18 Differences Between Valuing Public and Private Companies

Valuing iGaming Businesses: 18 Critical Differences Between Public and Private Companies Valuations

The iGaming industry is experiencing unprecedented growth, with the global online gambling market projected to exceed $150 billion by 2029. As mergers and acquisitions reshape the sector—with major deals like Apollo Global Management’s $6.3 billion acquisition of IGT and Everi, and Brightstar Capital Partners’ $1.1 billion purchase of AGS—understanding business valuation has never been more critical for iGaming operators, investors, and business brokers.

Whether you’re considering selling your iGaming platform, evaluating an acquisition opportunity, or simply curious about how your online casino or sportsbook stacks up against industry benchmarks, comprehending the valuation gap between public and private companies is essential. Can the multiples commanded by publicly traded gaming giants like DraftKings and Flutter Entertainment apply to mid-sized iGaming operations? The answer is nuanced, and understanding these distinctions could mean the difference between a successful exit and leaving millions on the table.

Table of Contents

1. Understanding iGaming Business Valuation in 2025
2. The Fundamental Drivers Behind Valuation Differences
3. 18 Critical Factors That Distinguish Public and Private iGaming Valuations
   • Time Horizon: Short-Term Market Pressure vs. Long-Term Strategy
   • People & Stakeholders: Complex Networks vs. Focused Ownership
   • Securities: Complex Capital Structures vs. Simple Ownership
   • Sophistication: Advanced Analytics vs. Traditional Methods
   • Incentives: Aligned vs. Conflicting Motivations
   • Speculation: Market-Driven Volatility vs. Fundamental Value
   • Emotions: Sentiment-Driven Markets vs. Rational Decision-Making
   • Information: Transparency vs. Limited Disclosure
   • Constant Pricing: Daily Valuations vs. Transaction-Based Discovery
   • Economic Variables: Macro Sensitivity vs. Operational Focus
   • Control: Minority Positions vs. Ownership Authority
   • Expectations: Earnings Projections vs. Historical Performance
   • Rumors: Market Impact vs. Industry Whispers
   • Regulation: Stringent Oversight vs. Operational Flexibility
   • Complexity: Multi-Layered Structures vs. Straightforward Models
   • Financial Statements: Earnings Management vs. Tax Optimization
   • Geography: Global Operations vs. Regional Focus
   • Valuation Methods: Sophisticated Models vs. EBITDA Multiples
4. iGaming-Specific Valuation Considerations
5. Current M&A Trends in the iGaming Industry
6. Conclusion: Navigating Your iGaming Business Valuation

Understanding iGaming Business Valuation in 2025

The online gaming and betting sector stands at a fascinating crossroads. With regulated markets expanding across North America, Latin America, and Africa, combined with technological advances in mobile gaming, artificial intelligence, and blockchain payments, the industry presents compelling opportunities for both strategic buyers and financial investors. According to recent industry reports, the iGaming market was valued at $93.26 billion at the end of 2024, with projections suggesting growth to $127.3 billion by 2027.

For iGaming business owners and operators, understanding valuation is no longer optional—it’s essential for strategic planning, capital raising, partnership negotiations, and eventual exit strategies. However, the valuation landscape differs dramatically between publicly traded gaming companies and private iGaming operations, from boutique affiliate sites to mid-sized online casinos and sportsbooks.

This comprehensive guide examines the 18 fundamental differences between valuing public and private iGaming businesses, providing actionable insights for entrepreneurs, investors, and M&A advisors navigating this dynamic sector.

The Fundamental Drivers Behind Valuation Differences

Before diving into specific factors, it’s important to understand the core dynamic driving nearly every distinction between public and private company valuations: the stock market’s influence on public enterprises. This external force creates a ripple effect across time horizons, stakeholder behavior, information flow, and pricing mechanisms.

Investors in publicly traded iGaming companies typically maintain shorter investment timeframes, often measured in months or quarters rather than years or decades. This temporal perspective fundamentally shapes everything from strategic decision-making to financial reporting practices. Meanwhile, private iGaming operators enjoy the luxury of patient capital, allowing them to prioritize long-term growth over quarterly earnings beats.

Understanding how time, certainty, and market dynamics interplay provides the foundation for comprehending the 18 specific factors that follow. While these differences may seem abstract, they have concrete implications for how you should approach valuation, whether you’re buying, selling, or simply benchmarking your iGaming business.

18 Critical Factors That Distinguish Public and Private iGaming Valuations

1. Time Horizon: Short-Term Market Pressure vs. Long-Term Strategy

Public iGaming Companies

Publicly traded gaming operators face relentless short-term pressure from investors focused on quarterly results. When companies like DraftKings or Penn Entertainment report earnings, the market reacts instantly to metrics like player acquisition costs, handle volumes, and margin compression. This creates an environment where executives must balance long-term strategic initiatives—such as entering new markets or developing proprietary technology—with the immediate need to meet or beat analyst expectations.

Day traders and algorithmic trading systems can hold positions for mere minutes, while even institutional investors increasingly adopt shorter holding periods. This abbreviated investment horizon means that public iGaming companies often trade at valuations reflecting near-term sentiment rather than long-term intrinsic value. The quarterly earnings cycle becomes a treadmill that executives cannot escape, sometimes forcing decisions that optimize for appearances rather than fundamental business building.

Private iGaming Operations

Private iGaming operators, by contrast, can think in terms of decades rather than quarters. An entrepreneur building an online casino or sports betting platform can invest heavily in technology infrastructure, regulatory approvals, or market positioning without worrying about next quarter’s earnings call. This extended time horizon enables more authentic strategic decision-making focused on sustainable competitive advantages rather than short-term financial engineering.

With fewer stakeholders to satisfy, private iGaming businesses can pursue patient growth strategies. For instance, an operator might spend two years building licenses and brand recognition in emerging African markets, accepting near-term losses for long-term market leadership—something that would be difficult for a publicly traded company to justify to impatient shareholders.

2. People & Stakeholders: Complex Networks vs. Focused Ownership

Public Gaming Companies

The stakeholder ecosystem surrounding public iGaming companies resembles a complex web of sometimes competing interests. Equity analysts at investment banks, institutional money managers, mutual funds, hedge funds, pension funds, retail brokers, credit rating agencies, and financial media all exert influence over stock prices and valuation perceptions.

Remarkably, approximately 80% of analyst recommendations favor “buy” ratings, reflecting underlying incentive structures. When evaluating a public iGaming stock, understanding the motivations of analysts covering the sector becomes as important as understanding the business itself. Are analysts at banks hoping to win M&A advisory mandates? Are institutional investors building positions and thus inclined toward bullish research?

Financial media outlets like The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, and specialized iGaming publications shape market narratives through compelling stories designed to capture attention and readership. These media sources, driven by both commercial and editorial objectives, serve as primary information channels for individual investors, many of whom never read annual reports that might provide more balanced perspectives.

In this environment, valuation becomes as much about understanding game theory and investor psychology as it is about analyzing financial statements. Public iGaming investors must constantly consider what other market participants think, as those collective perceptions drive short-term price movements.

Private iGaming Businesses

The stakeholder landscape for private iGaming operators is refreshingly straightforward. With fewer constituents to manage, these businesses typically focus on two primary groups: employees and customers. Governance structures are simpler, incentives are clearer, and strategic decisions can be made without worrying about how headlines will play in financial media.

The primary objective for most private iGaming entrepreneurs is straightforward: generate profits while managing tax liabilities efficiently. This clarity eliminates the convoluted analysis required when evaluating public companies, where you must untangle various stakeholder motivations before arriving at a clear picture of business fundamentals.

3. Securities: Complex Capital Structures vs. Simple Ownership

Public Companies

Public iGaming companies often maintain complex capital structures featuring common stock, preferred shares, convertible securities, stock options, warrants, and various derivative instruments. Understanding how these securities interact—and their implications for valuation—requires sophisticated financial analysis.

For instance, employee stock options represent potential dilution that must be factored into valuation calculations. Dual-class share structures, common in technology and media companies, create voting premiums where control shares trade at higher multiples than economically equivalent non-voting shares. The complexity inherent in these arrangements makes valuing public companies a technical exercise requiring deep expertise in capital markets.

Private iGaming Operations

When you ask most private iGaming entrepreneurs about their corporate structure, you’re likely to get some variation of “it’s the standard one—my accountant set it up.” This response reflects a common reality: many private operators lack familiarity with complex capitalization structures.

Most private iGaming businesses feature simple common stock ownership, often concentrated within founding teams or family groups. This straightforward structure makes valuation considerably more accessible, as you can typically assume standard ownership arrangements without navigating layers of preferred rights, liquidation preferences, or derivative securities.

4. Sophistication: Advanced Analytics vs. Traditional Methods

Public Gaming Companies

The sophistication applied to public company valuation has evolved dramatically since Benjamin Graham and David Dodd published “Security Analysis” in 1934, which transformed investing from speculation into rigorous analysis. The establishment of the SEC in 1934 further professionalized markets by mandating disclosure and reducing information asymmetry.

Today’s public market participants employ an array of advanced analytical tools, from discounted cash flow models incorporating thousands of variables to machine learning algorithms that process news and trading data in milliseconds. Institutional investors use sophisticated software, trading algorithms, and quantitative models to value companies and identify opportunities.

In the iGaming sector specifically, analysts track metrics like gross gaming revenue (GGR), player lifetime value (LTV), customer acquisition cost (CAC), churn rates, and jurisdiction-specific regulatory impacts. This level of analytical sophistication means that public company valuations incorporate nuanced understanding of business drivers and competitive dynamics.

Private iGaming Businesses

Valuation methods for private iGaming companies tend toward simplicity. The dominant approach involves EBITDA multiples—essentially a shorthand that compresses complex business analysis into a single figure. While this method has merit and is widely understood by buyers and sellers, it lacks the sophisticated layering found in public market valuations.

That said, exceptions exist. Venture capital firms investing in high-growth iGaming tech startups might employ discounted cash flow methodologies, and specialized M&A advisors in the iGaming sector bring considerable expertise. However, the average private iGaming transaction relies primarily on comparable company analysis using EBITDA multiples, revenue multiples, or sometimes seller’s discretionary earnings (SDE) for smaller operations.

5. Incentives: Aligned vs. Conflicting Motivations

Public Markets

The public markets swirl with incentives that often lack alignment with long-term value creation. Investment bankers chase advisory fees, financial journalists compete for attention in crowded news cycles, and analysts navigate the delicate balance between honest assessment and maintaining relationships with company management.

This misalignment of incentives can create herd mentality, where analysts and investors cluster around consensus views to avoid the career risk of being wrong. In the iGaming sector, this might manifest as excessive optimism during market expansion phases or unwarranted pessimism when regulatory headwinds emerge.

Understanding these incentive structures is crucial when evaluating information about public iGaming companies. Always ask: what motivates this analyst, this media outlet, or this institutional investor to present this particular view?

Private Operations

For private iGaming entrepreneurs, incentives align more clearly with business outcomes. Owners typically have substantial personal wealth tied to their company’s value, creating direct motivation to maximize long-term returns. This alignment simplifies analysis because you can generally assume that owners’ stated objectives reflect genuine priorities rather than posturing for external audiences.

6. Speculation: Market-Driven Volatility vs. Fundamental Value

Public Gaming Stocks

Speculation plays a significant role in public iGaming stock valuations, particularly for newer companies or those entering emerging markets. Technical analysis—focusing solely on price patterns and trading volume without regard to business fundamentals—influences many trading decisions.

In the iGaming sector, speculation intensifies around regulatory developments. When news breaks about potential legalization in a major market like California or Texas, related stocks can experience dramatic price swings driven more by speculation about legislative outcomes than fundamental business analysis. Margin buying (purchasing stocks with borrowed money) amplifies these speculative tendencies.

Even analysts who personally dismiss technical analysis must account for its influence when valuing stocks, as technical traders represent a significant portion of daily volume in many gaming stocks.

Private iGaming Companies

Speculation exists in private iGaming markets primarily through angel investments and family office funding. However, these speculative investments typically have minimal impact on broader valuation trends because transaction terms remain confidential. Unlike public stocks where speculative trades execute instantly, private iGaming investments tend to be illiquid, long-term commitments.

Many private iGaming investors operate without formal buy-sell agreements, binding themselves to long-term ownership without clear exit strategies. This structural difference means speculation holds negligible influence over private company valuations, which remain anchored to business fundamentals and comparable transactions.

7. Emotions: Sentiment-Driven Markets vs. Rational Decision-Making

Public Markets

Emotions drive short-term public market behavior in profound ways. Investor sentiment can swing from excessive optimism to unwarranted pessimism, creating price movements that diverge significantly from underlying business fundamentals. This emotional volatility is particularly pronounced in growth sectors like iGaming.

Herd psychology becomes self-reinforcing, as momentum investors pile into rising stocks and flee declining ones, amplifying price movements. Game theory considerations—trying to anticipate how other investors will react—become as important as fundamental analysis for short-term traders.

In the iGaming sector, emotions run particularly high around regulatory developments, market entries, and competitive threats. A single headline about increased competition or regulatory scrutiny can trigger sharp selloffs driven more by fear than rational reassessment of long-term value.

Private Operations

While emotions certainly influence private iGaming business operations—any entrepreneur knows the emotional rollercoaster of building a company—these emotions have muted effects on valuation. With fewer shareholders and no liquid trading market, emotional sentiment doesn’t translate into volatile pricing.

Private iGaming valuations remain relatively stable between actual transactions, insulated from the daily emotional swings that characterize public markets. This stability can be advantageous for long-term planning but also means less frequent price discovery.

8. Information: Transparency vs. Limited Disclosure

Public Gaming Companies

The SEC’s creation in response to the 1929 market crash established rigorous disclosure requirements designed to provide investors with reliable information. Public iGaming companies must regularly file detailed financial statements, material event disclosures, and insider trading reports.

This information flows instantly to over 100,000 analysts, investors, and trading algorithms worldwide. Specialized iGaming analysts dissect quarterly earnings releases, parse management commentary for strategic insights, and build detailed financial models. Credit rating agencies assess debt quality, while specialized research firms track regulatory developments across jurisdictions.

The abundance of information makes public iGaming company valuation more precise and enables meaningful comparison across companies. However, it also means that public companies must carefully manage disclosure, as every statement receives intense scrutiny and can move stock prices.

Private iGaming Businesses

Private iGaming operators face no public disclosure requirements. Financial statements, operational metrics, player databases, and strategic plans remain confidential. This information scarcity complicates valuation, as analysts must rely on incomplete data, industry estimates, and comparable company analysis with limited verified benchmarks.

The lack of information creates challenges for investors evaluating acquisition opportunities, as due diligence becomes more intensive and uncertain. It also means private iGaming valuations involve greater subjectivity and wider ranges of potential outcomes compared to data-rich public company analysis.

9. Constant Pricing: Daily Valuations vs. Transaction-Based Discovery

Public Companies

Public iGaming stocks receive continuous valuation through market trading. Every trading day provides precise pricing, creating detailed valuation history and enabling real-time performance tracking. This constant feedback loop means executives know their company’s market value minute-by-minute, and investors can enter or exit positions at transparent prices.

This continuous pricing mechanism facilitates comparative analysis and provides clear benchmarks for strategic decisions like acquisitions or capital raises. The transparency benefits all stakeholders, though it also creates pressure to manage short-term perceptions.

Private Operations

Private iGaming entrepreneurs typically discover their company’s true market value only once: when they sell. Unlike public companies with continuous price discovery, private operators lack ongoing market feedback about their business value.

This sporadic valuation cycle makes private company valuation more art than science. Without regular market-based pricing, owners must rely on periodic appraisals, comparable transaction analysis, and negotiation dynamics during actual sale processes. The uncertainty inherent in this approach represents a significant difference from the precision available in public markets.

10. Economic Variables: Macro Sensitivity vs. Operational Focus

Public Gaming Companies

Public iGaming stocks demonstrate high sensitivity to macroeconomic variables. Interest rate changes, currency fluctuations, GDP growth rates, and employment trends all influence valuations. When interest rates decline, for example, high-growth iGaming stocks often rally as future cash flows become more valuable in discounted cash flow models.

Economic indicators also directly impact business performance. Consumer discretionary spending, which includes gambling, correlates with economic confidence and employment levels. A 2% GDP increase might translate to a 3.5% surge in iGaming handle in some markets, creating direct connections between macro trends and company performance.

This macroeconomic sensitivity means analysts valuing public iGaming companies must understand monetary policy, economic cycles, and how different jurisdictions’ economies interact with gambling behavior.

Private iGaming Businesses

While macroeconomic conditions certainly affect private iGaming operations, their impact on valuation is more muted. The primary economic factors influencing private company valuations are interest rates and debt financing availability, as these directly affect acquisition economics.

When debt financing becomes scarce or expensive, M&A activity in the private iGaming sector slows, reducing competition among buyers and compressing valuation multiples. Financial buyers, particularly private equity firms active in the iGaming sector, become more cautious when leverage costs rise.

However, private iGaming valuations remain more insulated from daily economic data releases than their public counterparts, with changes occurring more gradually through actual transaction activity rather than continuous market repricing.

11. Control: Minority Positions vs. Ownership Authority

Public Companies

Most public company investors hold minority stakes with limited influence over corporate decisions. This lack of control reduces value compared to controlling interests, creating valuation gaps between majority and minority positions. Analysts must apply control premiums when valuing controlling stakes and minority discounts when assessing non-controlling positions.

In the iGaming sector, control can be particularly valuable given regulatory considerations, licensing requirements, and strategic decisions about market entry and technology investments. Controlling shareholders can direct these critical choices, while minority investors must rely on management and board governance.

Private Operations

Private iGaming company valuations must carefully consider control dynamics, as majority owners typically command significant premiums. Controlling shareholders in private operations can make unilateral decisions about operations, strategy, capital allocation, and exit timing—authority that carries substantial value.

Control dynamics become particularly complex in private iGaming companies with multiple shareholders or different share classes carrying varied voting rights. For example, in a scenario with two 49% shareholders and one 2% shareholder, that small minority stake could hold decisive “swing vote” authority, potentially commanding valuations far exceeding its proportional economic interest.

12. Expectations: Earnings Projections vs. Historical Performance

Public Gaming Companies

Public iGaming company valuations hinge heavily on earnings projections and growth expectations. Analysts build detailed models forecasting future performance across multiple scenarios, with significant portions of current valuations reflecting anticipated future results rather than historical achievements.

These projections employ sophisticated methodologies including regression analysis, time series forecasting, and scenario modeling. However, they remain inherently speculative, particularly in the iGaming sector where regulatory changes, competitive dynamics, and technology shifts can rapidly alter trajectories.

When companies miss earnings expectations—even by small amounts—stock prices can decline sharply as investors reassess future prospects. This creates pressure for public companies to provide conservative guidance they can reliably exceed rather than ambitious targets that might disappoint.

Private Operations

Private iGaming businesses enjoy freedom from external performance pressures, though internal stakeholders or employees may maintain expectations if operators practice open-book management. Without public shareholders demanding quarterly guidance, private operators can pursue strategies without concern for managing external expectations.

Importantly, private company acquirers typically discount management projections heavily, preferring to base valuations on historical performance rather than optimistic forecasts. This represents a significant shift from public markets, where future potential often commands premium valuations.

13. Rumors: Market Impact vs. Industry Whispers

Public Companies

Rumors wield extraordinary power over public iGaming stock prices. Whispers of potential acquisitions, regulatory investigations, executive departures, or competitive threats can trigger significant price movements regardless of their accuracy. The combination of multiple stakeholders, media amplification, derivative trading, and emotional responses creates conditions where rumors can generate substantial volatility.

Even when rumors prove false, the interim price movements create real consequences. Short-term investors may profit or lose substantially based on rumor-driven trading, while executives must manage communications carefully to address speculation without inadvertently confirming or denying unannounced developments.

In the iGaming sector, rumors about licensing decisions, market entry plans, or acquisition targets can spark sudden stock movements of 5% or more in a single day. Ethical concerns or allegations against management can trigger even steeper declines, as reputation risk carries particular weight in regulated gambling businesses.

Private Operations

While acquisition rumors and competitive speculation certainly circulate in private iGaming circles, their market impact remains limited compared to public companies. Transaction details remain confidential, dampening the feedback loop between rumors and valuations.

Private iGaming industry participants might hear whispers about potential transactions or company challenges, but without liquid trading markets, these rumors don’t translate into immediate valuation changes. Impact occurs only when rumors influence actual transaction negotiations or strategic decisions by potential acquirers.

14. Regulation: Stringent Oversight vs. Operational Flexibility

Public Gaming Companies

Public iGaming companies operate under extensive regulatory oversight from securities regulators, accounting standards bodies, and gambling authorities. This multi-layered supervision creates standardized practices, ensuring consistent information flow to investors and market participants.

The regulatory framework provides confidence to investors through mandatory audits, disclosure requirements, and governance standards. While compliance creates administrative burden, it also enables more precise valuations and meaningful comparisons across companies, as all participants operate under common reporting and governance standards.

For iGaming companies specifically, this securities regulation adds to already complex gambling licensing and compliance requirements, creating substantial regulatory costs but also competitive moats for companies that successfully navigate these frameworks.

Private Operations

Private iGaming operators face lighter securities regulation, with governance often reflecting owners’ personal philosophies rather than external mandates. Many private companies are built by entrepreneurial founders who established their businesses from the ground up using instinct and experience rather than formal frameworks.

This flexibility enables rapid decision-making and adaptation, particularly valuable in fast-moving iGaming markets where regulatory changes and competitive dynamics shift quickly. However, it also means less standardization, making comparable valuation analysis more challenging.

15. Complexity: Multi-Layered Structures vs. Straightforward Models

Public Companies

Public iGaming companies inherently carry greater complexity than private counterparts. This complexity manifests across capital structures (multiple share classes, derivatives, convertible instruments), trading dynamics (hedge fund activities, short-selling, algorithmic trading), investment approaches (quantitative strategies, sector rotation, market timing), and financial reporting requirements.

In the iGaming sector specifically, complexity extends to multi-jurisdictional operations, varied licensing regimes, complex affiliate and bonus structures, and intricate technology platforms. Valuing these companies requires understanding not just financial statements but also regulatory environments, competitive positioning across markets, and technology capabilities.

Private Operations

When asked about corporate structure, many private iGaming entrepreneurs respond with some variation of “the standard one” or “whatever my accountant recommended.” This reflects a reality where most private operations maintain relatively straightforward structures compared to public companies.

While private iGaming businesses certainly feature complexity in their operations—particularly regarding technology, licensing, and payment processing—their valuation structures remain simpler than the multi-layered frameworks surrounding public companies.

16. Financial Statements: Earnings Management vs. Tax Optimization

Public Gaming Companies

Public iGaming companies face pressure to manage earnings for external consumption, with executive compensation often tied to reported financial performance. This creates incentives to maximize reported earnings, sometimes through accounting choices that prioritize appearance over economic reality.

Wall Street rewards consistent, predictable growth, leading executives to smooth earnings over time through various accounting techniques. While companies stay within legal boundaries, aggressive accounting can obscure underlying business performance, making thorough due diligence essential.

Surface-level financial statements may appear stable while masking significant underlying issues. Analysts must dig deeper, adjusting for accounting choices to understand true economic performance. In iGaming specifically, revenue recognition timing, bonus provisioning, and treatment of customer acquisition costs can significantly impact reported results.

Private Operations

Private iGaming operators typically prioritize tax minimization over earnings maximization. Owners seek to reduce taxable income through aggressive deductions, expense recognition, and various tax strategies. This creates financial statements that understate true economic performance.

When valuing private iGaming businesses, extensive normalization and adjustment of financial statements becomes necessary. Analysts must add back owner compensation exceeding market rates, personal expenses run through the business, non-recurring items, and aggressive tax-motivated accounting choices to arrive at accurate economic earnings.

This fundamental difference means private company financial statements require skeptical analysis and substantial adjustments before meaningful valuation work can begin.

17. Geography: Global Operations vs. Regional Focus

Public Gaming Companies

Public iGaming companies increasingly operate globally, with major operators like Flutter Entertainment deriving revenue from multiple continents. Approximately 29% of S&P 500 companies’ revenue comes from international operations, illustrating how interconnected modern businesses have become.

This globalization complicates valuation considerably. Analysts must understand regulatory environments across jurisdictions, currency exchange impacts, varying tax regimes, and cultural preferences in different markets. Hypothetical regulatory changes in any major market can significantly affect valuations, as evidenced by how Chinese regulatory actions impact gaming companies with Asian exposure.

Consumer preference shifts, payment method adoption, and mobile penetration rates vary dramatically across geographies, requiring sophisticated analysis to build accurate valuation models. While complex, this global footprint also provides diversification benefits and access to high-growth emerging markets.

Private Operations

Most private iGaming businesses operate regionally or focus on specific markets rather than pursuing global expansion. This geographic concentration simplifies valuation analysis, as fewer variables need consideration. International trends typically affect private operators only through input costs or competitive dynamics rather than directly through operations.

However, for private iGaming companies that do maintain international operations—particularly those operating in multiple licensing jurisdictions—geographic considerations become more significant and require detailed assessment during valuation.

18. Valuation Methods: Sophisticated Models vs. EBITDA Multiples

Public Gaming Companies

Public company valuation employs sophisticated methodologies including discounted cash flow analysis, comparable company analysis using audited financials, and various scenario-based models. The relative standardization of GAAP financial reporting facilitates meaningful comparisons, though subjectivity remains in areas like revenue recognition and expense classification.

Detailed information availability and regular projections make DCF analysis more practical for public companies. Analysts can build multi-year models incorporating growth assumptions, margin improvements, capital requirements, and competitive dynamics. While these models contain uncertainties, they provide structured frameworks for thinking about value drivers.

The comparable company approach works particularly well for public iGaming firms given audited financials and extensive disclosure. Analysts can benchmark multiples, growth rates, margins, and other metrics across peers to identify relative value.

Private Operations

Private iGaming company valuation centers primarily on EBITDA multiples. When buyers and sellers discuss transactions, conversation inevitably revolves around “what multiple” rather than intricate DCF models or complex comparable analyses.

The prevalence of EBITDA multiples reflects practical realities: limited comparable transaction data, absence of audited financials in many cases, and significant subjectivity in normalizing financial statements. While some sophisticated buyers (particularly private equity firms) might build DCF models, most private iGaming transactions rely primarily on EBITDA multiples derived from industry experience and limited comparable transactions.

The scarcity of verified comparable transactions creates challenges. Private operators aren’t required to disclose deal terms, and when information surfaces, identifying details about the target company often remain hidden. Database submissions about private transactions introduce subjectivity—does EBITDA mean standard calculation or adjusted figures? These uncertainties compound valuation challenges.

iGaming-Specific Valuation Considerations

Beyond the general differences between public and private company valuations, the iGaming sector presents unique considerations that further complicate the analysis:

Regulatory Risk and Opportunity: The iGaming industry operates in a rapidly evolving regulatory landscape. In 2025, markets like California, Georgia, Minnesota, South Carolina, and Texas are considering legalization, while established markets like the UK continue tightening regulations. A company’s valuation depends heavily on which jurisdictions it operates in and its ability to adapt to changing regulatory environments.

Public iGaming stocks react violently to regulatory news, while private company valuations adjust more gradually through actual transaction activity. An operator with licenses in newly opened markets may command premium valuations, while those dependent on markets facing regulatory headwinds suffer discounts.

Technology and Platform Value: The quality of an iGaming operator’s technology platform significantly impacts valuation. Proprietary technology that enables better player experiences, faster integrations, or superior data analytics commands premium multiples. Conversely, operators relying heavily on third-party platforms may face valuation haircuts due to dependency risks and lower barriers to entry.

Public iGaming companies typically maintain sophisticated in-house technology teams and proprietary platforms, while many private operators license white-label or turnkey solutions. This technology differential creates substantial valuation gaps.

Player Database and Retention Metrics: The value of an established player database cannot be overstated in iGaming valuations. Customer acquisition costs in competitive markets can reach $500-1,000 per player, making existing player bases extraordinarily valuable. Operators with strong retention metrics, high player lifetime values, and engaged communities command significant premiums.

Private company valuations must carefully assess player database quality, including verification procedures, KYC compliance, engagement metrics, and monetization potential. Databases containing dormant accounts or questionable player quality deserve substantial discounts.

Affiliate Network Value: Established affiliate relationships represent another critical value driver. Operators with exclusive affiliate partnerships, proprietary affiliate networks, or strong CPA (cost per acquisition) economics benefit from sustainable competitive advantages.

The recent trend toward vertical integration—with operators acquiring significant affiliate properties—reflects recognition of this value. Companies controlling their traffic sources enjoy better economics and strategic flexibility.

Payment Processing and Banking Relationships: Reliable payment processing represents a significant competitive advantage in iGaming. Operators with established banking relationships, multiple payment method integrations, and favorable processing economics command valuation premiums.

Payment challenges plague many private iGaming operations, particularly those serving international markets. Valuation must account for payment processing stability, reserve requirements, and relationship quality with financial service providers.

Content Licensing and Game Portfolio: For online casino operators, the breadth and quality of game content significantly impacts player acquisition and retention. Operators with direct relationships with top-tier content providers like Evolution Gaming, Pragmatic Play, and NetEnt benefit from better economics and exclusive content opportunities.

Private operators often struggle to secure favorable terms with premium content providers, creating competitive disadvantages that should be reflected in valuations. The quality and exclusivity of content licensing agreements deserves careful assessment.

Current M&A Trends in the iGaming Industry

Understanding current deal activity provides context for how these valuation differences play out in practice. The iGaming M&A landscape in 2024-2025 reveals several notable trends:

Private Equity Activity: Private equity firms are increasingly active in the iGaming sector, attracted by strong cash flow generation, recurring revenue models, and consolidation opportunities. Recent deals include:

• Apollo Global Management’s $6.3 billion acquisition of IGT and Everi Holdings, creating a new private entity while spinning off IGT’s lottery business
• Brightstar Capital Partners’ $1.1 billion purchase of AGS at a 40% premium, valuing the company at $12.50 per share
• Silver Lake’s $13 billion take-private of Endeavor, which owns IMG ARENA and OpenBet, consolidating sports data and betting technology

These take-private transactions reflect private equity’s thesis that iGaming companies benefit from longer investment horizons and freedom from quarterly reporting pressures. The premium valuations paid in these transactions demonstrate confidence in the sector’s long-term prospects.

Consolidation and Scale-Building: The iGaming industry continues consolidating as operators pursue scale economies. Larger operators benefit from better content licensing terms, more efficient marketing spend, enhanced technology capabilities, and improved access to capital. This dynamic creates powerful incentives for M&A activity.

Strategic acquirers are particularly interested in operators with complementary geographic footprints, allowing rapid market entry without lengthy licensing processes. Technology acquisitions remain popular as operators seek proprietary capabilities in areas like personalization, AI-powered player insights, and responsible gambling tools.

Affiliate Consolidation: Operators increasingly recognize affiliate properties as strategic assets warranting acquisition. Owning traffic sources improves economics, reduces dependency on external partners, and creates SEO moats. Affiliate networks are consolidating to build larger media portfolios and negotiate better commercial terms.

Valuation Multiples: Private market EBITDA multiples for iGaming companies vary widely based on size, profitability, growth trajectory, and quality factors. Well-positioned operators with strong fundamentals might command 6-10x EBITDA, while smaller or challenged operators trade at 3-5x. Public market multiples tend toward 10-15x for established operators, with high-growth companies sometimes commanding 20x+ based on future potential.

These multiples fluctuate with market conditions, regulatory developments, and investor sentiment. The current environment features relatively strong valuations supported by sector growth, though increased regulatory scrutiny and competitive intensity in mature markets create headwinds.

Cross-Border Activity: International M&A activity is increasing as operators seek geographic diversification and access to emerging markets. Latin American markets like Brazil are attracting significant investment following regulatory modernization. African markets show promise given rising internet penetration and mobile-first gambling adoption.

Conclusion: Navigating Your iGaming Business Valuation

The differences between public and private company valuations in the iGaming sector are substantial, spanning time horizons, stakeholder complexity, information availability, and analytical sophistication. Understanding these distinctions is essential whether you’re considering selling your iGaming business, evaluating acquisition targets, or simply benchmarking your operation against industry standards.

Three fundamental insights emerge from this analysis:

Time Horizon Matters Most: The single biggest driver behind valuation differences is the temporal perspective of investors. Public market participants focus on quarters while private operators think in decades. This difference cascades through virtually every other factor, shaping incentives, information flow, complexity, and ultimately valuation.

Information Asymmetry Creates Gaps: Public companies benefit from extensive disclosure requirements creating information abundance, while private operators maintain confidentiality creating information scarcity. This asymmetry means private company valuations involve greater uncertainty, wider ranges, and more subjectivity compared to data-rich public analysis.

Complexity Multiplies in Public Markets: Public companies inherently carry greater complexity across capital structures, stakeholder management, regulatory compliance, and global operations. This complexity requires sophisticated analytical tools and expertise but also enables more precise valuation through standardized frameworks.

For iGaming entrepreneurs and operators, these insights have practical implications. If you’re building a business with eventual sale in mind, understand that private market buyers will focus heavily on historical EBITDA, quality of earnings, and normalized cash flow rather than optimistic projections. Maintaining clean financials, documenting business processes, and establishing strong operational metrics will maximize your valuation when that time comes.

For those acquiring iGaming businesses, recognize that private company valuations require extensive normalization work and careful due diligence. Don’t rely solely on presented financial statements—dig deeper to understand true economic performance, customer economics, regulatory positioning, and sustainability of competitive advantages.

The iGaming industry’s continued growth, expanding regulatory acceptance, and technological innovation create compelling opportunities for both buyers and sellers. However, navigating these opportunities successfully requires sophisticated understanding of how valuations work in this unique sector.

Whether your iGaming business is generating $500,000 or $50 million in annual revenue, understanding how it would be valued by potential acquirers or investors empowers better strategic decision-making. The 18 factors explored in this guide provide a framework for that understanding, enabling more informed discussions with business brokers, M&A advisors, and potential transaction partners.

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If you’re considering a transaction involving an iGaming business—whether as buyer or seller—working with specialized M&A advisors and business brokers who understand the sector’s unique valuation dynamics is essential. The complexity of iGaming transactions, from regulatory considerations to technology assessments to player database valuation, requires expertise that general M&A professionals may lack.

As the industry continues evolving through 2025 and beyond, staying informed about valuation trends, deal activity, and market dynamics will remain critical for anyone involved in the iGaming sector. The companies that best understand these valuation principles—and position themselves accordingly—will be best prepared to capitalize on the industry’s significant opportunities.