GGR vs NGR vs turnover: how to compare iGaming figures

Turnover tells an analyst how much wagering activity a series records. Gross and net gaming measures describe money retained on particular reporting bases. For expansion, investment or a supplier business case, the useful question is whether two figures measure the same activity before treating one market or operator as larger.

This guide is for analysts, commercial teams and researchers reading published figures. It explains selected definitions and provides a fictional calculation. It does not establish tax liabilities, value an operator or provide accounting advice.

H2 Gambling Capital describes its turnover dataset as stakes and wagers; Entain describes sports wagers as gross customer bets. In this guide, wagering turnover refers to the recorded stakes, with the exact inclusion rules left to the source. Handle is another label used for wagering volume, so check the report definition rather than relying on the label.

Do not substitute player deposits or a supplier's sales for wagering turnover. In a fictional example, a player deposits EUR 100, stakes EUR 100, receives EUR 90 back and stakes that EUR 90 again. Recorded stakes total EUR 190 while the original deposit remains EUR 100. The illustration explains repeated wagering, not a rule for a specific reporting system.

A simplified GGR calculation is stakes less prizes. H2 describes GGR as the amount retained after winnings. Check the product: do not impose a house-banked stakes-minus-prizes model on a report measuring commission, rake or supplier sales.

The Gambling Commission requires GGY rather than GGR in regulatory returns. Its guidance uses A + B - C: A is qualifying stakes, B other amounts directly connected with licensed activities excluding VAT, and C prizes or winnings. This is a Great Britain reporting definition, not a worldwide synonym.

The UKGC guidance includes free bets and bonuses only where an unrestricted cash-equivalent option applies; loyalty cashback has separate treatment. Promotional labels alone do not determine the calculation. Open the guidance for the transaction rules. The page states an update of 15 September 2026 and was checked for this guide on 13 October.

There is no NGR deduction list established by this guide for every business. Read the publisher's reconciliation or the relevant agreement. Identify which promotions, taxes and fees are included, excluded or accounted for elsewhere.

Entain's Annual Report 2025 offers a concrete example. Its glossary defines Sports NGR as sports gross win after free bets and promotional bonuses. It separately describes general NGR before VAT and sales taxes; its Contribution measure starts from Revenue, which is NGR less VAT, then deducts betting taxes, payment fees, royalties, commissions, revenue share and marketing. These are Entain's named definitions, not a universal waterfall.

That distinction prevents two common errors: deducting every cost automatically because a measure says net, and treating NGR as profit. Keep a supplier's fee income separate from the operator or market measure unless the source explicitly reconciles them.

Assume one fictional operator, one product, one illustrative calendar month and EUR throughout. All cash wagers are settled in that month. Prizes include any returned winning stakes. There are no void bets, open positions, restricted promotional stakes or other connected receipts. The numbers are invented to explain the arithmetic; they are not observed Atlas, Entain or market data.

Wagering turnover: EUR 1,000,000. Prizes: EUR 950,000. The simplified gross figure is EUR 1,000,000 - EUR 950,000 = EUR 50,000.

Now assume a fictional agreement explicitly deducts EUR 6,000 for promotions, EUR 4,000 as an agreed tax deduction and EUR 2,000 for processing fees. These sum to EUR 12,000, so NGR under that agreement is EUR 50,000 - EUR 12,000 = EUR 38,000. The tax deduction is a hypothetical term, not a jurisdictional tax rule; this is not Entain's definition.

Reconcile the example: EUR 950,000 + EUR 12,000 + EUR 38,000 = EUR 1,000,000. The gross figure is 5% of stakes and the agreement-defined net figure is 3.8%. These ratios are example outputs, not operating benchmarks, profit margins or a game's theoretical return to player.

Create one evidence row per figure and retain its definition, source passage and date. The following checks are an Atlas editorial comparison method. H2's own dataset dimensions include geography, product, channel, currency and period; the other checks address differences exposed by the definitions above.

If the source does not resolve a material difference, keep the figures separate and state the gap. A larger number on an incompatible base does not resolve a market-entry decision.

The Atlas Statistics dataset records selected regulatory relationships and evidence states. Those counts do not supply market GGR, NGR, market share or a homogeneous economic ranking. Use the dataset for its stated regulatory scope and obtain economic sources separately.

For a defined comparison, specify the markets, product, business question and required economic evidence before requesting research. The existing custom-research service agrees outputs, evidence cut-off and fees in a written scope; this guide creates no new data subscription or commercial promise.

Primary evidence was checked on 13 October 2026: UKGC reporting guidance and statistical definitions, Entain Annual Report 2025 glossary on printed page 253, and H2's dataset documentation. Entain's report concerns 2025; checking it today does not change its reporting period.

The Research Desk maintains this guide on a thirty-day target while it includes the local UKGC reporting example, with earlier correction after a relevant definition or methodology change. The UKGC example must also be rechecked before it supports a new operational reporting decision. The comparison method and fictional agreement are editorial illustrations, not a legal opinion or complete accounting standard.