Table of Contents
Online gambling platforms started to become a real deal as soon as they involved modern technology into that. The gambling audience drastically increased as the online casinos began to grow into global businesses. The online casino business became very useful for getting money, and entrepreneurs saw the potential before that. There are thousands of online casinos in the market right now, and many of them are created recently. As a multi-billion industry, gambling is surely going to become more and more popular over the next few years. If you want to take a small piece from this large pie and start an online casino, you need to know certain rules before entering the business.
For those of you who are passionate about this topic, the article will help you clarify many aspects of the online casino business and guide you through starting one. So, let’s begin.Â
Why Start an Online Casino?
As we already mentioned, starting an online casino can help you to get a lot of money if you do everything right. It is not an easy process, and it is undoubtedly risky than investing in businesses like grocery stores or supermarkets. You need to have a great plan and follow the guidelines to start and finish on the right path. There are financial incentives to start an online casino because once you grab the audience’s attention, your business will begin to grow, and you will make lots of money.Â
However, that is not the only incentive for many entrepreneurs. It is a growing business, and with the switch from regular gambling platforms to online casinos, most customers are now in the online market. It sounds excellent, and it is actually if you can make it to that level. However, you need to have an adequate amount of money to build the website and keep up with other necessary steps for starting a gambling website. In the next paragraph, we will give you an insight into how much it can cost you to start an online casino.
How Much it Costs to Start An Online Casino?Â
It is a tricky question, and the answer depends on a variety of things. The cost of online casino software is different when it comes to the company where you buy it. Like the software, the license cost and the money you will spend on both the front and back end development processes are changing. Let’s go through the examples so that you can understand better. For instance, if you tried to get the gambling software from world-class organizations like Microgamings, only software will be around 1.2 million dollars.Â
For that much money, you can start at least two above average online casinos.Â
For second or third-tier online gambling companies, you would need to pay around 200 to 250.000 dollars. It is not so expensive when we compare them to brands like IGT, Microgaming, Novomatic, etc. For those of you who do not have enough money, it is not advisable to start with the high caliber online casino software because you would not have any money for other essential aspects of the business after purchasing it.
Software Licence
Let’s say that you get the software products, which aspects you need to allocate, and how much you need to pay for those services? Let’s get into that. Besides the software, you will need to have a gambling license to operate legally.Â
Some of the online casino software companies offer this service in advance. However, the ones that are doing it, charge a higher price than regular. It is recommended to get the license with the software itself. It will cost you both time and money to try to get the license by yourself. Let’s say that you decided to get it by yourself. In that case, you would need to collect necessary documents and apply them in one of those countries where it is provided. Some of the examples include Malta, Gibraltar, and Peru. In these countries, it is easier to get a license.
Though, you will need to show needed documents and wait for six to 12 months. License costs you around five to 25 thousand dollars, depending on the organization’s quality and reputation. The amount changes according to the country where you apply to and so on. If you decide to get it inside the online gambling software package, you would not need to care about those complications.Â
Online Casino Website Development: How much will it cost you?Â
Web development is a critical phase that you need to be concerned about whenever you start an online casino. The customer’s first impression is essential, and if they do not like the website design or the site started to lag, they will drop it and go to another platform. So, it would help if you were ready to pay for those services and create a brand new custom online gambling platform. Search for creative developers and web designers and check their portfolio alongside cost. Then you can determine which one fits your ideas and is also affordable.Â
The regular price for web development depends on the experience of the developer. Besides that, whether you will hire a freelance developer or choose a full-time employee can change the initial cost. The cost is not that high for freelancers, but the main issue is about responsibility and accountability. While the full-time worker will give you detailed information about the project’s progress, their price is considerably higher than freelance website developers. Overall, you need to allocate at least two to three thousand dollars in the early stages of website development for your future gambling platform. It depends on your needs and the complexity of your ideas regarding the website design for later parts.Â
These aspects are very crucial, and you need to have enough money to pay for these expenses. Other elements that can increase the cost are affiliate marketing activities, promotions, purchasing extra sweepstakes games, hiring staff for administration and management, etc.Â
How Online Casinos Make Money?Â
As you can see, there are several areas where you need to allocate money. It is essential to plan your costs and act accordingly to start an online casino on the right track. It would help if you had a clear thought about how you will earn money after you built the platform. In this passage, we will clearly explain how you can make money and do so. First of all, before getting starting, you need to know what is the house edge in actual gambling platforms.
How House Edge Affects the Profitability of Your Business?Â
A house edge is a percentage that comes to the casino owner, and it is calculated for both every game and overall deposit amount for that game. For instance, let’s say that the house edge in the game that you provide is 3 percent. It means that you will get around three dollars for every 100 dollar wager that customers make. By delivering more chance-based games with less RTP, you will make more money from the house edge.
However, the critical aspect here is to consider that players like to play the games that give them an adequate chance of winning high prizes. That is why, you cannot get more customers by providing only games that have 70 percent Return to Player Rate. However, there is a secret that the industry tries to hide from the players and which is very crucial for this matter.Â
Slot machine software offers several casino games, and each of them has a unique RTP rate. Some of those games can increase their payout rate according to the results of the game. We do not exactly know which games are they, though while acquiring the gambling software, you need to ask the provider if the majority of games are from that kind or not. If they are that kind of gambling game, it will diminish your potential of earning money through the house edge.Â
How Can You Use Affiliate Marketing Campaigns for Earning Extra Cash off of Your Gambling Platform?
It is a newer but very effective practice that helps many gambling platforms earn extra cash. For doing so, you need to come to a certain level, and from there, you will start to get requests from other brands regarding the case. Once you start to grow, other companies would like to partner with you and offer affiliate marketing campaigns; They will ask you to place banners on your website or mention their names in your blogs and other content pieces. You can collect around 2-3 thousand dollars from these campaigns at the starting point. As soon as your customers react to those banners, your income from these programs will start to grow.Â
Who Will be Your Target Audience and Why it Matters?Â
As we already mentioned, you need to prepare a good marketing strategy and do ongoing research about the place where you will start your online casino business. Depending on the area and the results of your market analysis, you need to plan accordingly. You need to design the online casino platform, purchase the software, and find the related games according to the target audience you want to present your platform. It would help if you prioritized their gaming tastes while you start an online casino and design your gaming library. Why does it matter?Â
Demographics play a huge role, and it is an essential factor for success, especially in the industry like online gambling. If you decide to provide services for mainly the older age group of people, your gaming library should consist of mostly classic casino games such as three card poker, fruit slot machines, bingo, etc. We are not saying that the older generation does not enjoy modern features in online gambling.
Though, it is more likely that they prefer to play the games mentioned above over 3D video slots. On the other hand, if you decided to target the younger generation of online casino players, you would need to create a more dynamic and vibrant interface with high quality, video game-like graphics. As you can see, there should be a balance between your target audience and the products that you decide to offer while starting an online casino.Â
What Are The Types of Casino Games that You Can Include in Your Gaming Library?Â
There are several casino game types, especially in an era like this. As we already mentioned, you need to carefully choose which games to include and which ones you need to exclude according to your target audience’s demographics and age factors. We can broadly divide online gambling games into two categories. The first one would be skill-based, and the second one would be chance-based casino games. As you might get from the name tag, the skill-based casino games are mainly the ones that need practice and dedication for mastering. Primarily the table card games are included in this category.
Some of the most famous examples of skill-based games are regular poker, Texas Holdem, Blackjack, and so on. These types of games have lower house edges, and most of the online casinos offer multiplayer modules. It is great to gather with your friends for a casino adventure. The second type is the chance-based games that do not require experience, or you do not need to practice them a lot for winning.
However, these games’ gameplay is easier; to succeed in these games, you need to have decent luck, especially when it comes to the jackpot. Again, depending on your audience and the type of business, you will need to analyze the options and find the casino software provider that can provide you with the necessary services to start an online casino effectively.Â
Related post