# NGR vs GGR: The Difference and Why CRM Should Report NGR

NGR vs GGR for CRM and retention teams: formulas, what gets deducted, a worked example and why campaigns belong in NGR.

GGR (gross gaming revenue) is the money players stake minus the winnings paid back to them. NGR (net gaming revenue) is GGR minus bonuses, taxes, fees and other agreed deductions. GGR shows the size of the activity. NGR shows what the operator keeps.

Retention teams spend bonus budget, so they should be judged on NGR. A campaign that lifts GGR and loses the difference to bonuses and tax has not earned anything.

This article gives both formulas, walks through a worked example and explains why campaign reports belong in NGR. The short glossary entries are on [NGR](/glossary/ngr/) and [GGR](/glossary/ggr/).

## What is GGR (gross gaming revenue)?

GGR is the simplest revenue measure in iGaming.



- **GGR** = total stakes − winnings paid to players



For a casino, stakes are bets on slots, tables and live games. For a sportsbook, stakes are bets placed and winnings are payouts on settled bets. The result is the operator's gross win for the period.

GGR is easy to produce, comparable across products and available almost at once. Dashboards, investor materials and industry reports start from it. It ignores everything it costs to earn that win.

## What is NGR (net gaming revenue)?

NGR starts from GGR and subtracts a list of deductions.



- **NGR** = GGR − bonus cost − gaming taxes − payment fees − chargebacks − other agreed deductions



Blask defines NGR as gross gaming revenue minus the deductions named in the contract or the report. Its typical list covers bonus cost, gaming taxes, payment fees, chargebacks, jackpot contributions and supplier fees. Track360 states that NGR definitions vary by operator and names bonuses, taxes, chargebacks, payment fees and platform costs as the common deductions.

### Three documents, three NGR figures

There is no universal NGR deduction list, according to Blask. NGR is a management and contractual measure. Blask compares three published definitions. The widest is the Casumo Partners affiliate terms, which also deduct loyalty bonuses, administration fees, fraud costs, refunded stakes and third-party game or software fees.

In practice an operator carries at least three NGR figures:

- the public figure, set by the operator's accounting policy;
- the revenue-share or affiliate figure, set by the contract;
- the internal CRM and finance figure, set by whoever built the dashboard.

Before comparing two numbers, find out which definition produced each. If CRM reports campaign NGR and finance reports company NGR, the deduction lists must match.

### What gets deducted

| Deduction | What it is | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Bonus cost | Bonuses, free spins and free bets converted to cash or wagered | Face value, expected cost or cost on settlement; loyalty rewards in or out |
| Gaming tax | Tax on gaming activity in the player's or operator's market | Whether the tax base is stakes, GGR or profit |
| Payment fees | Deposit and withdrawal processing | Percentage of volume, fixed per transaction, or both |
| Chargebacks | Reversed card payments | Separate line or inside the fee line |
| Platform and provider fees | Revenue share to studios or platform suppliers | Negotiated per vendor, so it shifts with the game mix |
| Jackpot contributions | Share of stakes that feeds progressive jackpots | May already be outside GGR in some reports |

Tax rates move. A campaign model that still uses an old rate overstates NGR for that market.

## A worked example: from GGR to NGR



**Example.** An online casino brand reports one month. Total stakes are €2,000,000 and winnings paid are €1,880,000, so GGR is €120,000. Deductions are bonus cost €18,000, gaming tax €14,400, payment fees €3,600, chargebacks €1,200 and provider and platform fees €12,000. Together they take €49,200, which leaves NGR of €70,800.



**From gross win to net revenue, one month**

- GGR: €120,000
- Deductions: €49,200
- NGR: €70,800

NGR margin, NGR divided by GGR, is 59%. About four euros in every ten of gross win never reach the operator as net revenue. The margin is not a constant. It moves with bonus intensity, product mix and tax.

The base also decides what a revenue-share partner is paid. A 30% share of GGR pays €36,000 here. The same 30% on NGR pays €21,240. A percentage means nothing until the base is defined.

## Why CRM and retention teams should measure campaigns in NGR

GGR makes every campaign look better than it was. A reactivation or retention campaign carries its own costs, and the largest is usually the bonus.



**Example.** An operator has 10,000 dormant players and tests two offers on two equal cohorts. Tax is modelled at 12% of GGR and other fees at 10% of GGR. Offer A is a large deposit bonus. Offer B is a smaller bonus with a personal message.

Offer A earns campaign GGR of €54,000 and pays €21,000 in bonus, €6,480 in tax and €5,400 in other fees. Campaign NGR is €21,120. Offer B earns GGR of €42,000 and pays €6,000 in bonus, €5,040 in tax and €4,200 in other fees. Campaign NGR is €26,760.



**The ranking flips between GGR and NGR**

- Offer A, GGR: €54,000
- Offer B, GGR: €42,000
- Offer A, NGR: €21,120
- Offer B, NGR: €26,760

Offer A wins on GGR by €12,000. Offer B wins on NGR by €5,640. A team that reports GGR rolls out the wrong offer.

Four more reasons point the same way.

1. NGR prices the bonus. Bonus cost is the lever CRM controls most directly. If it never appears in the metric, nobody uses it carefully. The full cost logic is in [bonus cost](/blog/bonus-cost/).
2. NGR exposes bonus-driven revenue. Players who play only with promotional money can post high GGR and low or negative NGR.
3. NGR connects to payback. To know when a campaign pays back, you need what the business keeps after campaign costs.
4. NGR matches how finance reads results. When CRM and finance share a base, the budget conversation is shorter.

Report NGR against a baseline, not alone. Total campaign NGR includes players who would have returned anyway. A control group or a reliable pre-period baseline separates campaign effect from background activity. Dormant cohorts are defined in [player reactivation campaigns](/blog/player-reactivation-campaigns/).

### Campaign NGR checklist



- Fix the audience before launch and record it, so the cohort cannot drift.
- Use the same player ID in CRM and finance data, so deposits and NGR reconcile for the cohort.
- Agree the deduction list in writing: bonus cost, tax rate, fee treatment.
- Set a control group or a baseline period.
- Keep self-excluded players, players in cool-off or with active limits, and anyone without marketing consent out of every segment, whatever their expected NGR.
- Report NGR next to depositor count and bonus cost, so a high number cannot hide a heavy-bonus campaign.



Gamble Grip's published campaign results report NGR, not gross win. In October 2026 its revenue-share campaigns in Türkiye brought $2,378,075 of deposits and $246,707 of client NGR. Every market is on the [campaign results](/campaign-records/) page. To model your own cohort over 12 months, use the [campaign economics calculator](/tools/campaign-economics-calculator/).

## Related metrics: ARPU and LTV

NGR is a revenue base. Two CRM metrics sit on top of it.

ARPU is revenue in a period divided by the number of players. ARPU on GGR and ARPU on NGR tell different stories. Define the player count too: registered, active or depositing.

[Player LTV](/glossary/player-ltv/) is the cumulative value of a player over the relationship with the operator. Built from NGR, LTV keeps bonus and tax costs in the number. Built from GGR, it overstates value.

Both are only as good as the revenue definition beneath them. Pick NGR, document the deductions and apply them everywhere. [iGaming KPIs](/blog/igaming-kpis/) shows where NGR sits among the other metrics a CRM team reports.

## Quick reference: NGR vs GGR

| Dimension | GGR | NGR |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Stakes minus winnings | GGR minus defined deductions |
| Standard formula | Yes, broadly | No, set by policy or contract |
| Includes bonus cost | No | Usually deducted |
| Includes taxes | No | Usually deducted |
| Typical use | Market sizing, top-line reporting | Profitability, campaign evaluation, revenue-share bases |
| Who defines it | Accounting convention | Operator, or the contract between the parties |
| Risk of misreading | Overstates what the operator keeps | Not comparable unless the deduction list is shared |

## How to switch your reporting to NGR

You do not need a new platform. Write down your deduction list. Rebuild last quarter's two largest campaigns on NGR. Check whether the ranking changes. If it does, budget was going to the wrong offers.

## FAQ

### What does NGR stand for in iGaming?

NGR stands for net gaming revenue. It is gross gaming revenue (GGR) minus a defined list of deductions: usually bonus cost, gaming taxes, payment fees, chargebacks and sometimes platform or provider fees. The list is set by the operator's reporting policy or by the contract that uses the figure.

### What is GGR in iGaming?

GGR is gross gaming revenue: the money players stake minus the winnings paid back to them. It is the top-line result of gaming activity before bonuses, taxes and operating costs.

### Is NGR always lower than GGR?

Normally yes, because NGR is GGR after deductions. A period or segment where deductions exceed GGR gives a negative NGR. A campaign that pays out more in bonuses than its players generate in gross win is the typical case.

### Is there one official formula for NGR?

No. Blask states that there is no universal NGR deduction list. Operators define NGR in their own reporting, and revenue-share contracts define it again for the parties to the contract. The same GGR can produce different NGR figures.

### Why do CRM teams measure campaigns in NGR instead of GGR?

A campaign can raise GGR while bonus cost and taxes consume most of it. NGR shows what the business keeps after the costs the campaign caused. It is the fair basis for comparing offers, channels and cohorts.

### How are NGR and LTV related?

LTV is the total value a player generates over the relationship with the operator. Built from NGR, it shows what the operator earns from that player. Built from GGR, it overstates value, most of all for bonus-heavy players.