Opening a Gambling Business from Scratch 10 Stages 2020

Today online gambling is one of the most profitable directions for business development. Zion Market Research forecasts that the global online gambling market will reach $94 billion in the next five years. Many business people are aware of the industry’s potential and open new gambling facilities in different countries.

Read more about how to set up the gambling business from scratch in our article.

Stage 1. Market analysis

Starting a gambling business from scratch is not easy. To launch an online casino, the businessperson has to perform a large amount of work and spend a considerable amount of money. The more responsible is your approach to the launch, the quicker you will return your investments.

To understand how to build a business, you have to analyze the gambling market. Thanks to the analysis, you will be able to:

• assess the market volume and its growth rates;
• find out what countries have legalized the gambling business;
• define industry trends and development prospects;
• detect competitors and learn more about their weak and strong sides;
• define your target audience;
• learn what gambling activities enjoy greater popularity, etc.

Obtained conclusions will help you to understand how to develop your business. Among other things, you will be able to decide what segment to work (online or offline) in, what market to enter, what games of chance to offer to your customers.

The research of the gambling market can be delegated to consultancy, analytics, or marketing companies.

Industry analysis will be useful when you develop a business plan. Apart from the information about market characteristics, this paper should also specify business goals and ways of their achievement, the list of services you are planning to provide, the volume of estimated expenses, data about corporate structure, company owners, etc. You will need a business plan in case you plan to attract investments.

Stage 2. Budget planning

The establishment of any business, including gambling, requires huge cash investments. To open an online casino, the businessperson needs to have significant savings. Otherwise, it is necessary to raise capital. In its turn, budget planning will help to understand how much money you will need to launch your business.

Slotegrator defined that funds are mainly spent on such goals as registration of legal entity, license acquisition, purchase of software, recruitment of personnel, and additional costs. Besides, in the first year of operations, it is recommended to include costs for license renewal, software maintenance, and marketing services in the budget.

Stage 3. Registration of legal entity

In countries, where the law regulates the gambling business, only legal entities can open gambling facilities. To register a company, it is necessary to collect a set of documents and turn to corresponding agencies.

In every country, different agencies are responsible for this procedure. For example, the National Agency of Public Registry in Georgia, Enterprise Register in Latvia, Federal Tax Service in Russia.

Stage 4. License acquisition

The acquisition of a gambling license is an important step towards the establishment of the new business. The businessperson will not be able to organize and conduct gambling legally if he does not hold a corresponding permit.

In countries that regulate the gambling business by the law, there are different prices for license acquisition. Some jurisdictions allow getting the permit free of charge, and others require paying tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars for this service.

For example, the gambling license costs 500 base values in Belarus (12,750 Belarusian rubles as for 2019), €427,000 in Latvia, up to 2,000 lari in Georgia, $40,000 in Curacao.

The entrepreneurs that conduct gambling activity without having a license can be brought to responsibility.

Stage 5. Registration and purchase of domain

A domain name is the name of the website shown in the browser address field. It has to be unique. It is advisable that it includes the company name and is easy to remember.

Besides, it is important to choose a corresponding to your activity domain extension. Extensions fall into territorial, which speak about the attachment of the website to a certain country (for example, ua, ru, de), and all-purpose (for example, com, net, org). There are restricted domain extensions. They are accessible for governmental and international organizations, educational facilities, etc.

To register a domain name, you need to contact the organization that provides corresponding services.

Stage 6. Website development

To conduct online gambling, your own website is required. The higher quality and more functional it is, the more popular it will be among users.

Experts state that a casino website should have the following characteristics:

• understandable structure. Pages have to be located according to a clearly drafted logical scheme;
• eye-catching and memorable design. The website should have a consistent style. It is necessary to use fonts and images that can attract user attention;
• low page load time. Modern Internet users do not like waiting for the website to load. They close the tab and look for other websites that will open straight away;
• convenient navigation. Visitors of the website should have a possibility to move from one page to another easily.

It is possible to build a website on your own using an online constructor or a content management system. However, the best option is to delegate this task to professional web developers. The cost of such services can reach several thousand dollars.

Stage 7. Purchase of gambling software

Gambling content is the image of the online casino, the thing that customers pay attention to in the first place. If software functions improperly, has poor performance and graphics, chances are high that the visitor will leave the website and go to your competitors. To avoid such a scenario, take a responsible approach to the choice of software.

Today there is a great number of developers and providers of gambling software in the market. Some of them are Endorphina, Amatic Industries, Betsoft Gaming, Microgaming, NetEnt, Cryptologic, Novomatic, and many others.

When you choose online casino software, pay attention to the following characteristics:

• availability of licenses and certificates of quality;
• user-friendly and comprehensible interface;
• high quality of graphics and sound;
• the originality of software;
• adaptability to mobile devices.

Stage 8. Choice and integration of payment systems

Using payment systems, customers of online casinos can make deposits and withdraw winnings. Upon choosing these services, take into account the following nuances:

• speed of payments;
• supported currencies;
• user-friendly interface;
• commission rate;
• service awareness;
• reliability of payments and guarantee of transaction security.

Currently, there are many services of this kind including Yandex.Money, VISA, MasterCard, Qiwi, Maestro, Skrill, Neteller, PayAnyWay, etc.

Online casinos usually integrate several payment systems. In such a way, they give players the possibility to choose tools for making transactions.

Stage 9. Development and realization of an advertising campaign

To organize a gambling business from scratch, it is insufficient to acquire a license, develop a website and integrate games. It is important to promote the website. By doing so, you can attract customers and make your online casino brand more recognizable. The number of players that will use your services will influence the company’s revenue.

Today there is a great variety of ways to promote online resources. Here are some methods and approaches:

• banner and contextual ads;
• teaser ads;
• social media marketing;
• affiliate marketing;
• SEO and many others.

To attract more users to the casino website, it is desirable to use several marketing tools at once. If you do not have the skills of goods and services promotion, it would be better to delegate the task of advertising campaign development to professionals.

Stage 10. Hiring of personnel

Maintenance of efficient performance of the gambling platform is impossible without a qualified team. The online casino staff can include specialists that service, develop, and promote the website, for example, programmers, webmasters, marketers, experts in SEO and advertising, analysts, financiers, and many others.

When you organize the operation of the online gambling platform, it is important to pay special attention to the technical support team. The latter should include highly qualified specialists that know all subtleties of the casino operation. Their responsibilities are consultations of players and providing them with needed assistance.

At Ukrainian Gaming Week 2020, which will take place on April 15 and 16, you will have an opportunity to get to know about the best online casino software developers and prospects of the gambling market in Ukraine.