FTD, NGR, GGR and Negative Carryover Explained (iGaming Affiliate Guide)

NGR vs GGR is the difference between what players lose and what your revenue share is actually paid on. Gross gaming revenue (GGR) is stakes minus winnings. Net gaming revenue (NGR) is GGR minus the costs the operator may deduct under your agreement, typically bonuses, gaming taxes and levies, payment costs and often an admin fee.

Those deductions, together with how a first-time deposit (FTD) qualifies and whether losing months carry over, decide what a RevShare or CPA deal is really worth. This guide is written for both sides of the table: affiliates comparing iGaming offers (see MassPartner for affiliates) and operators writing terms they can defend.

GGR → NGR: what gets deducted#

GGR is the starting point. The UK Gambling Commission's statutory levy guidance describes gambling revenue as stakes plus other amounts accruing to the operator, minus prizes or winnings paid out. In the UK this figure is called gross gambling yield (GGY).

GGR is not turnover. Example: a player who wagers $10,000 in a month and wins back $9,500 has generated $10,000 of turnover but only $500 of GGR. RevShare is never paid on turnover, so treat any traffic projection built on stakes with caution.

NGR has no universal formula. Each operator defines it in its affiliate terms, and the list of deductions is where most of the value in a RevShare deal is won or lost.

Bonuses and promotions#

Deposit matches, free spins, free bets and cashback are usually the largest deduction. In a 2017 iGB opinion piece, a worked example turned £100 of GGR into £55 of NGR after a 15% gaming tax and a 30% bonus cost. Check whether your deal deducts bonuses when they are granted or only when they are used, because the difference can be large for bonus-heavy brands.

Gaming taxes and levies#

Taxes depend on where the player is located and how the operator is licensed. In the UK, the government's gambling duty changes raise Remote Gaming Duty from 21% to 40% of profits from 1 April 2026, and introduce a 25% rate for most remote betting from 1 April 2027.

On top of duty, UK online operators pay a statutory levy of 1.1% of GGY, according to the government's consultation response. When duty rates rise and your agreement lets the operator deduct taxes, your NGR shrinks even if player behavior does not change.

Payment fees and chargebacks#

Deposit and withdrawal processing costs, chargebacks and fraud reversals are commonly deducted. The same iGB example included a 2% processing fee. Chargebacks matter twice: they reduce NGR, and they can trigger reversals of CPA commissions already approved.

Admin and platform fees#

An admin fee is a percentage taken off the revenue base to cover platform, game-provider or operating costs. It may be calculated on GGR or on NGR, and that base changes the result. AffPapa's iGaming commissions guide advises operators against stacking admin, service or support fees that work as hidden costs, because affiliates spot them quickly.

Worked example: from GGR to NGR#

The figures below are an example with invented round numbers. Real deductions depend on your agreement and the player's jurisdiction.

The same 35% applied to GGR would be $35,000. Headline percentages also hide the base: in this example, 40% RevShare with a 25% admin fee pays $18,000 (40% of $45,000), while 35% with no admin fee pays $21,000 (35% of $60,000). The lower rate pays more.

FTD and qualified FTD#

An FTD, or first-time deposit, is a referred player's first real-money deposit. It is the standard trigger for iGaming CPA deals and the start of the player's RevShare life.

A qualified FTD is one that meets the deal's qualification baseline. Baselines exist to filter out low-value deposits, bonus abuse, duplicate accounts and self-referrals. Common components include:

1. Minimum first deposit, for example $20.
2. Minimum wagering, for example the player must wager $50 in real money.
3. A time window, for example both conditions met within 30 days of registration.
4. Verification and eligibility, such as passed KYC, an allowed country and no duplicate account.

Baselines change the effective CPA. Example: an affiliate sends 100 FTDs on a $150 CPA. If 72 meet a $20 deposit plus $50 wagering baseline, the payout is $10,800, not $15,000, an effective $108 per FTD. Compare offers on effective CPA, not the headline number.

Baselines should be measurable by both parties. A condition the affiliate cannot see in reports, such as an internal "player value score", is hard to audit and tends to cause disputes.

Why FTD counts rarely match#

Your tracker and the operator's back office will seldom show the same FTD number. Typical reasons are failed or refunded deposits, players who deposit after the cookie window has closed, duplicate accounts merged after KYC, and conversions still on hold. Agree up front which system is the record of truth, and ask for a player reference with each FTD so both sides can reconcile line by line.

Negative carryover: a month-by-month example#

Negative carryover means that when a referred cohort's NGR is negative in a month, usually because a player won big, the deficit rolls into the next month. The affiliate earns nothing until later positive NGR has covered it.

Example with invented round numbers: an affiliate on 30% RevShare, one cohort of players, a high roller wins in February.

Over six months, full carryover paid exactly 30% of the cohort's net result ($6,300). With no carryover, the operator absorbed February and paid $10,800. The $4,500 difference is 30% of the February loss.

Neither outcome is wrong; they allocate variance differently. Full carryover makes the affiliate share the operator's downside. No carryover makes the operator carry it, which is why operators without carryover may offer lower percentages. Common middle grounds:

• Capped carryover: the deficit resets to zero after a fixed number of months.
• Per-brand carryover: a loss on one brand does not wipe out earnings on another.
• Per-player carryover: only the winning player's deficit is carried, not the whole account's.

In a hybrid deal, also check whether a negative balance can be netted against CPA payments or only against future RevShare. The agreement should say so explicitly.

Admin fees and other deal terms to read carefully#

The percentage is the first number you see and rarely the one that decides your income. Before signing, find these clauses:

• NGR definition: is every deduction listed, or does the clause end with "and other costs"? Open-ended lists let the base shrink over time.
• Admin fee: the rate, the base (GGR or NGR), and whether it is charged in months when NGR is negative.
• Tax pass-through: if a regulator raises duty, as the UK did for remote gaming in April 2026, the operator's deduction for taxes grows automatically.
• Carryover scope: account, brand or player level, and whether there is a cap or reset.
• Lifetime: lifetime of the player, of the brand, or of the agreement? A term-change clause can quietly end "lifetime" RevShare.
• Change of terms: notice period, and whether new rates apply to existing players or only new ones.
• Holds and reversals: how long conversions stay on hold and which events (chargebacks, fraud, bonus abuse) reverse commission.
• Reporting: whether you get player-level NGR with each deduction shown, so you can audit the numbers.

On the brand side, these rules have to be implemented in your tracking. In MassPartner, for example, brands can set a minimum sale or deposit amount for CPA campaigns, a RevShare duration, and manual or delayed approval of conversions before commission is confirmed. The RevShare percentage applies to the revenue amount the brand reports by postback, so the agreement should state exactly what that amount includes.

What a fair iGaming deal looks like#

There is no single fair rate, but there are fair terms. AffPapa's guide recommends that operators define commission tiers, minimum requirements, payment schedules and negative carryover rules clearly. A deal that respects both sides usually has:

1. A written NGR formula with an exhaustive list of deductions.
2. At most one admin fee, stated as a single percentage of a named base.
3. No carryover, or carryover that is capped in time and scoped per brand.
4. A qualification baseline both parties can verify in reports.
5. Player-level reporting, including bonus and tax deductions.
6. Defined hold periods and reversal rules for chargebacks and fraud.
7. A notice period for rate changes, with existing players kept on the old terms or the change agreed in writing.
8. Clear payment schedules, minimum payout thresholds and methods.
9. Shared compliance duties: allowed countries, marketing standards and responsible gambling rules.

That last point is not optional. The UK Gambling Commission's guidance on affiliates and third parties makes licensees responsible for the third parties they contract with. RevShare ties affiliate income to player losses, so neither side should market in ways that encourage harmful play, and no deal structure guarantees earnings. For how these terms compare across commission models, see CPA vs RevShare vs Hybrid.

Run transparent iGaming programs with MassPartner#

MassPartner gives brands CPA, RevShare and hybrid campaigns with qualification thresholds, approval holds, country targeting and fraud checks on every click. Affiliates see clicks, conversions and commissions in real time. See how it works on MassPartner for brands.