How Much Money Do You Need to Start an Online Casino?

Online casinos allow punters to sign up to play their favourite games and earn real money prizes. With suitable structures in place, being an iGaming platform operator can be a very profitable venture.

Starting an online casino business is expensive, and strict laws are not small work. Consistent operations help your business stay relevant among punters. Keep reading for more information on how much money you need to start an online casino.

Registering Your Online Casino Business

Every online casino business begins with the documents that legalise it. It is better to start the registration process in the country where you wish to obtain a license. There are benefits to doing this in offshore zones where your company is taxed less.

Registering your gaming business is usually a simple process in most countries. To start an online casino, you must submit the required details, get a gambling license, and partner with software providers.

Depending on the area, you may need to be in the later stages of your plans before registration. To compete with highly-ranked Australian online casinos, you must first obtain a trademark. Then you can rent office spaces and hire some local employees to run operations.

Designing a Website and Mobile App

Like an individual representing a brand, your company’s website has to look good to the public eye. After obtaining the online gambling business trademark, you need to use it. The website's interface should be easy to navigate and integrated with your brand's colours. This will help to attract new customers.

A flashy website can end up discouraging new players who are not yet familiar with the site’s navigation. It also has the disadvantage of lagging on some mobile devices.

Optimise the website to run smoothly on Android and iOS mobile device browsers. Its front-end design is crucial to seamlessness in usage, so ensure to work with professionals. This will cost around AU$1,000 to AU$5,000.

While this is usually enough, you can up it by developing a mobile app players can download. Work with experts to get the best results quickly and have a functional app on Google Play and Apple stores. This will cost you more, but it improves access for interested players.

Licensing & Regulation

Once you establish the business infrastructure, get a gambling license. Getting one gives you the right to host your own online casino platform’s servers in the country where the license is issued.

The license permits online entertainment businesses in a particular region. You can choose to operate internationally or stick to one country depending on your budget and vision. This applies to places where the online gambling market is not prohibited.

Licensing Fees

Among online gambling platforms, popular licensing bodies exist within different jurisdictions. Some of these are listed below:

There are gambling licenses that permit your casino to conduct a specific activity. Some regulatory bodies divide these into classes. As a new business, you can start with the one most relevant to your jurisdiction. Your company is billed for licensing and taxes, as determined by the class.

After paying the licensing fee, you have to consider other expenses. Before starting the licensing journey, make sure your company can cover all the costs. It is a strict, thorough process. A full gambling license costs a figure between AU$ 100,000 and AU$ 1,000,000.

Alternatively…

An alternate approach is to obtain a license from your software provider. This usually costs between AU$ 50,000 - AU$500,000. The aim is to create a company that abides by the strict regulations of the licensing bodies. This way, players can trust your business to operate fairly.

Purchasing Online Gambling Software

Online casino software is very crucial as it determines the platform’s functionality and customer experience. Therefore, you must employ the services of a reputable software provider to ensure the success of your online casino project. You have to include quality games in your budget to ensure the casino keeps attracting players. The payment services you partner with are also integral to the success of the casino’s operations.

Game Providers

The process of setting up an online casino site with appropriate software can be expensive as well. The software to manage user accounts on the online casino platform will cost between AU$200,000 to AU$400,000, including a commission fee. Games are naturally included in this, but you can still source for independent titles. These can cost between AU$500 to AU$5,000 each. Buy games in bulk from software providers to secure a better payment deal.

The games available to punters are the essence of online casino platforms. They determine the experience players will have on the site. Diversity, quality and quantity are three important things to note when working on adding games to your website. Players want to find the latest variants of online slots, poker games, roulette, baccarat, blackjack, virtual sports, eSports, and more efficiently. Your casino product should give this to them.

There are software providers with a popular following, such as:

• Microgaming;

• Evolution Gaming;

• Pragmatic Play;

• NetEnt;

• Playtech;

• Yggdrasil Gaming Ltd.;

• RealTime Gaming;

• Novomatic;

• Play'n GO.

Instead of using established developers for the job, you can hire your own team to take care of it. As long as they can come up with practical solutions, it is not a bad idea. The only downside is it costs more money and time to implement. As a fresh face in the global online casino market, it is not so important to start big. It is better to be known for quality than to have nothing to show for starting big.

Payment Services

Another essential software is the payment software. This software is used for conducting transactions between your online casino business and customers. Variety is key here, as a wide range must be provided to cater to different types of punters. You can liaise with independent companies or connect payment methods. One practical payment gateway will cost a monthly subscription of about AU$ 20,000 to AU$ 50,000.

The payment services provided show your dedication to customer satisfaction. Players prefer sites with practical options, not necessarily a lot. They must work smoothly within the player's country. Find ways to provide customers with widely-used banking methods such as credit cards, debit cards, wire transfers, e-wallets and, of course, cryptocurrency.

The banking methods you intend to provide to players should include different types. That will give them access to a wide range of options. Popular payment services used for secure transactions between online casinos and player accounts include:

• Visa: This is a payment service players can use for secure transactions between their banks and casino accounts. With Visa, they can transact smoothly with your online business without having to pay a processing fee.

• Mastercard: This is another option for using your bank card to pay for playing games online. MasterCard is a popular payment option with global usage. It is also a familiar brand among many punters. It is preferred by most people who make online transactions.

• Neteller: This e-wallet works as a reliable alternative to using actual bank cards. With Neteller, you can fund your online casino account using a prepaid credit account.

• Skrill: This is another popular e-wallet option for players to fund their online gaming. Skrill is widely known among punters and is accepted by most online casinos worldwide.

• ecoPayz: This is another e-wallet option that works well on most online casinos. It allows players to make free and instant transactions online.

• Bitcoin: As a cryptocurrency, Bitcoin tops the list as one of the most secure payment options in the world. Most people who dabble in cryptocurrency prefer it as their payment method of choice at an online casino.

• Ethereum: This payment method shows punters that your online casino is modern and in line with the times. This allows players to deposit money in their casino accounts without giving out too much personal information. Like other cryptocurrencies, Ethereum is fast and secure.

Staffing and Maintenance at Online Casinos

After completing all the processes for the smooth running of the casino, it’s time to secure your team. The team working behind the scenes must be equipped to cope with the demands of working for the business. At this point, several posts will have been filled, but you still need to keep an eye out for competence.

The company should at least include a team of admins, financial experts, legal advisors, an IT team, a marketing squad and customer support staff. When you add the cost of employing managers and independent contractors, you may be looking at an annual sum of about AU$ 200,000 - AU$ 300,000 to cover all the salaries for a start.

With staffing, you have another outlet to cut costs by outsourcing departments such as the online support team or payment system so you don't have to be responsible for their salaries too.

Marketing

As with any venture, an online casino business needs a good marketing campaign and promotions to succeed. Major ad sites like Google, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube have restrictions concerning online gambling promotions. Much of the marketing is done by creating informative and creative SEO content for this to work. A fairly colossal amount will go into this and paying ad partners from your campaign budget.

When you look up certain casino-related words, some online casinos naturally come out on top of search engine results. These tend to be the best partners. Due to their easy access to bettors, they can be offered contracts that enable them to share certain incentives among customers. Depending on who you partner with, you can expect to have a marketing budget of about AU$ 50,000 to AU$ 100,000.

After starting an online casino, you must provide promotional offers with different terms and cost implications. You can opt for a CPA, which involves paying affiliate partners to introduce players who sign up on the platform and make deposits. Another scheme consists in paying the partner a percentage of the player's losses, which is usually up to 25%.

Promotional incentives must also be available to attract and retain players' interests. These include the following:

• Welcome offer: This is a bonus aimed at players signing up for the first time on the platform. This sign-up bonus is usually up to 100% of the deposit made. It also helps new players enjoy a better experience.

• Reload bonuses: These are given to reward deposits and encourage punters to keep making them. It can be given weekly or for a certain number of deposits.

• Loyalty/VIP club: This is the club where you have all your loyal customers. Now that you have identified them, it is up to you to make sure the excitement continues. You can make the loyalty bonuses into stages and levels for better participation.

Conclusion

Starting an online casino can be profitable, but it is also an expensive project. First, you need to create a team and register your potentially profitable business as a legal entity. Then you move to designing a website and/or mobile app.

With these, you can obtain a license and partner with software providers for structure and games. The brand receives exposure through a well-funded marketing strategy. Running the business can generate expenses of between AU$300,000 to AU$1,000,000 in the first year alone. It is best to operate transparently and efficiently, with good business ethics. This will help in becoming a profitable venture.