Definition
Bonus Cost is the value of bonuses actually consumed by players expressed as a share of Gross Gaming Revenue. It is the bonus manager's primary KPI: it prices the promotional engine against the revenue it is supposed to generate.
Formula
Bonus Sum = Bonuses issued − Canceled − Expired
Bonus Cost = Bonus Sum ÷ GGR
Issued — total bonus value granted in the period. Canceled / Expired — bonus value that never became a real cost (forfeited, lapsed, revoked). GGR — gross gaming revenue in the same period (see GGR and NGR).
A companion angle is Bonus Ratio = Bonus Sum ÷ Deposits, which prices promotion against cash-in rather than revenue.
How operators use it
| View | Required comparison | What it can diagnose |
|---|---|---|
| Promotion cohort | Exposed players vs eligible holdout | Whether incremental NGR or retention covers realised cost |
| Month over month | Same product, market tier and bonus definition | Mix shifts, seasonality or a sustained cost increase |
| Segment and campaign | Welcome, reload, VIP and reactivation separately | A loss-making mechanic hidden by the blended ratio |
| Bonus Ratio (vs deposits) | Same numerator with deposits as denominator | Promotional load relative to cash-in |
Bonus cost is the bridge between GGR and NGR — since NGR is GGR minus bonus cost, every point of bonus cost is a point of real revenue given away. This is why mature operators evaluate ARPPU, LTV and channel profitability on NGR, not GGR: at high bonus intensity, GGR-based reporting makes an unprofitable promo structure look like growth. The bonus P&L must also be read per segment: the same headline cost can hide a healthy welcome program plus a loss-making reload scheme, or vice versa.
Rising bonus cost can be a symptom of bonus hunting, but it is not proof by itself: campaign mix, cohort quality, seasonality and ledger changes can produce the same movement. Investigate account-linkage and play-pattern signals under the applicable licence and privacy rules, then test campaign-specific controls. A blanket cut can obscure the actual cause and harm unaffected cohorts.
Common misinterpretations
The most common error is mixing issued, activated, redeemed, converted and cash-equivalent values as if they were the same numerator. The opposite error is celebrating low bonus cost while incremental retention or NGR decays: the target is not zero but demonstrable efficiency. Cross-operator comparisons also fail when bonus states, GGR recognition, product mix, cohort age and market tier differ.
Related metrics: GGR and NGR · Wagering Requirement · Loss-back and Cashback · ARPPU
Common questions
What share of GGR should bonuses cost?
There is no defensible universal percentage. Set an internal baseline by product, cohort, market tier and promotion type; compare realised bonus cost with incremental NGR and retention against a holdout. Escalate a deviation only after checking the event definition, GGR denominator, seasonality and player-protection exclusions.
What is the difference between Bonus Cost and Bonus Ratio?
Bonus Cost divides consistently defined realised bonus value by GGR; Bonus Ratio divides the same numerator by deposits. The first prices promotion against gaming revenue and the second against cash-in. Neither has a universal healthy range, so compare like-for-like cohorts and periods.
Do canceled and expired bonuses count toward bonus cost?
Only if the operator's documented accounting definition treats them as realised cost. Gross issuance, activated value, converted value and cash-equivalent cost are different numerators. Publish the chosen event states and reconcile them to the bonus ledger before comparing periods or operators.