What is Net Gaming Revenue
NGR is the operator’s revenue figure after stripping out the direct costs of generating that revenue. Where GGR represents gross income from gaming activity, NGR represents the income that actually contributes to operating margin.
The standard NGR formula subtracts: bonus payouts, free-spin and free-bet costs, loyalty programme costs, gambling duty, and (in many operator P&Ls) payment-processing fees. The result is the revenue the operator keeps before fixed operating costs.
NGR vs GGR
GGR is the regulatory-friendly figure. NGR is the management-accounting figure. GGR is more comparable across operators, since each operator’s bonus strategy is unique. NGR is more reflective of how profitable a customer cohort actually is.
Listed operators typically publish both. GGR drives gambling-duty calculations and licensing reports. NGR drives investor-relations narratives around customer profitability, cohort economics, and per-customer contribution margin.
NGR in revenue-share economics
Affiliate revenue-share deals are almost always paid on NGR, not GGR. A typical iGaming affiliate revenue-share rate of 25% to 45% applies to NGR generated by the referred cohort. That means bonus spend, loyalty cost, and gaming duty are all subtracted before the affiliate’s share is calculated.
Operators and affiliates often debate which costs sit above and below the NGR line. The standard contract clarifies this explicitly: which bonus types are deductible, which fees, which jurisdictional taxes. Industry-standard contracts specify the methodology in writing.
Frequently asked questions about What Is Net Gaming Revenue (NGR)?
Because bonus costs alone often run at 15% to 30% of GGR for an acquisition-heavy operator, and gaming duties add another 5% to 25% depending on the jurisdiction. NGR can sit at 40% to 70% of GGR depending on the operator’s promotional strategy and tax exposure.
Not exactly. NGR is the gambling-industry convention, not an IFRS or GAAP-defined term. Listed operators reconcile NGR to statutory revenue in their financial statements. The reconciliation typically involves the treatment of bonus accounting and duty timing differences.
NGR aligns the affiliate’s economic interest with the operator’s: both sides share the cost of the bonus, the loyalty offer, and the duty that funded that cohort. Paying on GGR would shield the affiliate from the real cost of acquired customers and create incentive misalignment.