GGR vs NGR: Gross Gaming Revenue Explained

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• GGR is wagers minus winnings paid to customers; NGR subtracts further items, and which items depends on the source.

• U.S. commercial gaming produced $78.72 billion in GGR in 2025, up 9.2%, according to the American Gaming Association.

• States differ on promotional credits: some exclude them from taxable revenue, others cap or phase the deduction.

• GGR is a revenue measure, not profit: taxes, marketing, platform fees and wages still come out of it.

• Always check which definition a figure uses before comparing two companies or two states.

CONTENTS

01Why GGR Is the Industry’s Headline Number

02GGR and NGR: The Math and a Worked Example

03What the GGR Definition Means for Operators

04Limits and Common Misreadings

05Key Figures and Definitions Compared

06Related Analysis

Gross gaming revenue (GGR) is the money a gambling operator keeps from customer wagering before its own costs: the amount wagered minus the winnings paid back to customers. Net gaming revenue (NGR) starts from GGR and subtracts further items, most often promotional credits and sometimes taxes or platform fees. Which items come off depends on who is counting, so the two terms are not interchangeable across regulators, companies and contracts.

The scale of the metric is clear in the U.S. data. According to the American Gaming Association’s Commercial Gaming Revenue Tracker, U.S. commercial gaming generated $78.72 billion in GGR in 2025, up 9.2% from 2024, and state-regulated gaming paid $18.09 billion in gaming taxes. This article defines both metrics, shows how several state rules treat promotional credits, works through a hypothetical example with the arithmetic, and explains what the numbers do not show. Statutes and rules are described as published in October 2026 and can change.

Why GGR Is the Industry’s Headline Number

Gambling has an unusual income statement. A casino or sportsbook does not sell a product at a price; it accepts wagers, pays out winnings, and keeps the difference. That difference is the natural measure of how much value the business captured from play, which is why regulators and trade bodies report GGR rather than the much larger gross amount wagered.

Two related terms help. “Handle” is the total amount wagered, mostly used for sports betting. “Hold” is GGR divided by handle, shown as a percentage. In the AGA’s 2025 data, U.S. commercial sports betting handle was $166.94 billion and sports betting revenue was $16.96 billion, which the AGA reports as a national hold of 10.16%. The same GGR logic applies to slot machines, table games, online casino games and, with a twist, poker.

In poker the operator is not a party to the wager, so there are no “winnings” to subtract. New York’s gaming regulation, for example, defines GGR for player-banked poker as the total rake, the commission charged by the house from each pot, and Nevada’s Regulation 6.110 similarly counts the money received as compensation for conducting a game in which the licensee is not a party to the wager. GGR therefore means “what the house keeps”, whichever mechanism produces it.

GGR also matters because it is usually the base on which gaming taxes are calculated. When a state announces a tax rate, that rate is applied to a defined version of GGR, and the definition decides how much of every promotional dollar the operator can deduct. That is where GGR and NGR start to diverge in practice, and where the details below matter.

GGR and NGR: The Math and a Worked Example

The basic formula is simple. For wagering games where the operator takes the other side of the bet, GGR is the total of sums received from customers minus the winnings paid out. Massachusetts regulation 205 CMR 140.02 states it almost word for word: gross gaming revenue is the total of all sums actually received by a gaming licensee from gaming operations less the total of all sums paid out as winnings to patrons.

  GGR = amount wagered − winnings paid to customers

NGR then applies the deductions the reporting party specifies. A common version removes promotional credits, but the definition is set by each regulator, company or contract, not by a universal standard.

  NGR = GGR − deductions specified by the source (for example, promotional credits)

Where: GGR is gross gaming revenue; NGR is net gaming revenue; “deductions” are whatever the regulator, company or contract lists, such as promotional credits, taxes or fees. Hold, defined earlier, follows from the same inputs.

  Hold % = GGR ÷ handle × 100

A hypothetical example shows how the pieces fit. The figures are invented for arithmetic only and do not describe any company. Suppose customers wager $100 million in a month and $91 million is paid back as winnings. GGR is $100 million − $91 million = $9 million, a hold of 9.0%. Suppose the operator also issued $1.5 million of promotional credits that customers wagered. Under a definition that deducts them, NGR is $9 million − $1.5 million = $7.5 million.

Now apply a hypothetical 20% tax. If the tax base is GGR, the bill is $9 million × 20% = $1.8 million. If the tax base is the version that excludes promotional credits, it is $7.5 million × 20% = $1.5 million. The $0.3 million difference comes entirely from the definition, with identical customer behavior.

Real rules show the same split. According to New Jersey’s gross revenue tax regulations (N.J.A.C. 13:69L), gross revenue is the sums received less only the sums paid out as winnings; the casino gross revenue tax is 8% and the Internet gaming gross revenue tax is 15%, with a separate deduction for eligible promotional gaming credits, which the regulation defines as credits wagered in excess of $90 million a year, prorated at $7.5 million per month. New York’s regulation for slot machines defines GGR as total wagers minus promotional gaming credits and total payouts.

Ohio’s statute (Revised Code 5753.01) defines gross casino revenue as money exchanged for chips and similar items less winnings paid, excluding promotional gaming credit, while for sports gaming it deducts winnings, voided wagers and, from January 1, 2027 through the end of 2031, ten percent of promotional gaming credits wagered, rising to twenty percent from January 1, 2032. Virginia defines “adjusted gross revenue” for sports betting as gross revenue minus winnings, bonuses and promotions, capped uncollectible receivables and federal excise taxes.

The National Indian Gaming Commission, citing the AICPA industry audit guide, takes the opposite approach on complimentary items. It states that casino comps given as an inducement to gamble may not be deducted when computing GGR, that participation payments to equipment makers are an expense rather than a deduction from win, and that compact payments to a state are a cost of doing business, not a payout.

What the GGR Definition Means for Operators

For an operator, the definition is a business input, not a footnote. A narrower tax base lowers the effective tax burden, all else equal, because promotional spending, a real acquisition cost, is partly or wholly shielded from tax. A wider base, or a capped deduction, raises the effective burden and changes how aggressively an operator can use promotions to win customers.

It also changes how results compare. A company that reports revenue after promotional credits and a regulator that reports GGR before them will show different totals for the same activity. Analysts reading a quarter therefore need the company’s own definition, which is why a results article on this site always states the metric as the company defines it.

At the market level, GGR is the figure used to size an industry and to estimate what governments collect. Dividing the AGA’s reported $18.09 billion in 2025 gaming taxes by its $78.72 billion in GGR gives an average of about 23.0%. That is a blend of very different structures: the AGA figures imply roughly 22.2% for traditional gaming ($11.33 billion on $50.94 billion), 21.9% for sports betting ($3.71 billion on $16.96 billion) and 24.1% for iGaming ($2.59 billion on $10.74 billion). These ratios are derived here from the AGA’s reported totals, not statutory rates, and each state sets its own.

The implication is proportionate: GGR growth is not profit growth. A market can post record GGR while operators earn less per dollar if taxes, marketing or platform costs rise faster. Comparing GGR with tax, cost and margin data, as the related analysis below does for individual companies, is what turns a headline into an assessment.

Limits and Common Misreadings

The first trap is mixing definitions. A figure labeled GGR in a regulator’s monthly report, an operator’s investor deck and a supplier’s revenue-share contract may each subtract different things. The only safe comparison is between figures built on the same definition and covering the same period.

The second trap is assuming that one organization’s totals match another’s. The AGA’s Commercial Gaming Revenue Tracker for calendar 2025 reports $78.72 billion in commercial gaming revenue and $18.09 billion in gaming taxes, while its separate State of the States 2026 report gives $78.62 billion and $17.86 billion, with a sports betting total that excludes tribal sportsbooks and mobile betting in Florida. Both are from the same trade body, yet they differ, which is a reminder to cite the specific publication and date.

A third misreading treats GGR as cash in hand. Prizes paid, taxes, platform fees, content costs, marketing, wages and licensing all come out of GGR before any profit remains. Finally, short-period GGR is sensitive to hold volatility. In sports betting, a run of favorable results for customers can cut GGR in a month without any change in handle, so one month’s hold says little about the underlying business.

Key Figures and Definitions Compared

The table summarizes the U.S. calendar 2025 figures cited above and the definitions that shape them. Figures are as reported by the AGA unless marked as derived in this article.

U.S. commercial gaming, calendar year 2025 (US dollars; source: AGA Commercial Gaming Revenue Tracker, CY 2025)
Item	Reported 2025 figure	Gaming taxes	Tax ÷ revenue (derived)
Total commercial gaming revenue	$78.72 billion (+9.2%)	$18.09 billion	about 23.0%
Traditional casino gaming	$50.94 billion (+2.3%)	$11.33 billion	about 22.2%
Sports betting	$16.96 billion (+22.8%) on $166.94 billion handle	$3.71 billion	about 21.9%
iGaming	$10.74 billion (+27.6%)	$2.59 billion	about 24.1%

How selected rules treat promotional credits (as published, October 2026; source: each regulator or statute listed in Sources)
Jurisdiction	Treatment
Massachusetts (205 CMR 140.02)	Promotional gaming credit that was wagered is excluded from sums received
New Jersey (N.J.A.C. 13:69L)	Gross revenue less winnings; separate deduction for eligible promotional credits above $90 million a year
New York (9 NYCRR 5315.1)	Slots: wagers minus promotional credits and payouts
Ohio (R.C. 5753.01)	Casino: promotional credit excluded; sports: 10% of credits wagered deductible from 2027, 20% from 2032
Virginia (Va. Code 58.1-4030)	Adjusted gross revenue deducts bonuses and promotions, among other items
Tribal gaming (NIGC bulletin)	Comps are not deductible when computing GGR

The core definitions to carry forward: GGR is wagers minus winnings (or rake and fees where the house is not a party to the wager), NGR is GGR minus the deductions the source states, and hold is GGR as a percentage of handle.

To see how GGR turns into what an operator keeps, read How Sportsbooks Make Money: Hold, Vig and Taxes. For a regulator-based market read that uses these definitions, see New York Sports Betting Revenue: Size, Growth and Hold. For a company reporting its own revenue definition, see DraftKings Q2 2026 Results: Volume Up, Revenue Down and How Flutter Entertainment’s Business Model Works. This article is explanatory and is not investment advice.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is gross gaming revenue?

Gross gaming revenue is the amount customers wager minus the winnings paid back to them. Where the house is not a party to the wager, as in poker, regulators count the rake or fees instead. It is a revenue measure before the operator’s costs and, usually, before taxes.

How is NGR calculated?

NGR starts from GGR and subtracts the items the reporting source specifies, most often promotional credits and sometimes taxes or fees. There is no single standard, so the formula is only meaningful with the regulator’s, company’s or contract’s own definition attached.

Are gross revenue and net revenue the same in gambling?

No. Gross revenue is measured before certain deductions and net revenue after them. In gambling the deductions differ by source, so the same activity can produce two different totals, as in the hypothetical case where $9 million of GGR becomes $7.5 million after $1.5 million of promotional credits.

How big is U.S. commercial gaming revenue?

According to the American Gaming Association, U.S. commercial gaming generated $78.72 billion in gross gaming revenue in 2025, up 9.2% from 2024. State-regulated gaming paid $18.09 billion in gaming taxes. Its separate State of the States report gives a slightly different total of $78.62 billion.

How does GGR relate to hold and handle?

Handle is the total amount wagered, GGR is what the house keeps, and hold is GGR divided by handle. The AGA reported U.S. sports betting handle of $166.94 billion and revenue of $16.96 billion for 2025, a national hold of 10.16%.

Is GGR the same as profit?

No. GGR is revenue. Gaming taxes, marketing, platform and content fees, wages and licensing costs are paid out of it, so profit is whatever remains. Two operators with the same GGR can earn very different margins depending on their costs and the tax rules where they operate.