frequency and spend. Spend refers not only to the wager amount but also the items/services purchased.

• S

  Script or Point Redemption

  The financial term for the cost of the cash back redemption. It is generally one of the larger expense items.

  Segments

  Defined groups within the database based on recent play and used to determine the offers the patron will qualify for.

  Share

  The portion of the spending that occurs at our facility vs. other entertainment organizations.

  Slot Occupancy

  A plan of action intended to accomplish a specific goal, using all the forces to execute approved plans as effectively as possible.

  Stratification

  To divide guests into a series of graded statuses or classes; i.e. dividing the database into tiered segments based on player type, etc.

• T

  Tactical (Tactical Execution)

  An expedient for achieving a goal; a maneuver of less long-term significance than strategic operations or strategy.

  Theoretical Win (or Theo Win or Twin)

  The amount that the casino should win in theory, based on hold percentage and the random number generator or game type/odds. (coin-in x hold = theoretical win)

  Tiers

  Most often used to describe the defined groups within the player's club structure based on play and used to determine player's club benefits.

  Trip(s)/Days

  The frequency measure used in gaming. A defined period of time that starts when the player’s club card has been inserted and there has been play. The length of a trip and associated parameters vary widely.