Part III: Business & Regulation · Casino Marketing & Player Management

Dead Chip / Non-Negotiable Chip (NN)

Comps & Incentives

A casino chip that has wagering value but cannot be exchanged for cash at the cage. When a player purchases dead chips, they receive chips usable only for betting; winning bets are paid in standard cashable chips, while losing bets forfeit the dead chip. The player retains any dead chips on a push. Dead chip programs effectively provide players with a rebate on their total buy-in—since the player must work through (lose) all dead chips before the program completes, and receives a rebate percentage on total turnover, the effective house edge is reduced. Dead chips are ubiquitous in Macau VIP baccarat rooms and are the foundation of rolling chip programs.

In practice

In Macau, dead chip programs are virtually exclusive to baccarat. The standard rebate is 1.1–1.25% of total rolling chip buy-in. The mathematical value of a dead chip to the player depends on the house edge of the game and the rebate percentage.

One entry from the Casino Industry Glossary — 1,157 terms written for surveillance, compliance and operations professionals rather than for players. Definitions describe industry usage; where a term carries a regulatory meaning, verify against the instrument that governs your jurisdiction.