The short version
  • Handle is how much was bet. Gross gaming revenue (GGR) is how much operators kept after paying winnings.
  • Hold is GGR divided by handle: about 10% for US sports betting in 2025.
  • GGY is the UK name for GGR; NGR usually means revenue after bonuses, and is mostly a company term.
  • Adjusted gross receipts and taxable revenue are state tax bases that may deduct promotions, so they can be well below GGR.

Handle is the total amount players wager; gross gaming revenue is what operators keep after paying out winnings. In 2025, Americans wagered $166.94 billion on sports with commercial sportsbooks, and those sportsbooks kept $16.96 billion, according to the American Gaming Association. The first number is handle, the second is revenue, and the ratio between them, about 10%, is the hold. Almost every other term in gambling data is a variation on these three.

Handle

Handle is the sum of all bets placed in a period. Regulators call it different things: New York and Pennsylvania say handle, Ohio reports "total gross receipts", Arizona "gross event wagering receipts", and Tennessee "gross handle". In Europe and the UK it is usually stakes or turnover. Handle is a measure of activity, not income, because most of it goes back to players as winnings. It is most useful for sports betting, where it shows how much interest there is in a market. For online casino it is often not published, because the same money is staked many times over a session.

A few jurisdictions tax handle rather than revenue. Tennessee charges 1.85% of handle on sports betting, and Germany charges 5.3% of stakes on online slots and poker.

Gross gaming revenue (GGR)

GGR is handle minus winnings paid. It is the closest thing to an operator's sales figure and the base most governments tax. The details vary. Ohio defines sports betting revenue as gross receipts minus winnings minus voided wagers. Arizona's adjusted gross event wagering receipts are wagers minus payouts minus federal excise tax, before a separate free-bet deduction. Massachusetts deducts winnings and federal excise tax but not promotions. In Europe, the Dutch bruto spelresultaat, the Danish bruttospilleindtægt and the French produit brut des jeux are all stakes minus winnings, with small differences in how bonuses and commissions are treated.

Gross gambling yield (GGY)

GGY is the UK Gambling Commission's term. Its definition is stakes paid to the operator, plus other income from licensed gambling (excluding VAT), minus prizes and winnings. Free bets and bonuses count only where the customer had the right to take cash instead, and loyalty schemes such as rake back are excluded. In practice GGY and GGR measure the same thing, and you can compare them with care. Great Britain's online GGY was £8.3 billion between April 2025 and March 2026, as our British statistics page shows.

Hold

Hold is revenue divided by handle, expressed as a percentage. On 2025 state data, online sports betting hold was about 9.6% in New York, 9.8% in New Jersey, 10.1% in Ohio and 12.4% in Michigan (using gross receipts), on our calculation from each regulator's figures. Hold rises when more bets are parlays and same-game parlays, which carry higher margins, and falls when results go against the sportsbooks. A single month's hold says little; a year's says more about the market.

Net gaming revenue (NGR)

NGR usually means GGR minus bonuses and other promotional costs, and some companies also deduct gaming taxes. It is a reporting term used by operators and suppliers in their accounts, and the definition depends on the company. Few regulators publish NGR, although some use it in fees: Italy's new online concessions carry a 3% annual fee on net revenue, according to a law firm summary. When you see NGR in a company report, check its footnotes before comparing it with regulator data.

Adjusted gross receipts and taxable revenue

Several US states tax a measure below GGR. Michigan's online casino tax base, adjusted gross receipts, is gross receipts minus free play, but the free-play deduction is capped at 10% of gross receipts in the first three years, 6% in year four, 4% in year five and nothing from year six. Maryland taxes sports betting win after promotional wagers. Connecticut allows promotional deductions capped at 15% of win. Ohio's taxable revenue treats negative amounts as zero and can therefore exceed revenue. This is why Michigan reported $3.1 billion of online casino gross receipts but $2.9 billion of adjusted gross receipts in 2025.

A worked example

Suppose players at a sportsbook wager $1,000,000 in a month, win back $900,000, and use $30,000 of free bets that the state allows to be deducted. Handle is $1,000,000. GGR is $100,000, a hold of 10%. In a state that deducts promotions, the taxable figure is $70,000; in a state like Ohio in 2025, which did not, it stays at $100,000. At a 20% tax rate, the first operator pays $14,000 and the second $20,000 on the same activity. These figures are illustrative, not data.

Questions about gambling data terms

What is the difference between handle and GGR?

Handle is the total amount wagered. GGR is handle minus winnings paid to players, so it is the amount operators keep before costs and tax.

Is GGY the same as GGR?

Broadly yes. GGY is the UK Gambling Commission's name for stakes plus other gambling income minus winnings, with specific rules on bonuses. It measures the same thing as GGR in other markets.

What is a good hold percentage in sports betting?

US online sportsbooks held about 10% of handle in 2025 on national figures. Individual states ranged from about 7% to over 12% depending on bet mix, results and how revenue is measured.

For how these terms play out in real releases, including fiscal years and restatements, continue to our guide to reading gambling revenue reports.

Sources