How to Start an Online Casino?

Casino — an industry which is one of the most enticing verticals of the iGaming world, has always been a desirable and lucrative area to be explored by business owners due to a significant count of audience it possesses. Gaming marketplace brings unmatched growth opportunities and becoming a part of growth is not only exciting but is equally rewarding. But every journey needs a correct start and well-defined path for achieving the final destination, likewise in online casino business. For a successful online casino business, a proper sequential procedure needs to be followed. Online casino owners must avoid some common mistakes which might impede the launch of their business, bring losses or inflate their budget.

Insights of Online Casino Business

• In mid 1990, first online gambling sites were emerged which have become much more common in past few years.
• As per a research, global CAGR of this industry is expected to be 11.5% by 2027.
• In Europe, casinos prove to be online gambling’s second most popular form that accounted for 32% market share in the year 2018.
• Online casinos have always surpassed the offline ones as they come with several potential advantages such as no worries about buying or renting a space, zero risk of potential robbers, etc.
• Gaming enthusiasts can enjoy their favorite casino game while sitting in the comfort and safety of their homes, which is the most crucial aspect during pandemic time.
• As per a recent report, a whopping increase of 225% is observed in the count of people who commenced playing online Poker for the very first time during the pandemic time.
• People have prioritized safety and are preferring online casinos as compared to land based casinos.
• To succeed within a quick span of time in your online casino business, you must build it around the interest and pleasure of your target audiences.

Steps Involved in Opening an Online Casino

Here is a detailed process on how to start an online casino business :-

• Market Research
  Business owners must do a proper market research to identify their target audiences and their targeted geographies. You must keep yourself informed about the ongoing trends of the casino industry and should understand the common requirements of your target audiences including the popular casino games that are in demand, the advanced features that audiences expect in an online casino platform.
• Preparation

-Licensing
Getting a license is a crucial aspect of to start your own online casino business. You must take care of the jurisdictional compliances and licensing aspects before commencing your online casino business. Depending upon your location of operation, time and budget of getting a gaming license can vary. Generally it takes some months or may be a year for getting a license, for instance, it takes 6 months to get a gaming license in Malta.
The next legal aspect that demands to be noticed is registration of the legal entity that means a gaming company. Then follow the process of opening a bank account & make financial as well as legal infrastructure complete.
You can also opt for an alternative method which is getting a white label online casino software that means leasing of software along with the financial infrastructure & license from the casino software provider & then operate the online casino with your brand name. White label casino software comes with ready to use infrastructure and facilitate quick launching of platform.
The process of legal frameworks vary from country to country thus countries can be segregated in following categories:-
-Countries that govern their markets & have monopoly
-Countries which have prohibited gambling
-Countries that govern their markets
-Countries which have not regulated their markets.
Some of the most renowned gambling jurisdictions include UK, Gibraltar, Malta, Curacao, etc. The factors that determine the selection of jurisdiction include license price, license duration and reputation.

-Choose Online Casino Software Provider
After understanding the legal aspects, time comes for choosing a reliable and renowned online casino software provider. You must evaluate quality as well as pricing aspects wisely. Along with an appealing user interface & billions of exciting casino games, the software provider must also cover all the necessary and advanced functionalities and features in the platform such as :-
-RNG Module
-Content Management System
-Seamless Payment Options
-Bonus Management Module
-Reporting Engine
-Casino Game Management Unit
-Admin Dashboard
-Powerful Backend Support
-Risk Management System
etc
Software providers must also ensure you about regular updates of games & software, technical support and hosting. Post-launch support and maintenance services should also be taken care of by the provider.

-Opt for Quality Game Content
Diversity of games on your online casino platform holds utmost importance for engaging players. Your online casino website must support a plethora of exciting casino games including Baccarat, Slot games, Poker, Bingo, Blackjack, Roulette and many more. Your software provider must be connected with top-tier game providers so that you can get all the games of your choice integrated in your platform. Your platform must cover varied types of casino games including online casino games, virtual casino games, live dealer casino games, etc. Games from reliable game providers ensure you about high quality game content that is rich in engaging game assets and realistic storylines.

-Payment Methods
Seamless and secure transactions are the must for an online casino software. You must ensure that your platform covers multiple payment gateways so that your users can choose the payment method of their choice. Integrating fiat as well as cryptocurrency payment options enhances the value of your online casino as nowadays most of the people prefer payments in cryptocurrencies. You must ensure that your software provider is connected with reliable payment gateway providers so that your players can easily withdraw and deposit funds securely in your online casino.

-Budgeting
As soon as costing involved in legal aspects, software development and marketing strategies are defined, you can plan your complete budget of your online casino. For startups, it is advisable to set a budget for an entire operation year so that they can understand the flow or profits and losses wisely. Since you are a newly launched business, you must understand that you need to spend more in starting as you have to build a loyal customer base through different promotional schemes for enticing users. Here is an approximate separation of expenses that an online casino owner should keep in mind while planning a budget for their business :-

• Launching

Launching time frame not only depends upon software providers but also on the business owners. You must identify the most suitable and favorable time for your online casino launch. Generally it takes about 3 months for the online casino software providers to develop and set up the casino software which includes website designing, setting up games, customizations and functionalities implementations. Business owners can contribute equally in speeding up the launching process by offering timely feedback on various approval documents and queries of developers and designers.

• Promotion and Marketing

The secret of an online casino business’s success is not just engaging design and multiple games inclusion. The main secret lies in the implementation of marketing strategies on every project stage. The competitiveness of the online casino market is increasing rapidly and is really hard to break unless you have strong and proven marketing tactics. Here are some of the points that should be considered by online casinos for winning the fiercely competitive race:-

-Branding & Positioning
You should gather a skilled team of marketing experts who create strategies around your business offerings, announce your business goals, determine your targeting niche, promote your differentiators & your unique offerings.

-Pre-Launching Advertising
You should make an announcement of your casino launching through social media platforms or other promotional mediums that inspire your potential audiences to start waiting for the exciting launch. You can use multiple methods such as publications, presentations, online advertising, etc.

-Post-Launch Promotion
You can use SEO tactics for enhancing your presence on search engines and bring relevant traffic on your online casino. You can also go for banner networks and advertisements for post-launch promotions.

-Retention Campaign
You should plan some loyalty programs for enhancing the retention of users on your online casino. You can also include FAQs, demo versions, blogs, etc sections on your online casino platform for keeping your clients well-informed about the platform and your offerings.

-Affiliate Networks
You can develop a hierarchy of affiliates or agents networks for your online casinos that will boost the revenue of your online casinos in a significant way.

2021 Online Casino Trends

Although aforementioned points hold utmost importance in starting an online casino, market needs and technological advancements do not stand still. Thus you must keep your solutions and services in accordance with the latest trends of the industry.

• Cryptocurrency
  Cryptocurrencies are the ruling trends in the online casino industry for a long time. Most of the people prefer buying, trading and spending Litecoins, Bitcoins, Ethereums and other cryptocurrencies over other fiat payment options. Crypto payments prove to be convenient for players as well as operators as players get the advantage of staying anonymous while operators get money rapidly without involvement of any intermediaries. Thus, if you are planning for starting your online casino, then you must opt for integrating crypto payment options.
• Blockchain
  Blockchain based online casinos are also one of the most trending casino solutions that has formed an innovative layer in the casino market. Blockchain systems prove to be one of the leading platforms of the world for digital assets. Blockchain technology brings bundles of advantages along with it that includes secure transactions, rapid payments, fairness and transparency in gameplay and much more that make this technology a crucial component of online casinos.
• Gamification
  Gamification can turn a boring procedure into a user-friendly and engaging experience. Elements of gamification includes competition elements, badges, leaderboards, points & rules of play. Gamification enhances the interactiveness of your casino solution and makes it more engaging. Here are the crucial steps of a gamification strategy:-
  -Understanding your players
  -Identify their goals
  -Know their triggers and motivation
  -Introduction of gamification elements
  -Monitor gamification effects