Preparing Financial Statements to Sell an iGaming Business

The short answer

Buyers of iGaming businesses want monthly figures, not annual accounts. Prepare a monthly P&L for the last 24–36 months that runs from GGR to NGR to EBITDA, split by product and market, and a reconciliation pack that ties every month’s revenue to platform reports, PSP settlements and bank statements. For an affiliate site, replace GGR and NGR with commission revenue by operator programme.

Statutory accounts and tax returns are still needed, but they rarely answer a buyer’s questions. They are annual, they mix the business with everything else the company does, and they do not show where the revenue comes from. The monthly pack does.

The P&L layout buyers expect

Lay the P&L out in this order, one column per month, with totals for each 12-month period. Buyers can then see the business the way they will run it.

Keep a separate sheet of add-backs alongside it, with one line per adjustment and a link to the evidence. Do not mix adjustments into the P&L itself; buyers want to see the reported figures and the adjustments side by side.

The reconciliation pack

This is the single most useful document a seller can prepare. It proves that the P&L reflects money that actually moved.

1. Platform to P&L. For each month, compare the back office’s GGR, bonuses and NGR with the P&L. Note any manual adjustments, test accounts or reversed transactions.
2. Platform to PSP. Compare deposits and withdrawals in the back office with PSP settlement reports. Explain fees, chargebacks, refunds and timing differences.
3. PSP to bank. Compare PSP payouts with receipts in the bank account. Explain reserves held back, currency conversion and any crypto movements.
4. Costs to invoices. For the main cost lines, especially platform, provider and affiliate fees, tie the P&L to supplier invoices or statements.
5. Write the notes. A short note for each material difference is better than a perfect match nobody believes. Unexplained gaps are what stall diligence.

Keep the exports you used in the data room, labelled by month, so a buyer or accountant can repeat the work.

Affiliate site financials

An affiliate site has a simpler P&L, but buyers look at it just as closely.

Revenue

• Commission by operator programme and by month
• Split between revenue share, CPA and hybrid deals
• Fixed fees or listing fees, shown separately, with contract end dates
• Negative carryover on revenue-share accounts, if any

Costs

• Content: writers, editors, translation
• Links and outreach, with a clear description of what was bought
• Hosting, themes, plugins and SEO tools
• Contractors and any paid traffic

Evidence

• Programme dashboards or statements for each month
• Payment receipts matched to the bank, or to e-wallet and crypto accounts
• Search Console and Analytics data for the same months, so revenue can be compared with traffic

Buyers will divide revenue by visits, by country and by operator. If revenue rises while traffic falls, or one operator suddenly pays much more, explain why in advance.

Separating the business, currency and accounting basis

Separate what is being sold. Owners often run several brands or businesses through one company. The P&L for the sale should show only the business being sold. Allocate shared costs, such as staff, hosting or a platform used by several brands, on a basis you can explain, and show the allocation openly.

Choose one currency. Present the figures in the currency the price will be agreed in, usually EUR. If revenue arrives in several currencies or in crypto, state the conversion method and rates used. Keep exchange gains and losses out of operating profit.

Accrual, not cash. Book revenue and costs in the month they relate to, not the month money moved. Affiliate commissions, provider fees and gaming taxes are the usual problem: on a cash basis they can land months later and make profit look higher than it is. If your bookkeeping is on a cash basis, prepare an accrual view for the sale and explain the differences.

Tax. Show gaming taxes by market as an operating cost, and corporate tax separately below EBITDA. Have tax filings ready for diligence, and ask your accountant to confirm there are no open liabilities that would surprise a buyer.

Common problems and a preparation timeline

Problems buyers find most often

• Annual totals only, with no monthly detail
• NGR figures that cannot be traced to the platform
• Affiliate commissions or gaming taxes booked only when paid
• Personal and business costs mixed together with no record of which is which
• Several brands in one set of accounts with no allocation
• Revenue received through crypto or e-wallets that never reaches a bank statement, with no other record
• Figures in the CIM that differ from the figures in the data room

When to start

Starting early also helps the numbers themselves. Months of clean, consistent reporting before a sale are more convincing than a reconstruction done after a buyer asks.

FAQ

What financial statements do I need to sell an online casino?

A monthly P&L for 24–36 months from GGR to EBITDA, a balance sheet, a reconciliation of revenue to platform, PSP and bank records, a list of add-backs with evidence, and statutory accounts and tax filings.

How many years of financials do buyers want?

At least two full years and the current year to date. Three years helps when the business has grown or recovered from a dip.

Do my accounts need to be audited?

Not usually for smaller iGaming businesses. Buyers rely more on reconciled monthly figures and source data. Larger operators may already have audited accounts as a licence requirement.

Should I use cash or accrual accounting for the sale?

Accrual. It matches costs such as affiliate commissions and gaming taxes to the months they relate to, which is how buyers judge profit.

How should I present revenue paid in crypto?

Convert it to the sale currency using a stated method and rate, show the wallet records that support it, and keep exchange gains and losses out of operating profit.

What if my business shares costs with my other brands?

Allocate shared costs on a clear, consistent basis and show the allocation. Buyers accept allocations they can understand; they discount figures that hide them.

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