Server supported gaming (SSG) is a solution employed by video lotteries and casinos to operate Video Lottery Terminals (VLTs) and Electronic Gaming Machines (EGMs), the latter commonly referred to as slot machines. An SSG system includes a central system and gaming terminals which connect to the central system. SSG systems may be operated locally over a LAN or span large geographical areas, even entire nations, over a WAN, such as the Internet.
SSG is often mistakenly referred to as Server Based Gaming (SBG), both examples of server centric gaming. A key difference is that in SSG systems, each game terminal has to contain a Random Number Generator (RNG) and complete local copies of the games, whereas SBG systems centralize both the RNG and game logic. In SSG systems, the server support is limited to analysis, content distribution and management, while SBG systems utilize the server for the actual gameplay and multiple other features as well.