Player Lifetime Value (LTV)
LTV is the total net revenue an operator expects from a player across their entire relationship, not just their first deposit.
What it means
Player Lifetime Value is the projected net gaming revenue a single player generates over their whole lifecycle, from first deposit to their last session. It's a forecast, not a receipt: you model it from early behaviour, deposit patterns, and retention curves. LTV is the number that tells you whether an acquisition was actually profitable, because it's the other half of the equation with CPA.
Why it matters for operators
Paying 500 to acquire a player only makes sense if their LTV clears it with room for costs. As acquisition costs climb, LTV has become the metric operators optimize around - through retention, bonus design, and personalization - rather than chasing raw signups. Getting LTV right also decides how much you can afford to bid for players in the first place, which is why it belongs in every marketing and finance conversation.
Example
Two players both deposit 100 in week one. One churns; the other plays for eight months. Same first deposit, wildly different LTV - and only a model built on real data tells them apart early enough to treat them differently.