Online Casino Valuation Explained: GGR, NGR, SDE and EBITDA

Owners often quote gross gaming revenue when they ask what their casino is worth. Buyers rarely price on it. Understanding the difference between the main metrics is the first step to a realistic valuation.

The four metrics

Metric	What it measures	How buyers use it
GGR (gross gaming revenue)	Player stakes minus winnings	Scale and activity; rarely the basis of price
NGR (net gaming revenue)	GGR minus bonuses, and usually gaming taxes and platform/game provider fees, depending on definition	Revenue quality; sometimes a cross-check multiple
SDE (seller's discretionary earnings)	Profit plus the owner's salary and personal or one-off costs	Smaller, owner-run operations
EBITDA	Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, after market-rate management costs	Larger operators with staff and formal accounts

Always define NGR in writing. Platforms, affiliates and operators calculate it differently, and a buyer will rebuild the figure from raw reports.

Why GGR alone misleads

Two casinos with the same GGR can have very different profits. One may spend heavily on bonuses to keep players depositing; another may pay high platform fees under a white-label contract. Payment processing costs, chargebacks and affiliate commissions all sit between GGR and profit.

Normalisation

Before applying any multiple, earnings are normalised:

• Add back personal expenses and genuine one-off costs
• Deduct the market cost of work the owner does unpaid
• Adjust for unusually large wins or losses by individual players in the period
• Remove revenue from markets the buyer cannot or will not serve
• Check bonus cost is recorded consistently across months

The adjustments that move the multiple

• Licence. A licence that can stay with the business through a share sale, in a jurisdiction buyers trust, widens the buyer pool. A white-label arrangement or a licence that needs a new application narrows it.
• Market mix. Regulated-market revenue is valued more highly than grey-market revenue.
• Player base quality. Retention by monthly cohort, deposit frequency and the share of revenue from a few high-value players.
• Trend. Twelve months of growth is worth more than one strong quarter.
• Payment stack. Multiple working payment providers, low chargeback rates and providers willing to continue after a change of ownership.
• Technology. Own platform versus white-label or turnkey, and how hard it would be to migrate.
• Owner dependency. Whether the casino runs without the seller's daily involvement.

Presenting a valuation

CasinosBroker.com presents casino valuations as a low, mid and high range, with the method, the inputs, the multiple range and the reasons for it written out. That format holds up better in negotiation than a single number, because it shows the buyer which risks have already been priced in.

Common mistakes owners make

• Quoting GGR or deposits as if they were profit
• Using the best three months to annualise earnings
• Ignoring bonus liabilities and pending withdrawals at the transfer date
• Assuming the licence and payment providers transfer automatically

Valuation multiples and regulatory conditions change. Owners preparing for sale should refresh the range close to launch and confirm licence and tax points with their own legal and tax advisers.