GGR stands for Gross Gaming Revenue.
Some companies use another term, GGY (Gross Gambling Yield), which means the same thing: the gross profit from gambling.
GGR is the most commonly used performance metric in the gambling industry. It represents the total amount of money lost by players over a period of time, which is the gross profit for the casino, calculated as: Total Bets — Total Payouts (money won by players).
There is another formula called NGR — Net Gaming Revenue, calculated as: Total Bets — Total Payouts — Total Bonus Payouts (extra chips given during promotions) - Total Gambling Taxes Paid.
Sound simple?
Well, let me tell you, there is another formula for GGR:
Total Bets X Hold Percentage
The so-called hold percentage is the percentage of total bets that will be lost.
As is well known, gambling, even without the house cheating, is not a fair game. Even with standard gameplay theoretical values, relatively fair games like blackjack, baccarat, or even dice have a house edge ranging from 0.5% to 20%.
Setting aside the "infinite money bug," the house hopes players:
Keep betting, and bet a bit more (to increase turnover) so casinos control the actual House Edge, especially in online gambling where there is more room to maneuver.
The result is that if the hold percentage is too low, it doesn't make money; if it's too high, no one plays. You can't let customers always lose, nor can you let them always win, and you need to provide certainty in the odds, which customers also need to agree upon.
