Top 10 iGaming KPIs Every iGaming Business Should Measure & Track in 2024

KPIs for the iGaming industry vary significantly from one business to another. Some Gaming KPIs are more essential, while others are less. You’re probably aware that you must keep track of your finances, but it’s not always as simple as it sounds.

While your accounting file may provide some insight into general performance, the insights are most powerful when combined with other data sources. 

In this blog post, we will explore the top 10 KPIs that every iGaming company should track and measure. These essential KPI metrics will provide valuable insights into player behavior, engagement levels, and overall business performance.

By the end of this article, you’ll be equipped with the knowledge you need to steer your iGaming company toward success and understand the importance of KPI in the iGaming industry. 

So, let’s shuffle up and deal with these key iGaming KPIs!

Ready?

Let’s get started.

10 Essential KPIs Every iGaming Business Should Measure & Track in 2024

№	iGaming KPI	What it measures?
1️⃣	🎰 Player Acquisition Rate (PAR)	Tracks new player sign-ups.
2️⃣	💲 Average Revenue Per User (ARPU)	Measures revenue generated per player.
3️⃣	👤 Player Retention Rate (PRR)	Percentage of players who return.
4️⃣	📈 Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR)	Total gaming revenue before expenses.
5️⃣	💳 Deposit Frequency	How often do players make deposits.
6️⃣	🔄 Game Conversion Rate (GCR)	Players that are trying new games.
7️⃣	🛡️ Churn Rate	Rate at which players stop playing.
8️⃣	📊 Net Gaming Revenue (NGR)	Profit after paying winnings.
9️⃣	🗣️ Social Media Engagement	Interaction on social platforms.
🔟	🎲 Player Lifetime Value (PLTV)	Total value a player brings over time.

The most important performance metrics for gaming companies

There are some baseline key metrics in the gaming industry that you should be aware of and adhere to. 

It is not an exhaustive list of gaming KPIs, as you will want to refine it based on your business model. If your game is app- or cloud-based, you can define your “users” as daily active users (DAU) and monthly active users (MAU).

1. ARPU (average revenue per user)

Knowing your average revenue per user (ARPU) is critical for developing any hypothesis about future growth and planning. 

Simply divide your total revenue by your total user base. Revenue comes from one-time download fees, monthly subscription fees, in-game purchases, content downloads, and other sources. 

This is a crucial number for investors, who will use it to determine the value users place on your gaming website. Monitoring ARPU trends will also reveal whether your game’s perceived value increases or decreases. 

2. ARPPU (average revenue per paying user)

This metric evaluates each paying customer’s profitability as well as the company’s ability to generate revenue. Average Revenue Per Paying User is the average amount of revenue generated by each paying user over a given time period. This metric only includes users who have paid money to your gaming company for subscriptions, in-app purchases, or downloads.

A good example from the mobile gaming KPIs: Mobile app companies primarily use it to identify their most valuable customer segments and buyer profiles. 

ARPPU = Total Revenue/Total Number of Paid Users  

Though similar, this metric will always be higher than average revenue per user (ARPU) because it only considers active paying customers rather than the entire customer base. 

3. Net Gaming Revenue (NGR):

This is the gross bets minus the payout. It measures the profitability of the company before operating expenses are subtracted.

Net Gaming Revenue (NGR) encompasses more than just the player stakes subtracted from player losses. It also includes player bonuses and any taxes levied on gaming revenue.

The common aspect of iGaming regulations is the Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) tax.

Here is how the NGR is calculated: A – B – C – D = NGR

In this formula:

• A signifies the total sum wagered
• B stands for the total sum paid out
• C represents the total of all bonuses paid out to players
• D indicates the total of all taxes paid on gaming revenue

4. Player Lifetime Value (LTV):

The LTV in gaming is the total monetary value of a single user over the course of their time playing your game. This is significant because it will tell your company how much money it should spend on acquiring a single customer. To remain profitable, you should not spend more than you will earn from a single user. 

The average revenue per average daily user * number of days a user spends in a game = lifetime value

This is the most fundamental method of calculating your LTV. Your company can use LTV to optimize each revenue source for profit maximization and to estimate the game’s profitability. 

This metric computes the average net profit generated by each user. It provides information about a user’s financial contribution and relationship with your gaming company. This metric is used to measure a company’s growth.

(Annual profit contribution per customer * number of loyalty years) – initial cost of customer acquisition = lifetime value rate

The lifetime value rate metric can assist your company in acquiring and retaining highly valuable customers.

In short, LTV is the projected net profit from a player’s future relationship. Knowing the LTV can help iGaming companies develop effective marketing strategies and assess their return on investment.

5. Player Engagement

This measures how engaged players are with your games. It could be tracked by looking at metrics like session length, frequency of play, and in-game purchases.

Player Engagement is a critical metric for any iGaming company as it provides insights into how effectively a game holds the player’s interest and how involved players are with the gaming content. This is not a single metric but rather a combination of several key performance indicators. Here’s how you can calculate some of them:

1. Session Length: This is the duration of time a player spends in a single gaming session. The higher the session length, the more engaging your game is perceived to be. It can be calculated by tracking a user’s login and logout timestamp during a single gaming session. Session Length = Logout time – Login time.
2. Frequency of Play: This measures how often players come back to play your game. It can be calculated by counting the number of unique gaming sessions for a player over a given period (daily, weekly, or monthly). Frequency of Play = Total Number of Sessions / Time Period.
3. In-Game Purchases: This is an indication of how much a player is willing to invest in your game. It can be calculated by tracking the number of purchases a player makes within the game over a given period. In-Game Purchases = Total Number of Purchases / Time Period.

For example, if a player logged into the game at 10:00 AM and logged out at 11:30 AM, their session length would be 1.5 hours. If that player had a total of 7 gaming sessions in a week, the frequency of play would be 7 sessions per week. If the player made 10 purchases in a month, their in-game purchases would be 10 per month.

Remember, a well-engaged player is more likely to continue playing and spend more in the game, thus boosting the overall revenue for the iGaming company.

6. Player Retention Rate

Ever wondered, how do betting companies track games? The answer is PRR. This measures the percentage of players who continue to use the platform over a certain period. A high retention rate indicates player loyalty.

Retention is a critical metric in free-to-play or subscription models because it highlights the relevance of your game. (Note that you can track stickiness as its own metric by looking at the frequency of play, but we’ll keep it simple here.)

There are various approaches to retention. 

A very simple method of calculating retention is to divide the total number of users in a given period by the total number of users in the previous period (i.e., total users this month compared to total users last month). 

Total number of users in a specific period divided by the total number of users in the previous period = retention rate

You can refine your search by categorizing users into cohorts. In this case, the segmentation is based on the date of download. Compare the number of cohort users on common days such as 1, 7, and 30 based on the download date. In this case, the formula would be cohort users on day 1 (or 7, or 30) divided by total cohort users. This is determined by whether or not the user opens the app on those days.

Retention rate = total number of users in this month (30 days) divided by total number of users in the previous month.

If you use a free-to-play model, retention will be measured over a longer period of time after the point of conversion.

7. The Churn Rate

This is one of the unique KPIs for the gaming industry because it’s applicable to the gaming industry and, therefore, gaming KPIs. Churn measures how many players have left your game. Naturally, high churn is considered bad because you must backfill churned users with new users just to maintain the status quo, which hurts your growth.

The churn rate can be as simple as the inverse of the retention rate. If you have a 40% retention rate, your churn rate is 1-40%=60%. 

1 – retention rate = churn rate

You can also look at it from the standpoint of how many players leave your game after a certain period of time.

You may decide that, for example, 28 days of no play indicates a churned user. Your churn rate would measure this in this case. 

8. Conversion Rate

Investors place a high value on measuring your ability to convert free users into paying customers. Of course, a high conversion rate is advantageous. The conversion rate is a measure of how many users made a purchase during a given time period. 

To calculate your conversion rate, divide the number of unique users who have made a purchase by the total number of users in a given time period. 

Conversion rate = unique users who purchased during a specific time period / total number of users during that time period

If you have a free-to-play model with no in-game purchases, you can calculate this conversion using ad clicks. 

9. Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)

This KPI metric measures how much it costs to acquire a new customer, including marketing and sales expenses. Lowering the CAC can improve overall profitability.

CAC = (total cost of sales and marketing) / (# of customers acquired)

For example, if you spend $50,000 to acquire 1000 customers, your CAC is $50.

CAC is a ratio that represents the return on investment of all sales and marketing efforts in relation to new customers gained as a result of their implementation. As a result, CAC is a useful indicator of the effectiveness of various sales and marketing strategies. CAC is also a key metric revenue leaders use to gain a deeper understanding of the drivers of their business model, and it is especially important for high-growth companies looking to scale. 

How do you decide which gaming metrics to include in your CAC?

The CAC typically includes 3 metrics: total sales, marketing costs, and net new customers acquired. However, if Customer Success is a significant driver of new customers for a company, some revenue leaders may factor it into their CAC calculation. 

A good customer acquisition cost (CAC) is heavily influenced by the industry and the strategies used by a company to acquire new customers. As an indicator of business health, SaaS companies typically compare CAC to a customer’s lifetime value (LTV). 

It is widely accepted that the ideal CAC:LTV ratio is 3:1.

10. Bounce Rate

This is the percentage of visitors who navigate away from the site after viewing only one page. A high bounce rate could mean that the site isn’t engaging or meeting player expectations.

The bounce rate is a crucial web analytics metric that reveals the rate at which visitors leave your website after viewing only a single page. Essentially, it’s the percentage of single-page sessions divided by all the sessions or the percentage of all visitors who enter and exit without exploring any additional pages on your site.

If your website or game has a high bounce rate, it might suggest that the content, layout, or overall user experience is not engaging or satisfying enough to encourage visitors to stay and explore further.

However, a high bounce rate isn’t always negative. It can sometimes mean that the user found what they needed on the first page they landed on.

Here’s how to calculate the bounce rate:

Bounce Rate = (Total number of one-page visits / Total number of entries to the website) * 100

For example, if your website received 500 visitors in a day, and 200 of those visitors left after only viewing one page, the bounce rate would be:

Bounce Rate = (200 / 500) * 100 = 40%

In this example, a 40% bounce rate would indicate that 40% of all visitors left after viewing just one page on the website.

Conclusion

To put it all into context, we’ve broken down the key performance metrics you should be aware of to manage your gaming company successfully. 

Understanding and tracking these iGaming KPI metrics is essential for running a successful iGaming business, especially in 2024 and beyond, since competition is a lot tougher. They provide actionable insights that help improve your player experience, optimize your operations, and increase profitability. 

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Last Updated on July 30, 2024