How to start an online casino
“I want to start an online casino” or “How to start an online casino” is a question I am often asked, and this rather vague request is typically followed by another request to put a proposal together in order for the protagonist of the question, to decide what sort of casino they may wish to start.
While I love helping people, I simply do not have the time to go through this process on a one-on-one basis due to time constraints. If you wish to hire me as a consultant, I am certainly a gun for hire, otherwise, I have penned a number of articles to guide you through the process, absolutely fee, and this should be enough to get started.
Before I, or anyone else for that matter, can help you, you need to be 100% sure of the following:
- What type of casino do you want to start?
- Who will be supplying your games?
- Where are your customers likely to live?
- What is your budget?
- What license do you want to operate under? (determined by budget / jurisdiction)
- What currency do you want to accept, will you be accepting crypto?
- What payment methods do you want to use?
- Who is going to build you website?
- How are you going to do your marketing?
Once you know the above, pick up the phone and call me. I am now in a position to help you!
Now before I start, if you are looking for me to tell you what sort of casino/gambling enterprise you should start. I have a standard answer. Start a lottery re-selling business. Everyone knows the lottery and enjoy playing it.
If thats not your thing, then read on.
So lets go through these questions one at a time
What type of casino do you want to start?
My own casino using my own games
With your own casino games, bear in mind that most jurisdictions require that games have certification of some kind. It is different in each jurisdiction with the simplest being in Curacao which requires RNG certification.
General casino games
This would cover the likes of slots, table games, lucky numbers, live games and betting. While there are many providers across the board, we would suggest taking a look at InBet Games who has a large variety of games you can access via a single feed.
Online Poker
Poker requires decent software to be effective. There are a number of great companies out there who can offer this to you. The first is EvenBet Gaming and the second is Cubeia. There are also a number of smaller providers who have good software if price is a concern. When you contact me, you can ask me about this.
Sports Betting
Sports betting is a complicated process. Feeds are expensive, and the likes of Betfair and Paddypower require all sorts of hoops to hop through. If you are a small outfit or want to offer services in India or Pakistan I would suggest taking a look at InBet games. They have a comprehensive sports betting product that will likely work for you.
Who will be supplying your games?
This is important because some jurisdictions simply will not work with certain game suppliers. Also, licensing dictates game certification requirements that need to be adhered to. So it is important that your game supplier is able to offer games to the jurisdiction in which you plan to license.
If you will be using your own games, you will need to go through the process to get your games approved under the license you wish to work.
Where will your customers live?
If your customers live in the US and you wish to target the US market, this is not somethnig I am able to assist you with simply because I do not have the relationships in place with US based licensing authorities.
What is your budget?
Obtaining licensing is not a $5 exercise. You are going to spend at least 25K EUR per annum for your licensing needs (at the bottom end) and 200K EUR per annum at the top end. You can shave this cost down by opting for a White Label / Managed serice if you are on a tight budget.
What license do you want to operate under? (determined by budget / jurisdiction)
Lets say you want to offer services in Latin America and part of Europe. Chances are a Curacao license would work for you. However, if you were expressely interested in Europe and have the budget. You may opt for a Malta or even an Isle of Man license which has a broader scope.
Further informaiton on what gambling license to use and a cost breakdown of a Curacao license.
What currency do you want to accept, will you be accepting crypto?
The concern around crypto and fiat businesses is that a gambling company is not a financial services company. So for instance, you must be careful how you deal with crypto. In most instances, you wont be allowed to accept a payment in fiat and then offer the player a means to convert to Bitcoin or similar.
What payment methods do you want to use?
Considering 95% of all transactions are done by means of credit card a good gaming merchant account is required. The remaining 5% will be e-wallets and crypto which can wait for your casino to launc before you worry about them. In my opinion, I would not be too concerned with e-wallets and would focus on a good credit card solution.
Who is going to build you website?
he game provider will give you the API feeds to their games and in some cases will also provide you with a templated casino. If you are looking for something more enhancced, you will likely want to get someone to build a casino for you from the ground up.
How are you going to do your marketing?
The most important of it all. How are you going to find your clients? I have met many a casino operator with great software, fast servers, the right license and all the payment solutions you can imagine. But no customers…
Do not start, unless you know how you are going to reach end users.
Where do you plan to host your casino?
Hosting is super important and many of the more popular webhosting providers will not host an online casino. While small casinos can get away with it, the last thing you want is to have your servers ripped from the proverbial racks for breaking a hosting companies terms and conditions. Fortunately, you are reading this on a hosting website and you can rent any of our gambling VPS servers which will suit your needs.
For more information:
At this point you should have enogh information in terms of how to start an online casino. I would suggest you get onto some software providers for priciung, download our licensing documents for pricing and then think about how you plan to get your product to market. Once you know all of these, get in touch – my details are all over this site!
As gambling is regulated by state and territory, you can review the links under the “Gambling and Licencing” heading.
Get in touch:
FURTHER INFORMATION ON CURACAO GAMBLING LICENSES
We wrote an article on Curacao Gambling License which may be of interest to you should you be looking for alternative casino licensing information.
