By Nikhil Varma
Reviewed by Rajeev SatheThis glossary defines sixty cricket betting terms in plain English, grouped into six sets: odds, markets, in-play, money and accounts, native satta words, and legal and tax terms. Each entry adds a third column that most glossaries leave out, namely the way the term usually misleads the person reading it.
Numbers and legal facts carry a source link in the row itself. Where a meaning could not be verified, the entry is flagged rather than filled in.
How to use this glossary
Sixty terms sit below, split into six groups. Each row gives the term, a plain meaning, and the way that term usually misleads a reader.
That third column is the point of the page. Most betting words are not lies. They are true statements shaped to feel better than they are.
Terms with a number or a legal fact in them carry a source link in the row. Where we could not verify something, we say so instead of guessing.
One frame for everything here. Real-money online gaming is banned across India under the PROG Act 2025, in force since 1 May 2026, and the ban covers offshore apps (Nishith Desai). This glossary helps you understand what people are talking about. It is not a manual.
Odds words: twelve terms
These twelve are the vocabulary of price. Learn them and half of betting language becomes readable.
One habit matters more than the words. Turn every price into a percentage, then add the percentages up. Our guide to reading odds shows the arithmetic.
Table 1. Twelve terms about prices and probability
Term | Plain meaning | Where it misleads you |
|---|---|---|
Decimal odds | A single number above 1. Your total return per rupee staked, stake included (Wikipedia) | It shows return, not profit. At 1.90 your profit is 0.90 per rupee, not 1.90 |
Fractional odds | Written a/b. Profit of a units for every b units staked (Wikipedia) | The stake is not in the fraction. 6/4 pays 100 on a 40 stake, of which 60 is profit |
American odds | Also called moneyline. A minus number is the stake needed to win 100. A plus number is the win on a stake of 100 (Wikipedia) | The 100 is a unit, not rupees. And a plus number is not a bigger chance |
Implied probability | The chance a price implies. For decimal odds it is 1 divided by the price (Wikipedia) | People treat it as the true chance. It is only what the price says |
Book | The sum of implied chances across every outcome in a market (Wikipedia) | A book above 100% is normal, not an error. That excess is the fee |
Overround | The amount by which the book passes 100%. The seller's built-in fee (Whelan) | It is charged on turnover, not on your winnings, so you pay it even when you win |
Margin | Another word for the same fee. Also called vigorish, vig, hold or juice (Whelan) | Two accepted formulas exist and give slightly different numbers, so ask which one is quoted |
Fair odds | The price that matches the true chance, with no fee added (Wikipedia) | You will not be offered fair odds. Both sides of a real market are shaded |
Favourite | The outcome with the shortest price and the highest implied chance | Short does not mean safe. A price of 1.25 implies losing one time in five |
Outsider | The outcome with the longest price and the lowest implied chance | A long price is not free money. Long-shot markets often carry the widest fee |
Shortening | A price falling, so the implied chance rises | Usually it means money arrived on that side, not that the match changed (Wikipedia) |
Drifting | A price rising, so the implied chance falls | A drift is not a tip either. It is the other half of the same rebalancing |
Notice how many rows say the same thing in different ways. The fee is inside the price, and no vocabulary trick removes it. The rupee cost is on our overround page.
Market words: twelve terms
A market is a question. These twelve terms describe the questions and the way answers are grouped.
Before taking any market, count its outcomes and read its settlement rule. Our guide to twelve common markets covers the main ones properly.
Table 2. Twelve terms about markets and how they settle
Term | Plain meaning | Where it misleads you |
|---|---|---|
Market | One question with a fixed set of answers, each carrying a price | Two markets on the same match can carry very different fees |
Outcome | One of the possible answers in a market | Miss an outcome when adding chances and your fee calculation is wrong |
Match odds | The market on who wins the match | The cheapest market by fee, which is why sellers push you towards others |
Three-way market | A result market with a draw as a third answer, used in Test cricket | Three prices to add, and a tie may be handled separately |
Over or under line | A posted number, with a price on beating it and a price on missing it | The line is placed where money splits evenly. It is not a forecast |
Handicap | A market where one side is given a head start in the pricing (Wikipedia) | A handicap makes a mismatch look balanced. The fee is unchanged |
Proposition bet | A bet on something inside the game rather than the result (Wikipedia) | These are the markets integrity units watch, and they carry more padding |
Highest run scorer | The market on which batter makes most runs for a side | Many answers means a much wider fee. Rules on players who do not bat vary |
Method of dismissal | A market on how a wicket falls, chosen from the dismissal types (Wikipedia) | Five methods cover 98.2% of Test dismissals, so the exciting options are the rare ones (Wikipedia) |
Accumulator | Also a parlay. Several bets linked into one, where every leg must win (Wikipedia) | Payouts are often set below true odds, which raises the house edge (Wikipedia) |
Void bet | A bet cancelled and the stake returned under the platform's rules | What triggers a void is set by rules you have probably not read |
Dead heat | A tie between two selections in the same market | Dead heat rules can cut a winning payout sharply, and they differ by platform |
Void and dead heat rules are the two that surprise people most. Both live in platform terms, and we have not tested any operator's rulebook .
In-play words: ten terms
In-play is where speed does the damage. Ten terms cover the fast markets Indian readers meet most.
Two of them, session and fancy, get confused constantly. Our session bet page and our fancy bets page separate them.
Table 3. Ten terms about live and in-match betting
Term | Plain meaning | Where it misleads you |
|---|---|---|
In-play betting | Betting after the match has started, at prices that keep changing | The price you see may already be stale on your screen |
Ball-by-ball market | A market offered and settled around a single delivery | Reported practice in India is that odds change every ball (NDTV) |
Session | Runs in a named block of overs, quoted as a sell number and a buy number | Loss is per run, so it can pass your stake. See our session page |
Fancy market | The whole family of small in-match markets | People use it as a synonym for session. Sessions are only one member of the family |
Rate | The runs number quoted on a session, moving with every ball | The quote you took is not archived. You cannot prove it later |
Spread quote | Two numbers with a gap. Buy at the higher, sell at the lower (Wikipedia) | Both sides can lose at once. On a 340 to 350 quote, 345 runs loses 5 points either way (Wikipedia) |
Cash out | Closing a bet early for a price the platform offers | That price carries its own fee, taken on top of the fee you already paid |
Suspended market | A market frozen, usually while an event is checked | Suspension protects the seller's position, not yours |
Micro-bet | A very small, very fast bet on a tiny event | A T20 innings holds 120 legal balls, so the count of bets rises fast (Wikipedia) |
Balanced book | A position where money on each outcome matches the odds offered (Wikipedia) | Thin in-play markets rarely balance, so padding replaces balance |
Every row here shares one feature. You cannot check the number that settles the bet.
Money and account words: ten terms
These ten decide whether money can actually leave an account. They are the least exciting words and the most useful.
Bonus terms deserve the most care. Our page on wagering requirements prices them, and our page on frozen payments covers what happens when funds stop moving.
Table 4. Ten terms about stakes, bonuses and account limits
Term | Plain meaning | Where it misleads you |
|---|---|---|
Stake | The money you put on one bet | Session and spread bets are staked per run, so the total risk is larger |
Turnover | The total of all stakes placed, win or lose | The fee is charged on turnover. Recycling a balance pays it again each time |
Bankroll | The money set aside for betting | A recycled bankroll shrinks on the average path even with no bad luck |
Bonus | Funds the operator adds, which you can then bet with (Gambling Commission glossary) | It is not cash. A turnover rule sits on it |
Restricted funds | Bonus money not yet withdrawable, plus winnings under unfinished wagering rules (Gambling Commission glossary) | A balance on screen is not the same as money you can take out |
Wagering requirement | The turnover needed before bonus money can be withdrawn | Turnover costs money. Above about 19x at an ordinary fee the bonus is worth nothing |
Stake factor | A cap that limits your stake to a share of the normal maximum (Gambling Commission) | It applied to 2.68% of British active accounts in 2024, mostly to winning customers (Gambling Commission) |
Commission | A fee charged on net winnings, the model exchanges use (Wikipedia) | A smaller fee is still a fee, and it is charged on your winning side only |
Back | A bet that an outcome will happen (Wikipedia) | On an agent account you may be told you are backing on an exchange when you are not |
Lay | A bet that an outcome will not happen (Wikipedia) | Laying exposes you to a liability that is larger than the stake you see |
Read the restricted funds row twice. A number on a screen is a promise, not a payment.
Native satta terms: eight terms
These eight come from the Indian betting world rather than from English sportsbooks. We give them in Latin script with a plain meaning.
They matter because most Indian cricket betting reaches people through this layer, not through a website with a licence. Our page on cricket IDs and agent accounts is the fuller account.
Table 5. Eight terms from the Indian betting world
Term | Plain meaning | Where it misleads you |
|---|---|---|
Satta | Betting or gambling. Matka gambling is also called satta (Wikipedia) | The word sounds informal and old-fashioned. The money involved is not |
Matka | The earthen pot numbers were drawn from. Matka gambling is illegal in India (Wikipedia) | Modern versions use apps and chats, but the legal position is unchanged |
Ankada Jugar | The older name for the same numbers game, meaning figures gambling (Wikipedia) | History makes it sound harmless. It is a pure chance game with a house cut |
Satta king | The name given to the winner of the number, and now to the game itself (India Today) | A title, not a role you can plan for. The numbers run from 00 to 99 (India Today) |
Khaiwal | A middleman between bettors and the operators, who collects money and pays out winnings (India Today) | Your record is their record. There is nobody above them to appeal to |
Cricket ID | An account bought from an agent, credited with points equal to your deposit (NDTV) | The points are an entry in someone else's ledger, not money you hold |
Points | The unit credited on such an ID. A deposit of one lakh becomes points worth one lakh (NDTV) | Points can be adjusted by whoever runs the ledger |
Agent | The person handling transfers and accounts between users and an offshore app, often settling weekly (NDTV) | Weekly settlement turns a losing week into a demand for money |
Two more words you may hear are khai and lagai, used for laying and backing in local trade talk. We could not confirm those meanings in a source we trust, so treat them as unverified .
Enforcement here is not theoretical. India's Enforcement Directorate has investigated cricket bookies under the money laundering law (Enforcement Directorate press release).
Legal and tax terms: eight terms
The last eight are the ones that decide what is lawful and what is taxed. They are short, and they are the most important on the page.
For the full picture, read our PROG Act explainer, our page on TDS on winnings and our page on state gambling laws.
Table 6. Eight legal and tax terms that apply in India
Term | Plain meaning | Where it misleads you |
|---|---|---|
PROG Act 2025 | The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, Act No. 32 of 2025 (India Code) | It applies across India and to offshore operators, so a foreign licence changes nothing (Nishith Desai) |
Section 5 | Bans offering online money games. Up to 3 years and up to ₹1 crore (PRS India) | The offence is cognisable and non-bailable (PRS India) |
Section 6 | Bans advertising these games, directly or indirectly. Up to 2 years and up to ₹50 lakh (PRS India) | This is why credible sites carry no offers, no bonus figures and no operator links |
Section 7 | Bans providing payment support for these games. Up to 3 years and up to ₹1 crore (PRS India) | Payment routes can be cut off with your balance still inside an app |
Online Gaming Authority of India | The regulator created under the Act (PRS India) | A regulator for permitted categories is not a licence route for money games |
Section 115BBJ | Flat 30% tax on winnings from online games, in effect from 1 April 2024 (Income Tax Department) | Deductions and loss set-off do not apply to this income (Income Tax Department) |
Section 194BA | Tax withheld at source on net winnings, with no minimum limit (Income Tax Department) | Even a very small win is covered, so nothing is too small to report |
GST on online gaming | 40% on online money gaming, since 22 September 2025 (Press Information Bureau). The 27 May 2026 ruling was about the older 28% rate, and made it retrospective (NLS Forum) | A tax existing does not make the activity lawful. The ban still stands (Nishith Desai) |
One warning about repeat offences. Some summaries quote higher penalties for a second offence. We could not confirm that provision in a primary source, so we do not repeat the figures .
Words that sound like a system
Some terms feel like tools. They are not. Three examples make the pattern clear.
Take shortening. A price falls and it feels like a signal. It usually means money landed on that side and the book is being rebalanced (Wikipedia). Nothing about the match has to have changed.
Take cash out. It sounds like control. It is a second bet, priced by the same seller, with its own fee inside it.
Take value. In trade talk it means a price better than the true chance. To use it you need your own probability first, worked out before you see the price.
The same slipperiness runs through bonus language. A bonus is money the operator adds to your account (Gambling Commission glossary). Restricted funds are the part you cannot take out yet (Gambling Commission glossary). Both appear as a single balance on screen, and only one of them is yours.
One calculation that anchors the whole glossary
If you keep only one thing from this page, keep this sum. It turns any set of prices into the fee you are paying.
Inputs. A two-way market. One side at 1.90. The other side at 1.90. Turnover ₹10,000.
Formula. Implied chance = 1 ÷ price. Book = sum of both chances. Overround = book − 100%. Fee in rupees = turnover × overround.
Result. 1 ÷ 1.90 = 52.63% on each side. Book = 105.26%. Overround = 5.26%. Fee on ₹10,000 of turnover is about ₹526.
Assumptions. The prices are our illustration, not a quote from any app. It assumes only two outcomes. Tax sits on top, and it is charged on winnings, not on turnover (Income Tax Department).
Every word in the odds table above is a piece of that sum. Book, overround, margin, implied probability, fair odds. Learn the sum and the vocabulary stops being jargon.
Two ideas worth more than any of these words
The glossary ends with two concepts, because they explain why the vocabulary exists.
The first is the law of large numbers. The average of many independent repeats moves towards the true expected value, and it tightens as the count grows (Wikipedia). In betting, that average carries the seller's fee, so the long run belongs to the seller.
The second is the gambler's fallacy. It is the belief that an outcome that has been missing is now more likely, when each event stays independent (Wikipedia). Five heads in a row has a chance of 1 in 32, a little over 3%, and it says nothing about the sixth toss (Wikipedia).
Our expected value page puts both into rupees. If the words on this page describe your last few weeks more than your curiosity, read our page on signs of gambling addiction and our list of help for gambling harm in India.
The full set of explainers sits on our guides hub.
Questions people ask
Why does the glossary have a column about being misled?
Because a definition alone is not much use. Words like favourite, bonus and cash out are accurate and still leave people with the wrong picture. The third column names the gap.
Is a session the same as a fancy bet?
No. A session is runs in a block of overs, settled per run. Fancy is the whole family of small in-match markets, and a session is one member of it.
What does khaiwal mean?
A middleman between bettors and the operators, who collects money and hands over winnings (India Today). Your only record of a bet is whatever they keep.
Are any of these betting words legal terms?
Only the last eight. The rest are trade language with no legal force. The legal terms come from the Act itself and from tax law (PRS India).
Why are some terms marked as unverified?
Because we could not find them in a source we were willing to cite. We would rather flag a gap than invent a definition.
