What comes to mind when you picture the owner of an online casino? A Las Vegas stereotype with a giant inheritance and a top hat or a Swedish techbro with a hoodie? It doesn’t have to be either, it could just as likely be you.
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Creating an online casino startup isn’t easy, it requires tons of paperwork and a significant amount of capital. But compared to the size and scope (and ROI) of what you’re creating, it’s temptingly straightforward, at least compared to starting a company in a market with a similar revenue.
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. And now let’s start exploring the steps that are necessary to achieve your ambitious goal about creating your own online casino business. However, take into account that the sequence of these steps plays a vital role in this process.
Licensing – Make Your Casino Legal
It’s possible to set up and prepare the software side of an online casino relatively quickly if you rely on premade software solutions. But doing all of this before securing the proper license is not recommended. Gambling licenses are required for both local and remote gambling operators in the UK, and must be acquired through the UK Gambling Commission.
Remote operators means in this case casinos that cater to the UK market, but are located abroad. There are many good reasons to operate a casino in a country with lower taxes, for example. And acquiring a UK remote gaming license could make it easier to acquire a license in other remote markets.
There are also different licenses that cover the different areas of casino games. If you want to have poker and slot games, for example, you need two different licenses. The UK Gambling Commission website provides most of the information you need to get started in a fairly easy to read format.
It’s better to be cautious when it comes to licensing, and getting in touch with a lawyer to help with this is much cheaper than hiring one after you’ve made a mistake!
Software – How to Start an Online Gambling Site
Getting a casino site up and running can be done without ever touching a piece of code. The market has grown so large, creating complete solutions for online casinos has become a market in itself. You’d be surprised to see how many established and respected casino operators run off barely customised templates!
As you start to get into market research and carving out a niche for yourself, being at least a little original can go a long way. However, established solutions for all the backend, server infrastructure, payments and most gaming software, is best left to the professionals.
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All of the top gaming software developers provide customisable backend solutions for startup casinos, leaving you with the freedom to create an identity for the casino itself. While it might seem interesting to develop your own games and infrastructure, the investment difference would be hundred-fold.
Marketing – Get Traffic and Keep Your Customers
Because the software side of online casinos has become so standardised, success lies mostly in marketing these days. Having your casino show up in a search engine is your first fight against competitors.
Search engine optimization means having your casino show up when someone searches for specific keywords. Because the market is so saturated, expecting to compete with general keywords like simply “UK casino” would be practically impossible. But it’s possible to get somewhere with more specific keywords. Hiring an SEO expert as part of your marketing team is a great idea.
Of course, the best way to get customers is to target them directly. Ads and a social media presence doesn’t have to be the more expensive option if you spend wisely. Targeting influencers (the marketing group, not the Instagram kind) also works, though requires more effort.
A lot of negative customer feedback on newer casinos revolves around customer service. It’s costly to run a call centre and outsourcing it can make the service less personal. A value judgment will have to be made in this regard, but consider at least a chat service if you want to retain customers.
Stay afloat – Don’t Become a Statistic
While your first year will be mostly spent around trying to balance between a marketing budget to get customers and covering the costs involved with keeping them, you still have to expect the unexpected.
Failing to cover your customers winnings, or even their withdrawals, is a great way to see your casino adventure fall flat. Casinos have a much higher cash flow than other businesses, and while it can be tempting to use your capital to expand, make sure you have your house in order first and foremost.
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Another way to fail is to neglect your customers health. Partnering with a safe gambling initiative is important, but it’s recommended you establish practices for noticing problem gamblers in-house as well. If not for your conscience, at least do it to avoid the heavy fines involved.