Bonuses

Bonus Rate: the share of bonuses in GGR

Bonus Rate (bonus-to-GGR ratio) is the cost of bonuses for a period divided by GGR for the same period. It is the main KPI of the promo budget: it shows what share of gaming revenue the casino gives back to players as bonuses.

Yevhen SychovOctober 2026

Formula and example

Bonus Rate = bonus cost / GGR x 100%Monthly GGR is €300,000 and bonuses cost €38,000: Bonus Rate is 12.7%.

The numerator is the bonus cost: what became real money, plus cashback. Not the amount credited.

Why GGR and not deposits

Deposits are not revenue: a player can deposit money and withdraw it. On deposits the number looks softer than it is, and it cannot be tied to margin. Sometimes it is calculated on NGR, but then the number cannot be compared with the market. Calculate it on GGR and state the base in the report.

What Bonus Rate is normal

There is no universal norm: the threshold depends on your margin.

Maximum Bonus Rate = 1 minus net margin / gross marginGross margin 5.3%, a 4.5% net target: the threshold is about 15%.

The threshold is set for the whole promo budget at once: site, CRM, VIP and affiliate promotions. A detailed breakdown with tables is in the article Bonus Rate: how much bonus you can give without eating your margin.

Common mistakes

  • Counting credited bonuses. The number comes out several times higher than the real one, and good offers get shut down as loss-making.
  • Watching one overall Bonus Rate. The average can look fine while a single offer or segment goes into the red. Break it down by offer and segment.
  • Comparing with the market without accounting for margin. 15% at one operator and 15% at another mean different profit.
All glossary terms