Start a online casino
New casino sites to play real money
There are several requirements and operational steps that need to be fulfilled to launch an online casino. These steps include having a global gambling licence, a legally owned domain address, an operational gambling company and bank accounts, payment gateways, certified software, and game providers. Softgamings provide the full service for each of these requirements and guide you through the steps of launching your online casino. Looks do count! A well-designed website is what counts the most when attracting and retaining customers, as it indicates better visual information of your landing pages and raises brand value significantly. The design must be of a superior quality, attractive and differentiated among other platforms of a similar kind.Do not overuse various graphical elements that will not only push the visitor away but will also overload the work of the system. It is also important to take care of the front-end integration with your database, add or improve existing navigation usability, as its layout is critical to your website performance. Make sure that the transfer from the website to the platform and provider’s game page stays invisible to users.If you would like to create a unique website for your casino, but still not sure if you can deal with it on your own, softgamings is here to help you out. We can offer full-scale redesign solutions, ready-made templates or even custom ones to meet your needs.
How to start an online casino in 6 steps (2020 update)
Gaming — an industry where billions are made and trillions are crawling its way up. Online gaming marketplace provides endless possibilities for growth and being part of this growth is equally exciting and rewarding. However, the growth itself is far from being a simple and uniform process. In life every journey starts with one small step, followed by another, likewise in gaming business. Approaches do not differ much, but how can one enter without little to no knowledge how and where to start?
Online casino business
Online casino business is a profitable business that is desirable to explore by interested business-minded individuals regardless of their previous experience. The enterprise has turned out to be one of the leading internet businesses in the world today that offers maximum profit over a relatively short period of time. However, you can come on board into the market either as an igaming casino operator or as an online casino affiliate.
If you wish you to kick-start your online casino business as an igaming casino operator, the costs of starting the business are much higher, and the laws and licensing are vast as well, but the casino business eventually yields great profits as soon as it gets accepted by casino customers in the gaming market. Also, you can plan to start this online business as an online casino affiliate, and this can be quite easy and profitable if you have the essential experience and skills in internet marketing.
As you can see, the business is very profitable and lucrative. But for you to start an online casino business that is successful and outstanding in the shortest time frame, you have to build your business around customers’ pleasure and satisfaction. With this in mind, you have to invest a lot of dedication and an enormous amount of work into your enterprise for it to achieve the expected success.
Some of the investments include an utter dedication to the latest cutting-edge technologies, your online casino must feature exciting and engaging game content with attractive promotion and bonus system, and it must be compatible with all platforms. Therefore, to enjoy the maximum profits and high return on investments available on this type of business, you must also be ready to pay the required sacrifices.
Starting an online casino business could be the one single step you might really have to take for you to grow your existing casinos or to start generating money from the igaming industry.
Below are the stepwise instructions as highlighted by softgamings on how you can start your online casino business.
Key steps to start your own online casino:
- Choose reliable software providers
- Select gambling content
- Get a gaming licence
- Secure verified methods of payment
- Create the online casino website
- Concentrate on marketing and promotion activities
1. Choose reliable software providers
Acquiring a high-quality gambling software is by far the most crucial step in opening an online casino, as it will both set and determine its performance expectations, so securing a deal with the trusted software provider is an absolute must. It’s in your own best interests to evaluate everything, starting from pricing and terms of guarantees to gaming reviews and security features.Pay particular attention to gaming content, individual cooperation conditions, certifications and the technical support, which has to come as a part of the whole package.Unfortunately, it is oftentimes easy to lose sight of business objectives, especially during the pre-opening stage when you are still questioning what is relevant about your online casino business and what is not. Softgamings will gladly help every step of the way by offering a full-service provider package, including licensing, 3,000+ games and even binary options.
2. Selecting the gambling content for your online casino website
As a rule, players judge your business based on your games. To attract as many of them as possible, it is important to put emphasis on the diversity of the gaming content.The website should support effortless integration and contain the most exciting and popular slots, poker, roulette, blackjack, bingo, baccarat. Having a live casino with real dealers and live video streaming features is fundamental for your business. In that way, you create a real casino presence for online gamblers to enjoy.Give a try, add virtual sport and the ever-popular sportsbook to tap into sport’s popularity among avid betters. Softgamings can offer any game beyond this list, guaranteed to be the great source of entertainment.
3. Get a gaming licence
Legal framework differs from country to country, therefore, the licensing process can be burdensome as such. The regulated market involves a handful of countries where there are predefined gambling requirements.Countries can be divided into the following categories:
- Countries governing their markets
- Countries governing their markets and having a monopoly
- Countries where gambling is prohibited
- Countries that do not regulate their market
- Create the online casino website
- Concentrate on marketing and promotion activities
The most popular gambling jurisdictions are united kingdom, malta, alderney, isle of man, curacao, and gibraltar. The determinant factors while selecting the jurisdiction are its reputation, licence duration and the price of the licence. Softgamings is ready to assist you with filling the licensing documentation for the turnkey casino. This can last longer than a month, but if you want to start operating your casino as soon as possible, we recommend you to use our licence through the white label casino system.
4. Secure verified methods of payment
Online casino is by all means an international pursuit, no wonder it should comprise international commercial transactions: both sending and receiving international payments.Clearly, you have to double check if your casino supports integration with major e-payment systems, otherwise players won’t be able to deposit funds or withdraw their winnings. Ignoring traditional payment methods which employ credit cards and vouchers is a disastrous business practice that can put your reputation at risk.To secure verified payment methods for your online casino, you should sign multiple agreements with payment system providers committed to transaction security. You can stay flexible with softgamings payment processing platform that encompasses a full range of high-calibre services for your online casino, including multicurrency support, antifraud, advanced risk management and the integration with 50+ most popular payment systems.
5. Website creation
Looks do count! A well-designed website is what counts the most when attracting and retaining customers, as it indicates better visual information of your landing pages and raises brand value significantly. The design must be of a superior quality, attractive and differentiated among other platforms of a similar kind.Do not overuse various graphical elements that will not only push the visitor away but will also overload the work of the system. It is also important to take care of the front-end integration with your database, add or improve existing navigation usability, as its layout is critical to your website performance. Make sure that the transfer from the website to the platform and provider’s game page stays invisible to users.If you would like to create a unique website for your casino, but still not sure if you can deal with it on your own, softgamings is here to help you out. We can offer full-scale redesign solutions, ready-made templates or even custom ones to meet your needs.
6. Concentrate on marketing and promotion activities
Marketing is a final step. When you are completely ready to open your own online casino, it will be necessary to develop an effective marketing strategy and set up an effective affiliate system that surely enables website engagement and increases traffic. Softgamings supports integration with the most popular affiliate management programmes and campaign tools like netrefer, incomeaccess, EGASS and unisender.In order to win over a new audience and keep loyal visitors satisfied at all time, introduce loyalty programmes, set up bonus systems and retention campaigns to motivate your players’ return. Explore competitors, identify their mistakes and try to avoid them in the activity of your own platform.All in all, starting a gambling business seems tricky, simply because it is so. However, it is possible to skip the “tricky” part and create an efficient casino site in the shortest possible time if you decide to joint efforts and choose to partner with softgamings.
How much does it cost to open casino
How much you will pay for online casino development is a question to which there is no clear and unambiguous answer, because every minor detail counts here. If you want to have a casino designed from the ground up, your definitive estimate will be higher than if you are fine with a templated design solution. A game package of five providers will cost you higher than this of one provider. Examples abound. Anyway, get in touch with our expert guys to get a quote for your project cost, and they will provide you with an accurate estimate based on your online casino project preferences.Broadly speaking, you will have to incur expenses on the pre-launch and post-launch stages of casino development. The former encompasses software setup expenses (around 30-40% of overall costs), marketing activities (30-40%), licensing procedures (10-20%) and some other areas of expenditure, including remunerations. The first phase of development efforts is normally more money-gobbling than the second, maintenance part of the project. As soon as your online casino is finalized and is in successful operation, you still have expenses, but they would probably be lower, with the most money-consuming item being marketing and promotion, which accounts for nearly half of the total expenses. Other operational expenditures include salaries to personnel (bookkeepers, various experts, managers, etc.), license charges, monthly/yearly royalties to game providers, and a host of other things. Spendings on this stage tend to pay back very quickly and are greatly alleviated by increasing incomes that your casino visitors generate (provided you have done everything right).
Pre-launch expenses | after-launch expenses | ||
---|---|---|---|
company set up | 5-7% | licence fees | 5-15% |
licence | 10-30% | software support | 10-15% |
software set up | 30-40% | games providers | 15-20% |
staff | 10-20% | marketing | 50% |
marketing | 20-40% | staff | 10-20% |
other | 10-20% | other | 10-20% |
2020 update
Being the above points always important for building an online casino, technologies and market demands do not stand still. What are the latest trends in the online casino industry? To start with, cryptocurrencies. Although this trend did not emerge yesterday, it is still among the ruling ones. Many people still buy, trade, mine and spend bitcoins, ethereum, litecoins and newly appeared currencies, which is used by casino operators, among others.
Paying with cryptocurrencies in online casinos is convenient for both an operator and a player since the player stays anonymous, and the operator receives his money quickly, avoiding intermediaries. So, if you plan to open your own casino, think about integrating a payment system that supports cryptocurrencies.
By the way, payments in cryptocurrencies are not the only way to get use of this invention. You can also create the whole project based on the blockchain system, the world’s leading platform for digital assets. In 2020, we see innovative projects, emerging on the market, the projects that build their own gaming systems on blockchain. While these projects are not many and every company uses its own technology to provide its products and services, you can start a similar project and have a very big success potential.
Note, for operating such a project, you will need a respective license. This is all about cryptocurrencies for now. Let us follow the changes in the industry and see how these innovations will turn out.
Of course, there are more things to pay attention to in 2020, and yet another one is gamification. Gamification is basically turning a ‘boring’ process into a more user-friendly experience, making it similar to some kind of a game.
Usually, gamification elements include badges, points, leaderboards, competition elements and rules of play. Examples of it are found in the games themselves, back offices, marketing elements etc. The more interactive and feature-rich product you create, the more engaging it becomes.
There are 5 main steps that will help you develop a working gamification strategy:
- Know who your players are
- Find out their goals
- Understand their motivation and triggers
- Introduce gamification elements
- Monitor the effect you get from using gamification
Basically, if you use at least these two innovative features in your online casino, you have much higher chances to succeed. But don’t forget about the basics of creating any online casino, especially about marketing and promotion. So, good luck in creating your own casino, be it very rewarding business, and keep track of the innovation of the igaming industry!
Licence & legality
Is it legal to operate?
Numerous countries have legalised online gambling platforms. If your platform is licensed and your game providers are certified by the authorised organisations/laboratories, then you can operate in any of these countries. The global gambling market is out there for your venture.
What is a gambling licence?
A gambling licence is a juridical prerequisite needed to create a legal platform. Several global and local authorities provide gambling licences, such as curaçao egaming or malta gaming authority.
And why do I need a licence?
The licence is a major requirement for a gaming platform to cooperate with payment providers and gaming software providers. It is also a prerequisite for having a good reputation in the global market of the igaming industry and a medium to gain credibility among players.
Online casino platform
What are the requirements to establish an online casino?
There are several requirements and operational steps that need to be fulfilled to launch an online casino. These steps include having a global gambling licence, a legally owned domain address, an operational gambling company and bank accounts, payment gateways, certified software, and game providers. Softgamings provide the full service for each of these requirements and guide you through the steps of launching your online casino.
What is the difference between white label/turnkey/self-service? Which one is better for me?
White label is a ready-to-go solution perfect both for operators who have decent experience in casino traffic generation and for those who are new in the industry and have a strong interest in becoming casino operators. The white label solution is a time and cost-efficient solution that requires few human resources to operate; however, it requires some additional conditions to be met. The turnkey solution, on the other hand, is a more advanced solution for those who are interested in the self-owned corporate structure and licencing; a fully customised solution and platform design is tailor-made for each customer. The turnkey solution takes more time to be established but provides more independence regarding the operation. Self-service is the best fitting solution for those who would like to design and develop their own platforms. If you need further assistance to determine the best solution for your needs, you can contact our customer service.
How much does a platform cost?
The prices vary from one solution to another. Therefore, please contact our customer service to get a personalised quote.
How long will it take from start to finish?
The process depends on the solution. The white label solution takes approximately two to three months to complete. On the other hand, turnkey and self-service projects can take much longer, as the customisations of the platform depend on the customers’ needs and preferences.
Is it possible to have a kiosk (betting shop) solution as well?
Yes. We also provide kiosk (betting shop or closed platform) solutions, as well as our online solutions. You can contact us to find out more about it.
Is it possible to see a demo?
Of course! You are always welcome to contact our client managers who can provide you with a demo and introduce you to our software!
API integration
How long does it take to integrate?
The length of the API integration process depends on several factors, such as the type of providers to be integrated, the due diligence processes, the availability of the operator’s IT team, and the size of the package. While the shortest integration can be completed within 48 hours, it is always advisable to speak to our managers to determine the exact time and the process of the required integration.
How do I choose the best providers for me?
Our customer managers will assist you in choosing the most favourable providers, taking into account your target market and the gambling focus.
What is the difference between taking the API from softgamings and going to the provider directly?
There are several advantages our API services have. First of all, we offer on our platform a large variety of the world’s most prominent and renowned game providers. We can provide bundles and packages of the solution with a single integration, which is much more cost and time efficient compared to contacting and integrating each provider separately.
Is it possible to see a demo of the games as well?
Yes, we also offer a demo of our game providers. If you want to receive a demo invitation, please do not hesitate to contact our client managers.
Technical
Who is the owner of the software?
All rights of the software belong to softgamings as the solemn developer and distributor. The platform is maintained by our development & IT team and is only distributed as a closed-source. The front-end design and the casino brand-name is the property of the platform operator.
And who is the owner of the client database?
The client database is the property of the platform operator.
Does the platform support various languages?
The back office platform currently offers service in english, russian, german, and turkish. The front end, on the other hand, can be translated to any language of the operator’s preference, either by our translators or the operators themselves.
Space for your question
Feel free to leave your questions, and the softgamings support will get back to you shortly.
How to start an online casino
Introduction
With the world of online gambling generating billions of dollars every year, there are some obvious attractions to starting your own online casino. For starters, increasingly sophisticated payment and back-office systems mean that it's far from the technical challenge it once was. The overall size of the market is also a factor. Capturing even a small percentage of the profit from that very large pie could be a very nice thing indeed.
Want to play? Try the best online casinos
For the vast majority of us, owning an actual casino is very much out of reach, but an online one? Not nearly as much. In fact, it's a more feasible option now than it's ever been and, with the market continually expanding, the potential for profits isn't disappearing anytime soon. Be aware, however, this isn't a path to instant riches but the profits on offer certainly make it worth your while setting up your own casino, as we'll see below.
Online casinos software providers
The vast majority of online casinos are powered by a small group of specialist software providers. They will provide the core of your casino's identity so your choice here is extremely important. The software solution you go for will run your whole casino and determine which games are available, the type of customer support structure that will be in place, and (to a certain extent) what the overall look and feel of your casino will be like.
The number of providers in this space is relatively small and we recommend staying with one of the larger providers. Here's a quick run-down of the main casino software providers:
Microgaming: microgaming markets itself as the largest casino software provider in the world and has a good claim to being one of the oldest also as it's older than playtech by five years. Microgaming has constantly adapted over the years to stay ahead of the competition, with a constant goal of offering customers the best possible online gaming experience. Their product suite isn't limited to online casino games either – microgaming also offers sportsbook betting software and land-based casino software options. Microgaming are known for being one of the main movers behind the interactive gaming council (IGC) and the standards organisation ecogra. Microgaming provide the highest standards of security and transparency so users can rest assured the tables are never rigged against them. Microgaming casinos also have a reputation as some of the most profitable casinos for affiliates and operators.
Playtech: playtech is one of the world's leading online casino software providers and the only one currently listed on the london stock exchange. Founded in 1999, the company has continuously focused on state-of-the-art technology to ensure the best gaming experience for all.
Playtech's software is available for all types of devices, so your casino will be covered across all options for web browsers, downloadable games and mobile devices. Playtech offers single accounts that are guaranteed to work across all options seamlessly and also enjoy an excellent reputation for security.
Real time gaming: when you're on the hunt for online casino software, RTG is usually one of the first names that pops up. This company offers something for everyone, with options available for everything from poker games and sports betting software to free mobile software. RTG has earned a reputation for reliability and trustworthiness over the years, along with providing consistently innovative and entertaining gaming solutions.
The three names we've covered above are by no means the only options out there but they are some of the most established and all have world-class reputations for reliability and security. If you're considering other providers, be sure to do your due diligence and research their offerings thoroughly.
Once you've selected a provider, you will be faced with costs to get things up and running. There are two types of contracts available that you should know about. The first one is direct and complete purchase of the software. This isn't usually available from larger suppliers such as the ones we've highlighted above. Some smaller providers will, however, sell you the entire software package which leaves you free to run it yourself, with no additional fees, and keep all the profits. There are a few downsides here to bear in mind. The main ones are that these tend to be smaller companies without the broad range of games that are needed to compete in an ever more competitive market, and you'll be responsible for all of the upkeep yourself.
The second method – and the one used by all the major companies – is a monthly licensing fee for the software, plus a percentage of the profits you make on top. For a fully functional and expansive casino you can expect monthly fees of $12000 or more, plus as much as 15% of your profits, which can be significant costs per annum when added up.
Given the costs, choosing which provider to go with is obviously a decision you do not make overnight, and there are several key considerations to work through. The range and quality of games on offer are obviously of paramount importance so you'll want to spend a considerable amount of time going through what's on offer. You'll also want to factor in which jurisdictions they support and other aspects of the license such as whether they support tie-ins with land-based casinos and what type of customer support is bundled in. Regardless of which option you go for, you'll have to be prepared to invest a significant amount of money but it is still very much worth breaking down the differences between various providers to make sure you're getting the best possible value.
Payment methods
The next decision you face concerns payment infrastructure. These days, luckily, there is a wide range of payment providers to choose from including all the standard credit/debit card merchants and e-wallet providers that you're already doubtless familiar with. Paypal is probably the most widely known and accepted e-wallet provider but firms such as neteller and skrill are becoming increasingly popular. The traditional option of wire transfer is also still very much available.
Having as many payment options available as possible on your casino site is obviously the best option to attract customers. Be aware that there will be fees associated with all of these payments. You can expect to see as much as 4% of payments disappear in charges for these transactions so it's prudent to steer customers to the lower fee methods where possible. In terms of merchant services, credit and debit cards attract high fees but are ubiquitous, and offer security for both casino and customer. Similarly, paypal offers world-class security with its various systems, and their fees are comparable to the card merchants.
Neteller and skrill offer a similar service to paypal and have become a preferred payment solution for many customers. You'll still want to accommodate the major providers such as paypal and credit cards simply because their presence acts as a trust signal in its own right. Not having these options on offer can actually harm your overall credibility.
When it comes to offering wire transfer, you'll need to factor in that these transactions take longer to process, though the associated fees are much lower. It's a potentially very useful option if you're, for example, focusing your casino on the asian market where options such as e-wallets may not be as widely available due to geographical restrictions.
The final option to consider for payments are prepaid cards. This is a relatively new class of payment options where companies such as paysafe are leading the way and making increasing inroads into the market. They're a very convenient option for certain classes of customers so you should consider offering them as an additional payment method on your casino site.
Licensing
For legal reasons, your casino needs to be licensed. In order to combat the explosion of less than reputable casinos that occurred in the early days of online casinos, several licensing boards have been set up in a variety of global jurisdictions. There are two main types of online casino jurisdiction for you to choose from: those in mainland european union countries, and those in smaller offshore islands like malta.
As a budding online casino operator, your first licensing decision is to decide which jurisdiction you wish to operate under. This is an important choice and there are numerous factors involved that you'll need to consider in terms of how your casino runs, your profitability, and the startup costs you face.
You'll find different rules associated with what you can offer and to whom when it comes to licensing. For instance, some jurisdictions will expressly forbid allowing residents of the united states to gamble at casinos under their regulations, whilst others do not offer any restrictions at all. Tax is another aspect to consider, some offer tax free status to the offshore entity that runs the casino, where others do not. The cost of the license and amount of bureaucracy involved can also vary widely between countries.
The final point to bear in mind (and one that many prospective owners foolishly ignore) is perception – what does the location say about your casino? The reputation of a particular jurisdiction can cause issues with your casino’s reputation, both positively and negatively. Casinos based in gibraltar or the isle of man, for example, carry an association of reliability and security due to the tight controls over operational and fiscal activities that are in place there.
All of the factors we've mentioned above can make a significant difference to the feasibility and day-to-day operation of your online casino so you should be sure to carry out thorough research before committing to a particular decision. Also bear in mind that the licensing process itself can take a considerable amount of time, anywhere from two months to a year depending on your choice of location. In malta, for instance, it usually takes six months for an application to be finalised and a license issued.
When it comes to making your decision, there are two general approaches you can take:
- A rules based approach: this leads to a lower entry outlaw but higher running costs.
- A principles based approach: this results in lowered day-to-day running costs at the expense of higher startup costs.
The costs of licensing begin at the application stage where the majority of options come with a large advisory and legal bill attached. The amounts here can vary and will depend on your history and the complexity of your casino operation. For a highly reputable jurisdiction such as gibraltar using the principles based approach, the legal and associated fees of the application can amount to anything up to $1 million. You'll then also need to factor in the cost of your equipment and other expenses such as web hosting. Other jurisdictions such as alderney will also attract high legal fees, but the license itself runs at $75k per year. In gibraltar your costs will vary by turnover but can be as high as $400k a year. As with all of our points, you'll need to do extensive research as the cost variations you'll find are large.
You'll also need to set up a company in the jurisdiction of the licensing authority. Options available here vary considerably. Some territories require at least one resident of the country to hold a position amongst the management, others require a set number of employees, and others still have no restrictions at all. The key here is to make sure you fully understand, and comply, with all the requirements, as not doing so will see your license disappear and potentially leave you with nothing. Make sure you fully research the legal implications of each option you're considering.
Operations
You'll obviously need staff for the day-to-day running of your casino. Areas you'll need to consider include customer support staff, technical staff (depending on your setup). You'll also need to make a hefty initial banking deposit to cover any large wins as you can never be sure when these will occur and need to be covered at all times.
Another operational concern that you'll need to deal with is that of security. Depending on which software provider you go with for your online casino, much of the heavy lifting may already be taken care of, but you'll still be responsible for making sure financial and technical security systems and processes are in place and for monitoring possible threats.
Marketing
There's no getting around it, marketing your casino is essential. With the marketplace becoming ever more crowded, marketing is assuming an increasingly important role in terms of attracting a solid customer base.
One of the most popular marketing tactics in the industry is going down the affiliate marketing route. This is where affiliates market your casino on your behalf and receive a fee based on how many customers they can attract to your casino. How this fee is arranged varies considerably. Some pay a fee per new customer, but the general arrangement is a percentage of what revenue the new customer generates. These percentages can be quite high. 32red for example (one of the market leaders), pays 25% of each customer’s monthly revenue to the affiliate.
Affiliates use a variety of techniques to obtain new customers for your casino. The majority of them will employ a website and domain of their own that they use SEO techniques and other marketing solutions to promote. Using trackable ads and links, these sites then direct the customers to your site.
Recruiting affiliates can be tricky but you'll see that most casinos have a link to their affiliate scheme listed prominently on the main page. The best affiliates are usually experienced players who understand the market, but you can also use specialty affiliate websites to recruit, or even attend conferences and recruit gambling aficionados that way.
Aside from the affiliate system, you will also need to market the casino yourself, via SEO, SEM and other online marketing techniques. This can be done in-house or via specialist companies that will promote your site for you. Be sure to fully research any third-party companies you're considering employing as some less than reputable outfits use underhand marketing techniques that can damage your brand over the long term.
Alternatives
If all this sounds far too expensive and involved, and for many it will be, you are probably wondering if there are any alternatives. Luckily there are! The first is the so-called white label casino option. In this instance, the casino provider covers all aspects of the infrastructure, including licenses, software, payment processing and so on. You simply pay them a fee for the casino itself and then an ongoing percentage of the profits. This is a great way to dip your toe into the online casino world, and is considerably cheaper than any other option out there.
Another alternative is running a bitcoin casino as these are not currently required to be licensed, though this is likely to change. You'll still face startup costs of course, but nothing like the levels required for a full online casino.
Conclusion
Setting up an online casino is far more involved than many think, and the level of cost can be frightening. However, for well-run, successful casinos the profits on offer more than justify the costs. Even a $1 million outlay could be easily recouped by a solidly run online casino within a year.
For some people, the affiliate route will be the one to go down. With payments as high as 35% of user revenue per month on offer, there is certainly some profit to be found there. For others, going down the white label route will represent a happy medium.
As we've stressed throughout the article, carrying out extensive research is an essential first step towards setting up your own online casino. We hope this article has pointed you in the right direction and given you some valuable resources you can lean on to make the right long-term decision.
How to start an online casino business
Ready to roll the dice? With casinos accounting for more than half online gambling income, it could promise your wheel of fortune.
Huge numbers of new businesses are started up each year and with barriers to entry lower for online ventures and a propensity for consumers to transact more via mobile devices there are opportunities to be had.
One particular area that has seen huge growth in the recent past has been the online casino. By offering a service that people want, and having the right technology to deliver it online, gaming has even managed to attract many players more used to indulging their passion in the land-based casinos.
In fact, the gambling commission says online gambling represents a third of all gambling in the UK now and generated £4.5bn gross gambling yield between april 2015 and march 2016. This makes online gambling the biggest gambling sector – out-performing the national lottery (£3.4bn) high street betting shops (£3.3bn), and traditional casinos £1bn).
£2.6bn of the money generated via online gambling came via casino games, with the rest of the £4.5bn generated via betting exchanges, bingo, pool betting, and online slot machines. You might also be surprised to know that women represent more than half of UK gamers, with 54% of gamers citing their smartphone as their favourite gaming platform, followed by computers, consoles and tablets.
Plus, with ever more involving experiences being delivered – from the live online casino to the huge potential of virtual reality – it’s a business area that looks certain to be even more lucrative in the future.
So how do you exploit this obviously growing market? Here are some of the key questions to consider:
Who is your target audience?
The first thing must be to have a clear idea of how your online casino or gaming site is going to stand out from the rest. For example it could have a particular demographic in mind or have a distinctive theme, maybe retro-styled games. It’s a crowded field so it really will pay to have a good idea of your brand and its identity.
Bespoke or off-the-shelf software?
Then there are the technical aspects to consider. You’ll have the choice of buying software off-the-shelf which you can use as it comes or of commissioning a bespoke version. The former is always going to be the cheaper route but the latter will give you greater flexibility to create exactly the games that you want.
How should it look?
The design is also vitally important and certainly not an area to skimp on. Not only will it reinforce your identity, the slicker and more professional it looks the greater the trust it will generate – an essential element in any gaming site.
What should the user ‘journey' look like?
Linked to the design is the user experience. If you’re going to become successful the site must be simple and intuitive to use. So be prepared to do plenty of testing on the way, getting real people to play games on the site long before it goes live.
How have other online casinos evolved?
It’s also well worth looking at the stages that major online casinos have gone though to reach where they are today as this could provide a blueprint for your own success.
If you take 888casino as an example you’ll see 20 years of constant evolution in which the brand was developed, new divisions were set up and sub-brands were introduced. The company has also been gradually expanding its operations into new countries and markets, often as new legislation has been introduced permitting online gaming.
Of course, not every fledgling business is going to grow to the size of a company with a multi-million pound turnover and you may not be quite as successful as some online gaming entrepreneurs. But then, if you never try, you’re never going to know for sure.
How to start your own online casino in less than 5 minutes
How to start your own online casino in less than 5 minutes
You may be quite surprised to learn that starting your very own online casino could take as little as 5 minutes and, getting the ball rolling is a lot easier than you may think. Online casinos are enormously popular with all demographics and internet users. In fact, online casino gambling is the leading form of internet-based gaming, according to many experts.
So, how hard is it to start your own online casino? According to industry insiders, starting a real money online casino can be quite a headache, with plenty of factors that one needs to take into consideration. For example, there are gaming licenses that need to be applied for, and online casino software providers that need to be partnered with. Not to mention the significant amount of startup and running capital needed to keep the venture alive in its critical first few months.
As it turns out, starting an online casino is actually quite difficult, which is probably why the vast majority of online casinos are part of a network or syndicate. But what if you could be part of a brand new network where all the online casinos that are a part of that network represent an entirely new way of gambling online?
This is where zeroedge comes into the picture with an entirely new evolution in online casino gambling. Zeroedge is the first online casino that is able to offer a range of online casino games, including slots, roulette, blackjack, poker, and more. While that hardly sounds unique in and of itself, the thing that sets zeroedge apart from every other online casino on the web is the fact that zeroedge is able to offer every one of its online casino games at a 0% house edge.
This essentially means that, unlike all other online casinos, zeroedge does not hold any unfair advantage over its players because this casino is not motivated by profits made on player’s losses. Instead, zeroedge focuses on making a profit from the sale of its own unique currency called zerocoin.
Get in on the ground floor
The chance to play 0% house edge casino games with an exclusive internet currency is proving to be irresistible with many disgruntled online gamblers, with thousands now moving to zeroedge gambling. Zeroedge is expanding and is giving internet-savvy entrepreneurs the chance to be part of its new 0% house edge online casino network. Since demand is growing, so does the price of zerocoin, giving you a great opportunity to earn.
Zeroedge is presenting a white label internet casino solution to anyone interested and the process to get the ball rolling on your very own casino couldn’t be simpler. Just follow these simple steps to initiate the process:
- Visit the zeroedge bet website
- Fill in the easy application form
- Send your zerocoins to bankroll
That’s all it takes to start your own cryptocurrency based online casino and have it up and running under the zeroedge domain in less than 5 minutes. Who said owning an online casino had to be hard work?
How to start your online casino website today
Choose a reliable casino software to satisfy all your requirements
Offered by casinowebscripts.Com
A turnkey casino software represents the backbone of your whole business and choosing a high-quality product can transform your venture into a successful one. A GLI-19 certified casino software (like the one developed by casinowebscripts.Com) means that it was tested by an accredited company (such as BMM testlabs) and it is bug-free. It also means that the software has all the features that you will require in order to conduct all the gaming operations legally and without any hassle.
Casinowebscripts can provide you with GLI-19 certified software and custom development services to make sure that your software will have all the features that you require.
Choose the games that you prefer
Offered by casinowebscripts.Com
Keeping your players entertained can be done through games and tournaments. The quality of a game is always more important than the number of games that your casino has. We've seen many websites that offer just a few games and make more money than the ones offering 1000+ games, this is because of the uniquness of their games. Casinowebscripts has developed over 180 unique casino games using high-definition graphics and attractive features which can be combined with the bonus tools from the software for a better player retention and acquisition rate.
Rent a webserver and start your online casino
Service not offered by casinowebscripts.Com - takes 1h to obtain, we can provide guidance
In order to run an online casino website from casinowebscripts, you will need a webserver as described here. This can be obtained with low costs and no difficulties and it will ensure that you have full access to your gaming operations. Once your server is ready, we can install the online casino and get you ready for the next step.
Apply for a gaming license
Service not offered by casinowebscripts.Com - takes a few weeks to obtain, we can provide guidance
Legal obligations are different from country to country. In some countries, a gambling license is not required or it can be obtained quite easily, while in other countries, the costs are very high and it requires months to get approved.
In some countries, for bitcoin casinos no gambling license is required. You can read more here.
If your country has a difficult policy for obtaining a gambling license, you can always consider an offshore license. More details about offshore gambling license can be found here.
Promote your online casino
Service not offered by casinowebscripts.Com
Q:how much does it cost to start an online casino?
We have solutions for all the budgets, all of them with 0% monthly fees. A larger budget allows you to have a wider variety of games and features and to be able to attract more players. The cost for an online casino starts at 10000 EURO and increases based on the games that you prefer.
You can read more details about our prices and special deals here. You can see the complete list of games and their prices here.
Q:what do I need to start an online casino?
You will need to buy from us the casino software and the casino games. To run them, you will need a webserver and a web domain, from any web hosting company. After that, you may need a gambling license and a payment processor. The final requirement would be a budget to invest in marketing.
Q:how long does it take to deliver and do you offer support?
We can deliver an online casino in 24 hours and we provide lifetime support, for free. The support includes answering any questions about our products and fixing any problems that may be caused by our code.
Q:can I use the system for land-based casino, betting-shop or sweepstakes cafe?
Yes, you can contact us for more information.
Q:what payment methods are available for player deposits?
Any payment method that you want can be integrated, but it will come with an extra cost. Cryptocurrency (bitcoin,ETH,etc.) payments are also available.
General information
Using our products, you get the opportunity to start your online casino website in 24 hours, without having to pay any monthly fees (you get to keep 100% of your revenue).
Technical support is included, free of charge, for lifetime (some conditions apply).
All the files and database will be installed on your server and there will be no dependancy towards our servers.
Supported casino currencies: any real money currency, bitcoin or other cryptocurrency that you want (we support over 1000 cryptocurrencies).
Getting started is simple and it can be done in just a few minutes by following the next steps:
How to place your order with casinowebscripts.Com
Select your software version
Go to our casino software page and "add to cart" the casino software version that you prefer. This is the backbone of the casino and it is required to manage and run your casino. It can be used with as many games as you want, and you only have to pay for it once. It includes the casino lobby for the users to register, login, make deposits, see statistics and play the games, as well as a very detailed administrator panel with very many statistics and features to help you manage the casino. The casino software is GLI-19 certified. For demo access, click here.
Price starts at 7,500 EURO, no games included.
Select your games
Go to our casino games page or to our promotional games package page and choose the games that you want to have on your website. Each game has a live demo for you to test before purchasing.
You can buy more casino games at any time after you start your online casino. You can also buy the games as copyright-CWS, and then upgrade to no-copyright or source code version, by paying the price difference between the two versions, plus a 50 EUR fee/game for removing the copyright if you upgraded from copyright-CWS version.
For bitcoin casinos, only the no-copyright version of the games is available.
Price for 1 game starts at 700 EURO (flash games) and 900 EURO (mobile games)
Submit your order
Click the cart button on top right of the screen, SAVE your package and then reply to the email that was sent to your inbox.
Finalize the terms
You will be contacted by us in a few hours to discuss the final details and you will be sent a business contract that will require your signature in order to finalise the order.
We will also need to know the web domain of your casino, since the software license for the products covers only 1 casino website.
Send the payment
Once the contract is signed, we will send you the invoice and details for the payment. We accept payment via wire bank transfer or bitcoins. After we will receive the payment, you will receive the software, along with the documentation and the games. Free installation is included. If you do not wish to grant us login access to your webserver, then we can provide you with installation instructions so that you can do the installation yourself or we can do a remote installation through teamviewer.
Rent a webserver
In order to do the installation and to run your casino website, you will need to have a web server and a web domain. You can rent one for around 60 EUR per month from any web hosting companies. Our recommandations are to choose a VDS package that costs around 60-80 EUR per month from a hosting company and upgrade the hardware when your casino starts to have a larger number of players. Recommended web hosting companies are: tsohost.Com, iweb.Com, etc.
The most important aspect that you need to consider when choosing a web hosting provider is represented by their response time to handle your support tickets. A reliable company should be able to respond to any enquiry in less than 1 hour and solve any ticket ASAP.
The server requirements can be found here.
Customise your casino
We offer 4 hours of free customizations to the casino website, with the purchase of the casino software premium version. This includes modifying texts, colors, images and making your casino unique, based on your instruction.
If you did not purchase this version, we can still do modifications to your casino, for an extra cost. The price varies a lot depending on the amount of work involved. For example, if you have a new design that you want us to implement, the price will start at 1000 EURO. If you want us to replace some images and modify some colors, the price will be less than 50 EURO.
Many of the modifications can be done by yourself, through the backend, by checking the documentation and the web template map feature.
Obtain a gambling license
In some countries, for bitcoin casinos no gambling license is required. You can read more here.
If you run a real money casino and you don't have a gambling license, the next step would be to get in touch with a licensing jurisdiction, which can be located within your country (or offshore) and obtain a gambling license for your online casino.
You can read more about licensing here.
Price starts at 5000$/year for a gambling license. You can contact www.Fastoffshore.Com or slogold for more details.
Please note that we do not offer any services related to obtaining gambling license and our articles are purely informative on this topic.
Promote your casino
After starting your casino, the last but most important step is represented by a successful marketing campaign. Our guide about marketing your online casino can be an effective tool for the popularity of your casino.
You can subscribe to our newsletter and you will receive a free copy of our ebook - "the online casino operator's guide". If you are already subscribed, you can email us to receive a free copy of this ebook.
We hope the information from this article answers your question about how to start an online casino website.
You can also check this video guide for placing an order:
You can read more valuable information about how to start an online casino, by clicking here. An important aspect is to be able to make your casino to differentiate itself from the crowded online gaming environment.
How to start a casino
Gambling has been a popular pastime for hundreds of years, and it remains a firm favorite today.
Not surprisingly, many entrepreneurs see the potential of opening their own casino. While the market is very competitive, there are still plenty of customers around the world who love to enjoy the thrills and glamor of a night out gambling. Or staying home gambling on their smartphones, for that matter.
Land-based operations are still popular and are getting bigger and better. However, it’s quite common these days for a casino venture to include an online version in its portfolio. They can reach audiences in their homes, and make the most of innovative technology to provide an entertaining gaming experience.
A love of gambling and figuring out that a casino is a potential moneymaker is not enough to start a successful gambling business. There are many things to consider and plan for along the way. If you want to know how to go about it and whether starting a casino is right for you, we have everything you need to know.
Check the gambling regulations
The first steps in starting a casino are working out what your offer will be. You will need to know whether you are opening a land-based casino, an online casino, or both. Not all states permit commercial casinos, which means your location is vital.
The states that permit gambling will require you to apply for a licence. If you wish to have an online operation, in some countries you need to operate a land-based casino already. However, you can choose to market your idea to overseas customers, in a country that is more relaxed about providing a licence.
In the united kingdom, to operate an online casino you need a licence from the UK gambling commission and you need to oblige to their strict terms and regulations. You also need to pay tax. The UK gambling tax just got raised from 15% to 21%, which is something you should have in mind.
For land-based casinos, once you have made sure that you comply with the gambling regulations. These include observing strict age limits for gambling in your area. They vary from 18 years old to 21 years old. There are other legal issues to address; for example, you will need to serve alcohol, which will require a separate licence.
One of the most challenging aspects of running a casino is keeping the required amount of cash available. You need to be able to pay out for all winning customers; however, that means keeping millions of dollars on hand. You’ll need to work out what your requirements are, how to manage your cash flow, and keep that money secure.
Create your casino business plan
Once you know the regulations with which you need to comply, and the requirements for your cash flow, it’s time to work on your business plan. This road-map will help you identify the things you need to do to get your casino off the ground.
It will serve as a useful internal document but will need to be professional and coherent so that you can use it to present your ideas to external parties. That could be for financial applications for the initial startup investment, or to approach partners that will assist in your operations.
If you are considering an online casino, you will need the technical know-how to create a website with the correct functionality. This will require a developer, and you will need to partner with game providers to offer the top game titles on your platform. As you begin your discussions, you will need to explain your concept and how it will be successful.
To become a top-rated gambling site, you need to stick out from the crowd, and according to UK casino guide https://online.Casino/uk/ you need a design that’s both user friendly and fast, so consider what platform you launch your product on as speed can differ a lot from different platform providers.
Your business plan will need to include the design concepts for your casino. It should be based around a feasibility study that takes into account the demand for a casino, and how you will draw in customers. As you move forward with a land-based casino, you will need to decide if there is an existing property that is suitable, or whether you will be designing and building from scratch.
Gambling licence and building your casino
Once you have sufficient interest and funds to get started, you will need to proceed with the licence application. As this process is ongoing, you should also make sure that your day-to-day business structure is initiated. This will enable you to undertake any work, hire staff, and to be recognized as an official entity.
If you are building a physical casino, you will need to identify an existing property or find a suitable location to build your complex. You will need to consult with architects and engineers regarding construction or renovation. You will require permits for works, the alcohol licence, and a consultation with local hygiene, health, and safety regulators about sanitation and food sales from the premises.
Bring on board the right team
Hiring the right people is critical from the very beginning. You will need to work with experienced professionals to build the website, construct the casino, and then to manage the operations. Since your casino will be new to the industry, it would be best to hire experienced staff that can implement the best processes to make your venture a success.
Your staff will also need to be licensed to work in your casino, so it is important to make arrangements far enough ahead of your opening date to give you time to get everything in order. You may want to bring in a manager several months before opening, as they will be able to provide invaluable advice, including looking at the appropriate physical equipment and gambling machines to purchase and install.
Get the word out
Finding the audience for your casino and letting them know what you have to offer is essential to your success. A thorough marketing plan will be required. This will comprise of a strategy to get the word out, such as advertisements, a launch party, and details about how you will compete with other casinos.
You can look to other successful operators for inspiration. Many casinos offer their customers promotions and deals to draw them in. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel, so implement the strategies that other casinos are using.
Conclusion
Opening a casino, whether it is online or land-based, is a serious endeavor. It can lead to a fun and profitable business but will require dedication, research, and planning. You’ll need to rely on the skills of others for financial assistance, design, technology, and marketing.
How to start an online casino?
Creating and launching an online casino is a challenging task which requires certain knowledge of technology, marketing and legal aspects of the igaming business. This is where comprehensive support from industry experts is required.
With the experience of softswiss professionals who are always ready to share their knowledge and provide consulting in any aspect of the online casino business, launching your casino will be real fun. So, if you are searching for information on how to open a casino but are not sure where to start, we recommend going through four simple steps which will bring you closer to making your business ideas come alive.
Educate yourself
Investigation of any issue begins with learning about its basic principles. Try looking for information on starting a gambling business in our knowledge base or reading our FAQ section. These are dynamic parts of our website, updated every time we come across new challenges and interesting cases in our practice. So please do not hesitate to spend some time and read FAQ or the articles we have prepared for you in the knowledge base. They may already contain answers to your questions.
Contact our managers
Contact softswiss managers by leaving a message through our contact form or by live chat. Our specialists will answer every question you might have – from online casino software development process and up to casino management and marketing issues. Whether you are new to the online gambling business and want to start a casino from the ground up, or already work in igaming and want to diversify your operations, our managers will perform a detailed analysis of your requirements and business needs.
Get a proposal
Based on the requirements research, we will provide you with a proposal outlining the final price of bringing a gambling website to market, along with estimated launch time. You will be offered one of our software packages and any necessary upgrades additional or services, such as operational casino management and marketing strategy consulting. At this stage our aim is honesty and transparent approach to pricing.
Get online casino software
A formal agreement is signed specifying our scope of work. You get assigned a personal account manager wholl be your main point of contact. We install our fully functional software package and develop a casino website based on your specific requirements. Now it’s time to promote your project and develop an efficient marketing strategy. You can rely on our team for professional assistance in this area as well.
Useful articles
Any questions we may answer?
If you are planning to start an online casino business, we are ready to provide full-scale professional assistance.
Softswiss has been working in the market of ecommerce and igaming solutions since 2008. With the advanced technical expertise and extensive knowledge of the industry, we deliver high-quality projects for clients worldwide. Softswiss online casino software is a unique tool introduced by softswiss to enable businesses start their way in igaming
Starting an online casino – sample business plan template
Do you want to start an online casino from scratch? Or you need a sample casino business plan template? If YES, then i advice you read on.
Have you ever been redirected to an online casino site? Well, chances are that whilst on the internet you might have been to a casino site before. The advent of the internet gave birth to the online casino. It actually started around 1994 / 1995, and pior to this time, people who gambled went to casinos around them to play their games.
Good news is that you don’t need to visit the popular las vegas to play that game which you so desire. This is because you can now play it right from your internet device from any part of the world while making some cool cash. Companies like crptologic inc, international game technology, realtime gaming, microgaming and playtech are the companies that did good to design the software most casino use.
Starting an online casino business is not so much a difficult task as most people think, especially if you are in a country where the legislation is easy for such industry. No doubt starting an online casino would require that you meet certain standards. Here is a online casino business plan to put you through how to start your own online casino business.
Starting an online casino – sample business plan template
1. Build a website
First things first, starting an online casino means that you must first own a website. Your website is the platform through which you can run your business. Since it involves financial transactions, you must build a website that is free from hackers. Of course it’s a difficult task, because hackers improve on their games daily.
Nonetheless, your website manager should always fortify your webpage to make it impossible for them to breakthrough it. Also, ensure that you build a website that has language options. Another invaluable advice for you is that you chose a thorough bred professional website designer and manager to help you build and handle your website.
2. Get a license
In most countries of the world, there are regulations that govern owning and running an online casino. If you intend owning one, you might need to check up with your country’s law to see if it requires you obtaining a license and how to get it.
For example; in a country like costa rica when you obtain your permit to operate, you won’t be restricted to online operating within the borders of costa rica, but all around the globe. Once you get your permit to operate an online casino you can then comfortably move to the next step which is choosing and buying casino software to operate with.
3. Buy the software
Building a top notch website without top notch casino software won’t get you started in the right way. You would notice that the choices you make in terms of third party arrangement would determine how profitable your online casino business would become.
In this industry, there are two types of providers; the ones that build games and platforms based on their client’s request and the ones that provide packages which includes gaming content from other providers.
Although the latter is far cheaper than the former, if you intend to start big from the outset, then choosing the first one would be to your advantage. The rule of thumb here is to make sure you have good games that anyone who visit your platform for the first time could find it difficult to resist.
There are various online payment platforms and choosing the right one will go a long way in determining the success of your online casino business. You should check their track records and ability to detect and prevent fraud before making your choice. Credit cards have been proven to be one of the best payment methods all over the world and since it is universally accepted, you stand the chance of attracting clients on a large scale.
All you need to do to enjoy this leverage is to make sure you sign a deal with a competent and reliable credit card payment processing company. There are a lot of them out there; so read their profiles and terms and conditions before signing any deal with them. Making the right choice with your payment platform will not only make your clients feel comfortable and secured with you, it will enable them invite their friends and family.
5. Be visible
If you wink in the dark, nobody would ever notice you. In the same vein if you have a beautiful and attractive casino website with lots of interesting games and you don’t advertise it, nobody would know about it or even visit it.
As it is for every business including online businesses, so it is for the casino business. The best way to get people to patronize you is to put your product in their faces. Take advantage of social media and other electronic media to advertise and promote your gaming site.
From time to time offer freebies and free trials for rookies to enable them get used to your platform; most people wouldn’t want to stake their money if they don’t know how it operates.
Managing an online casino business is not an easy task. Don’t let anybody sweet talk you into believing that once you are through with the steps highlighted above, you can go to bed and your money will just be hitting your bank account. The truth is that: you can’t run this kind of business on autopilot.
All competent hands must be on deck to ensure the smooth running of the site and to constantly wade off hackers. Make sure you hire competent people to help you manage your website; they should be readily available to help clients with their challenges and correct any malfunctioning that may arise from time to time.
The casino business isn’t such that grows overnight; you must plant, water and nurture for it to grow. Be patient enough to follow the steps listed earlier and you would be on your way to owning one of the best online casinos.
How to start an online gambling site
From getting a licence and creating a site to choosing software and making a mark in a competitive industry, here’s what starting a gaming site entails
Creating a new online gambling site in the UK looks like a daunting task to most, and indeed, this kind of venture demands some true passion for the field and the will to invest and stick it out to start seeing a nice income from the business.
However, there are also aspects of the online gaming market that make it easier to start an online gambling site than ever before. Software solutions are made for people who don’t know the first thing about programming and UK gambling laws are pretty clear cut and straight forward.
The regulatory matters are the first thing to look into because if you don’t have your licenses in place, you aren’t going to get very far with your online offer. So let’s have a look at that:
Legal stuff first
Before you even start thinking of a proper domain name for your gambling site, you need to look at the types of licenses you will need as put forward by the UK gambling commission. The general two licenses needed are the operating licence and the personal management licence.
You need to have the operating licence regardless of being in the UK or not, if you operate from another country you need to apply for a remote operating licence in order to offer UK players games online. The gambling commission has many different licenses for different types of games such as betting, bingo, casino games and lotteries.
However, if you are not going to offer your gaming services to british citizens but to other countries and all of the equipment related to your online gaming business is also located abroad, you do not need the licence from the UK gambling commission. It might be wise to contact the commission to find out more about the demands regarding the software and other issues that you should be well aware of ahead of starting up your online gambling enterprise.
It can also be wise to be in contact with a gaming lawyer such as rick S. Geiger. You can follow him on twitter here where he brings attention to many interesting aspects of the legal online gambling industry. Sometimes it is simply easier when you can ask your questions to a person and not a search engine or official site.
Creating a site
Creating a gambling site does not require in-depth programming knowledge. Today there are out-of-the-box solutions where you get a ready gambling site with a well-functioning backend system. You can also expect to get different choices of design and layout.
Usually the big gambling software providers brand themselves through their characters and themes. So if you go for a provider like net entertainment you will be able to build a site with their cool figures and unique designs. A great advantage with the well-established software providers such as playtech, netent and microgaming is that their online solutions are made to truly engage the players while the operator of the site will find it easy to manage it and keep track of the business. But there is more than the actual design and navigation to think about.
Today players want fast and easy solutions and they expect payments to be safe. Therefore you need to consider what sort of payment systems you want to work with. This is something that can come together with the software package you choose and something you should learn more about before you settle for your gambling software.
This video gives you a nice payment systems outline:
The best software
Which software should you choose? You obviously want to give the UK players the games they are looking for and today there are great solutions where you can combine several software giants not to miss out on any important games.
Depending on what type of gambling you will offer, casino games and/or poker games, you might want to focus on a provider that can bring you important functions like live games, multi-player games, and mobile games.
The mobile gaming market is only growing and therefore it will make little sense to offer a gambling site not adjusted to smaller screens. In fact, there are plenty of gaming providers who focus solely on the mobile players. When it comes to poker a lot of players participating is a must and you should opt for a poker network that can give your site the type of action that poker players are looking for.
Getting traffic
To make money from a gambling site you need players. The revenues come from the losses of players so you will need a lot of them, but how will you get new players to discover your site? Today online gambling sites must understand SEO and how to appear where potential new players are online. This means that important search terms must be conquered and proper advertising in social media must also be in place. This can take a lot of time because, as you are probably aware of, the gambling market online is highly saturated. At the same time a pwc report on the casino and online gambling market shows that people are betting more and more, so there is room for more gambling sites. And if you understand how to work with online marketing correctly make use of venues like:
- Gambling forums
- Social media sites such as facebook and twitter
- Article marketing and blogging
There is a chance that the search engines will start listing you in their free search results so that you can get more traffic and new players making your site into a lucrative venture.
The competition
As mentioned the competition is stiff and you can’t expect to take over well established brands such as titanbet poker UK whose owner teddy sagi’s appearances in the gambling news has a positive effect on the brand no matter what the stories are about.
People like teddy sagi have a lot of experience and therefore they get a headstart even when they kick off completely new ventures. A good example of this is the team behind the online casino mr green, fredrik sidfalk, henrik bergquist and mikael pawlo. Sidfalk and bergquist were on the team that founded betsson which is one of the major online gambling brands with a UK licence online today.
With this type of background they don’t only know what players are looking for, they also have the experience of running gambling platforms and know what to look out for. But one cannot just blame the competition for not making it to the top.
There are many reasons why some casinos find themselves blacklisted both by the players and by legal institutions. When the business is not managed correctly it will influence the success of the site and if you don’t have prior experience of offering games online it will pay off to learn as much as possible about possible pitfalls and also how to navigate the legal stuff correctly.
Money matters
The goal of every casino and poker operator is to make a lot of money from the site. But how soon can you expect to see a return of investment (ROI)? How much do you have to put into a venture to get it rolling? And when will you see money from your site?
Even if you decide to do a lot of the work by yourself and use a semi-automatic customer service chat function rather than a fully operating call centre, you should expect to put at least £194,000 ($300,000) on the new business. The marketing will be a costly part and also a very important one since you will need a lot of new players if you want your gambling site to pay off.
If you work like a trojan and manage to advertise correctly and also start to show up in the search results within a few months, you could look forward to making a return about half a year after starting the business.
However, it could be a lot more depending on your skills, luck and other factors. The biggest gambling operators online put huge amounts of money into their marketing and these are the ones you are up against so you’d better find the right channels and best methods to reach your target clientele.
If you want to offer live games and extensive live customer support this will lead to additional costs. Some online gaming sites start out without and then add it on as they collect a wider player base. This is also an alternative if you are not ready to put a huge sum into your site right from the start.
Your costs for outsourcing work and for hiring staff will depend on how much you can do yourself and just what you want to offer. Consider how your customer support will affect the way your site is perceived. A casino such as casumo only has a ‘contact us’ form and no telephone or chat support while a big site such as unibet has done a lot in recent years to upgrade its support and make it available 24/7. While customer support can be costly to run it could actually make your brand look more serious, which is also a very important form of marketing.
Safe gambling online
Another thing to consider carefully is player safety. Offering solutions for players that develop gambling addictions is something that ensures a site will be taken seriously. For this purpose it might be a good idea to go through training and get certification from a well-known organisation such as gamcare. With gamcare certification you can offer your players the kind of support they will need and therefore make your site a safe and harmonious place on which to gamble.
While it would be wonderful if all new players that join your gambling site know how to gamble in a safe and healthy way this is simply not the case. It is crucial you find out more about gambling addictions, how it works, and what you can do to keep it out of your casino or poker room. It might also be of interest to see what different organisations are doing.
Offering the big jackpots
Many players are drawn to the progressive games and the poker rooms with the biggest prizes. This is only natural. If you open a casino you need to realise you might not be able to offer the progressive games until you reach a certain level of turnover. Even if you build a site with the netent games it might be a while before you can offer their big progressive games such as hall of gods and mega fortune that holds the record of largest jackpot payout online. But if you work on building a solid player base and use the right marketing methods it shouldn’t have to take more than a year to get these games and add on something to your site that will attract many more players.
Work with a plan
As you can tell there are quite a few things to consider before starting an online gambling site and good advice is to build a solid plan. A plan where you tak every aspect into consideration and calculate your estimated costs.
With this plan in hand it will be easier for you to create a success online and avoid mistakes that could lead to troublesome setbacks. Even if you are eager to get that site going it will be wise to give the plan plenty of time for plainer sailing once your site opens its doors to players from the UK and other parts of the world.
Starting an online casino
Starting an online casino is tough but rewarding, in this article we’re going to show you the best way to start an online casino and give you an idea of some of the steps involved in order to win in this amazing industry.
Few industries can match the potential earnings of casinos
The gambling world currently is generating millions each year. This factor serves as the biggest motivator to establishing an online casino. Evidently, the gambling market continues to expand and allowing interested parties to be part of the community.
Size of the online gambling market from 2009 to 2020 (in billion U.S. Dollars)
Source: statista
However one should note that it is not possible to become a millionaire overnight! It is a process, and one needs to take time and enjoy the profits however little as a start. Before starting an online casino take time to study the online software providers that exist. Determined to give their customers the best software solutions, they have support structures that give the best experience to entrepreneurs. They provide the casino with an identity. It is important to select your providers wisely because they can either make or break the casino. The world is experiencing a digital migration, and the gaming industry is embracing it. The land based casinos are no longer popular because the attention is shifting. The burden of finding a physical building is no longer required because your website will be your space.
The quickest and cheapest way to startup an online casino
Setup a white label! This is where someone else has done all the hardwork for you in establishing the below criteria from getting software providers, licenses, payment methods etc A white label provides all the stuff you need and will cost between £20k-£100k including the white label’s fee. The disadvantage is that the whitelabel will charge you a percentage of winnings.
How to establish an online casino without a white label provider
- The first move involves identifying a software provider.
Partner with a provider that will bring out the best as you continue with the journey. Some might feel that they will reduce the cost by developing their own site. It is only possible if one has the right technical knowledge. However, if you chose to work with a partner ensure they offer user-friendly front end, a gaming management system, payment module and access to betting markets and top events.
Furthermore, there exist providers who request for monthly charges from the proceeds. By contrast, the other providers simply send files containing the source code after obtaining the site. Handing over the files gives the owner maximum access and data privacy with no monthly charges. The software providers include micro gaming, playech.Com, and net entertainment just to mention but a few.
The appearance of your website is important to make sure you invest in a design that is attractive. Unnecessary graphics will only overload your site and affect the gaming experience. Also, simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. Do not go for very complicated and demanding graphics. Also when selecting the games, ensure that you diversify the selection. Incorporate table games, poker, slots machine among others. This move will attract gamers to your site because you will be offering them with options.
- The second step involves obtaining a license to operate.
This next level will also require that you work with government regulators. The government will not allow you to conduct your business without a license. As a result, one must settle on a country that best fits the online casino. Note that it must not be the one that you reside in but one that favors your interest. Finally, one needs to pay a specified amount as well as provide information required before issuing the license. Most importantly, understand the legal procedures and the restrictions of a country. The laws and practices of each country are different when it comes to licensing. This is one of the huge advantages of using a white label provider mentioned above as you are paying to piggyback on their license.
- Select your desired payment methods.
Subsequently, after acquiring the license, the next step involves establishing payment method so that customers can deposit and start playing. As a business person, one must understand the existing customers and their differences. Completing this part will allowing activities such as accepting deposits, making payout and withdrawing. Currently, credit cards are highly acceptable because they attract customers. Nonetheless do not feel limited. Conduct your research and find what works best, for example many online casinos allow customers to deposit and withdraw via their mobile phone bill using a premium rate SMS service.
- Marketing is everything for an online casino
You want to open your online casino to the sound of depositing customers and not to the sound of crickets! Exposing your brand to the public will attract more customers, and I return result to an increase in profits. After accomplishing everything and getting the casino started, it is time to make it popular and acquire players. Draft your market plan and our target market. It will help in formulating an advertising strategy. Spend some time forming campaigns that include the use of television ads, magazines, the search engine optimization and many others. The content on your site needs to be unique to differentiate it from your competitors. Your site also needs to support diverse languages to generate more players. Also, the site should give the customers welcome packages, promotions and other packages to draw gamers to the games offered. Rewarding loyalty by providing incentives to the gamers that spend most of their time playing will prevent them from straying to the competitors.
- Securing your online casino
It is expected that any starting venture encounters problems and in the online space this takes the form of security. The industry has been met with the hacking menace and an online casino needs to invest in hiring professionals to guarantee security of the server. Save yourself from losing money to cyber criminals by dealing with professionals.
Some costs involved in setting up an online casino.
It is crucial to form a budget and to diversify a plan for the costs involved in building the online casino. The venture requires a massive financial investment due to the numerous expenses that include marketing, payment services, license acquisition alongside an early license fee. One needs to formulate a budget that will break down the costs involved as well as displaying the incurred amount. An inadequate financial planning will limit the casino from progressing to the next level. Therefore, a good financial plan will determine whether the casino will grow or fail.
The other important partners include the customer care staff represented by a team of eight to twelve people. They need to be available twenty-four hours a day to handle the different arising issues. Also, the team needs an affiliate manager to recruit the affiliate partners who will market the site if the company chooses to work with an affiliate site. Overall the costs will involve a retention program for the loyal players. The salaries of the team will range from 200,000 dollars to 300,000 dollars depending on the company’s selection of staff. Again this is something that can be mitigated using a good white label provider.
Success stories of other people who have started an online casino.
The online casinos that exist currently were not well known. The individuals just had a vision, and they decided to go along with it. They envisioned a world where players could play their favorite games in the comfort of their homes. Before the online wave took over, the founders were only popular to a small group of players that had the interest in gaming. The startup websites are now fully developed, and they are functioning properly. More people have gained interest, and currently millions of people are playing the current online games. The success stories are an indicator of growth in an accommodative industry. A humble beginning should not hinder one from progressing and achieving success. Below is a sample of profiles composed of established casinos that began as start-ups.
- Casumo is an online casinowhere the whole experience is gamified the site started in 2012 with an adventure where you travel to different places and planets, gain experience and can get valuable rewards as you level-up.
- Betfair has created an impact in the gaming world. A good number people are familiar with the site after the introduction of exchange betting. It represents a new form of betting where gamers get to bet against each other using bookmakers. The launching of the site took happened in the year 2000, and since then, it continues to leave a mark in the people’s lives. It offers a wide range of games composed of incredible graphics, animations, and sound effects.
- Bet365 is a UK based online casino started in 2001 offering a wide variety of games that include bingo, poker, skill games and others. It made £1.5bn in 2015. Playtech and microgaming are the providers, and since they are the top developers in the gaming industry, you will automatically receive the best. The gamers get to join the game through flash casino, or they can also download the app. The casino received its license from the united kingdom gambling commission and the gibraltar government. The individuals behind this incredible site were not afraid to start. They went ahead to develop a leading casino.
Are you the next casino mogul?
Market research has shown that the gaming industry is continuing to grow and make people very rich. Perhaps you will be the next startup to flourish in this amazing industry? What’s for certain is that online versions of casinos are set to improve, and soon it will overtake the land based casinos. It is vital to stay at the top of the chart by designing a website that will attract players from different parts of the target market. The online casino needs to have products that are consumer friendly with unique functionalities. The special features will engage the players, and they will keep them interested. The gaming providers have made it possible for gamers all over the globe to enjoy their preferred games, relive their fantasies as they recreate movies.
Finally, starting up on a blank page requires courage and determination. It is definitely not an easy process! It is met with challenges that need solving and takes time, dedication and the drive to make sure that one does not abandon the thought once things get tough. First and foremost one needs to gain experience through gambling on various sites that exist in the market. Understand how they function and know the ins and outs of running an online casino. The whole process is engaging and requires effort. However, nothing good comes easy. It all requires putting your mind into it and making it work. A well established and running casino will give the owner ultimate satisfaction and will also reap amazing profits unrivalled by many industries. Overall it is a worthy investment.
So, let's see, what we have: learn how to start an online casino business easily with the professional assistance of softgamings, platform developer and gaming aggregator. Start your own online casino in 2 months and get all necessary services, such as a licence, hosting, merchant and processing accounts and more. At start a online casino
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