How To Start An Online Casino
Starting an online casino isn't your everyday undertaking. But executed correctly, it can be a recipe for a solid business in a fast growing market. You will need to have capital in place before you can launch a casino, sufficient to underwrite any gambling losses and to pay the various costs involved along the way. If you have access to the resources, and a determination to succeed, it's not beyond the realms of possibility that you could set up an online casino operation to rival the more established brands in the market.
One of the best elements about setting up an online casino is that you have the mask of anonymity provided by a website. In days gone by, it would be hard to set up a casino without at least leasing a significant building, and going through a complete fit out at a cost of several hundreds of thousands, if not more. And that's before you look at working capital. But starting an online casino, while still requiring cash to spare, means you at least don't have the startup and operational costs of a physical casino resort.
So what do you need in place, then, to launch your new online casino brand to the world? Here are just a few of the main considerations you need to have a think about.
Software
No casino site can run without software, and there are two main areas of software you'll need to find solutions for. The first is the games themselves. There are two ways of going about this - you can develop your own games, or you can choose to license games from third party game developers. Unless you're looking to plough millions into your venture, it's probably not worth trying to develop your own games. While some big players in the industry do develop online slots in-house, with PartyCasino the most obvious example, even they choose to license games from the big third party developers.
Once the licensing arrangement is in place, you have instant access to a range of games for your new online casino, including network jackpots and other cool features. It's much easier, much cheaper, and means you'll get a better product at the end of it. That said, it's still not particularly cheap to license this technology, and you can expect to be paying in the hundreds of thousands for top of the line games licensing.
The second type of software you'll require is back-end, and this is often provided and configured for you by third party developers. Again, it's not worth trying to develop your own casino management software at first, or perhaps even ever, unless you're launching a casino to rival the handful of top operators in the industry.
Software is essential and without it, you don't have an online casino. This will account for a major proportion of your startup costs, not to mention ongoing fees for licensing these games and technologies on a continuing basis.
Website Development
You'll also need to develop a website through which to present your games. Some cost savings may be available in this department, and it's perfectly possible to create your own site if you have the coding skills to put it together. Obviously the best results again come from outsourcing to professional developers, and in most cases, it's the games rather than the website design that does the talking.
Try to focus on developing a clean, easy to use experience that is compatible for both mobile and desktop players. This will be your best bet when it comes to attracting the widest possible audience of players, and will give your players the flexibility to sign up and play across their medium of choice - whether that's desktop, smartphone or tablet.
You might also want to investigate creating an app for your casino, depending on your budget. Long-term this is advisable for providing a more immersive experience for your players, as well as making it even easier for them to quickly jump into the casino for a game - less friction means more revenue.
Licensing
So that's the technology side, in a nutshell, out of the way. But you're nowhere near finished yet. Licensing is a crucial part of operating any casino, and you require the permission of a regulator somewhere in the world to keep your operations legal and to give your operation the legitimacy players are looking for. Licensing depends on where your servers are located, which is considered to be the home base of your casino, as well as the markets you intend to operate in. For example, even casinos that are based outside of the UK require a license from the Gambling Commission before they are legally permitted to accept UK-based players.
In terms of setup and compliance, this is often best referred to a legal specialist with an understanding of gambling laws and practice. It's a potential legal minefield you want to avoid - particularly in the case of the United States, where one wrong move could see an arrest warrant out for you, personally, as directors of some of the biggest gambling companies in the world have found out the hard way.
You can't skimp on licensing and compliance, and it's as important when you're starting out as it is in five, ten years from now. Find a legal partner you can work with and let them handle this for you - it's worth the investment to make sure you are completely above board and on the right side of your chosen licensing authorities.
Branding & Marketing
Now you've got the software and much-needed legal support on hand, it's time to think about your branding and marketing. This is really the key when it comes to distinguishing your casino from the crowd, and finding players in what is an increasingly competitive marketplace. It's not easy, and you can see by the generous welcome bonuses, signup incentives and affiliate commissions paid by casinos that marketing is the major challenge they face in reaching profitability.
Because of the way casino games are designed, more players equals more money. Statistics and mathematics are on your side over the long-run, and provided you have enough working capital to cover short term losses, you should be able to turn any casino into a profitable one with enough players. Affiliate marketing, search engine optimisation, PPC and other specifically online strategies are a huge part of this puzzle - as are offline marketing strategies like TV advertising and sponsorship, both of which have become much more prominent in the UK in recent years.
This is by no means an exhaustive guide to everything you need to think about when you're preparing to start an online casino, but hopefully gives you some flavour of the steps required, the level of investment required, and the ongoing challenges facing online casinos. While there are lucrative opportunities out there for innovative, well-positioned brands, it's a challenging undertaking, and only the fittest will survive long-term. So with that, good luck.
