LTV

LTV (Lifetime Value, or player lifetime value) is the total net revenue a player is expected to generate over their entire relationship with an operator — the number that defines how much can rationally be spent to acquire them.

In practice, operators estimate LTV rather than wait years to observe it. Common approaches:

• Formulaic — average monthly NGR per player x expected lifetime (derived from churn rate: lifetime ≈ 1/churn);
• Cohort curves — projecting revenue curves of historical cohorts onto new ones, usually per market and channel;
• Predictive models — early-behavior signals (first-week deposits, game mix, session pattern) scoring individual players days after signup.

LTV should be computed on NGR after bonus cost, per segment — a blended global LTV is nearly useless because value concentration and market economics vary so widely.

The core commercial test of any acquisition activity is LTV : CAC — lifetime value against cost per acquisition, including affiliate fees.

Why it matters: every affiliate deal, media budget and market-entry plan is implicitly a bet on LTV. Operators whose platform reporting produces reliable cohort-level LTV negotiate CPA caps and revenue shares from evidence; everyone else negotiates from hope.