21 Feb Here are the steps to start a successful online casino in 2019
Introduction
Most crucial steps to start online casino are to Choose professional iGaming software provider. Get high-quality online casino content. Obtaining a gaming license. Verified and secured payment methods. Create a good looking and user-friendly online casino website. Continuous marketing and promotion activities.
Market research continues to highlight the year by year growth of online casinos and this a growth that will only increase over the years. The field of online casinos is going to get more competitive and it is important to stay on top of your game by doing due research and diligence before starting your own venture.
Study the casinos that are already in the market, spend time on them and play on them to understand the ins and outs of how they work. This will help you when you start planning your own venture. Few industries can compare to the unrivaled success that a successful venture in the online casino sector can give you. Hope this article will give your fair knowledge about starting an online casino.
Obtain a license
The first step to start your online casino is to obtain a license in the country where you want to set up your business. This is no mean task as it involves dealing with different legislations and different jurisdictions which change from country to country. To break down the process for you, you need to choose from two main locations: Countries in the EU or offshore countries such as Antigua and Barbuda or Curacao. Whether you choose a country in the EU or any offshore country you have to keep in mind the parameters such as reputation, licensing requirements, duration of the application procedure and, costs and taxes. Keep in mind that obtaining a license could take anywhere between 6 months or a year.
After choosing your area of operation, you need to register your gaming company as a legal entity. This involves drawing up legal papers registering your venture as a company, opening a bank account and getting a payment system in place by making agreements with such providers. This will make your legal and financial infrastructure complete.
Get an iGaming Software Provider
If you do not want to go through the hassle of all the above mentioned steps you can also get white label solutions from iGaming software providers like Chippy Software who will allow you to lease their software plus gaming license and financial infrastructure.
This is a one-stop solution that helps you to bypass the legal and banking hassles. iGaming software providers will provide complete turn-key solutions that take care of all aspects of setting up an online gambling business. Simply put, you will get a plug and play business set up for you which you can simply start running under your own brand name right from day one.
Budget Wisely
The best-laid plans can bite the dust without a budget. As a start-up, you have to understand that you ’ll have to plan your strategy differently from a company that is already established as a land-based brand. Your budget needs to be in place long before you have actually set up your online casino and you need to have a budget plan for at least the first year of operation.
The budget needs to break down the costs involved initially as well as the recurring costs of the future. This kind of financial planning keeping in mind the present and the future will ensure that the business has a greater chance of success and progressing to the next level. Keep in mind that as a start-up you will have to spend more compared to an established company as you’ll have to make an extra effort to earn the confidence of players. This might not be the case for a land-based company that has an already established base of loyal customers.
Games to include on the website
Games in an online casino are a crucial part of the success puzzle and one that often gets overlooked. As a start-up, focus on delivering games that become your casino’s USP and help it to stand out from the crowds. It is alright to start by providing a limited number of games from limited game providers but focus on games that are based on HTML5 technology. This is because games based on HTML5 are rich in graphics and mobile-friendly which translates to a better gaming experience for customers on mobile devices. At Chippy, high-quality HTML5 games are offered in collaboration with our world-class game providers such as Redrake, Super Spade, Habanero, XPG, Endorphina and more.
Look and feel of the website
There are so many online casinos, how do you stand apart from them? The first thing that could draw a potential customer to your website will be the looks and layout of your website.
In order to make an impressive frontend for your website, here are some basic things that you need to keep in mind.
The speed at which your website opens also called the loading time of your website can be a major factor in deciding whether a first-time visitor to your website stays on the site or goes away. If a player finds that your website is slow to load then they will most likely move away to another site. To keep loading times fast on your website, do not complex or resource hogging things such as a lot of animations, movies or graphics on the homepage of your website. Your frontend should be a seamless gateway to your backend. If you’re confused about how to go about this aspect, your software provider can help you with this by providing templates for your frontend.
Marketing
When you start your new online casino, you want to open it to a flood of customers and this requires marketing done right where you position your casino as a trustworthy business where players can get entertained and win money as well.
Positioning is crucial in the beginning and you and your marketing team should try to come up with answers to questions such as – How are you different from your competitors, what makes your casino unique and similar questions. Conducting research about your competitors will help you to come with answers to these questions.
After you have figured out how to position your online casino, the next step to proceed to is the pre-launch advertising campaign. Here you can use methods of online advertising such as running ads and announcing your casino on different platforms both online and offline.
After the launch of the casino, you can use online methods such as running a Google AdWords campaign, Search Engine Optimization, blog posts, banners & landing pages for the promotion. Good email marketing strategy is the key point for success.
Payment Provider
Your online casino must have various payment options such that players have the option of making transactions easily. The more payment options you provide, the more likely it is that your players will appreciate this option in your online casino. Choose an iGaming software provider that can provide end-to-end solutions with regard to payment processing, multi-currency processing, fraud detection and integration with all major e-merchants.
Multiple methods of payment with a safe payment gateway are important in any business but of even more importance in the online gambling market. Along with traditional methods of payment, it is necessary to integrate modern day systems such as bitcoin currency.
Chippy software is an iGaming provider that provides integration with 50+ payment providers and more payment methods can be added upon request.
Bitcoin Casino
As we mentioned above, an online casino needs to be in tune with modern technological advances and the same goes for its payment methods. Start online casino with Bitcoin payment integration which is one such payment method that your online casino should offer. As a casino owner, there are many benefits of offering bitcoin currency such as savings on license application fees, monthly fees, fast payment processing and attracting more customer loyalty.
As a start-up online casino, it is advisable that you understand the nitty-gritty of the bitcoin payment system. This will help you to understand cryptocurrency as well as develop a marketing system that will demonstrate the benefits of the currency for your prospective customers.
Player Retention
Once the basic steps of marketing are out of the way you come to the crucial part of attracting and retaining your clients. Methods such providing a signup bonus where players get a bonus the minute they sign up on your website and loyalty bonus for players who keep coming back and spending a lot on your website are just some of the ways to attract and retain your customers. Loyalty programs, promotions for seasonal events and conducting season related events are all ways to keep your customers coming back and keeping them engaged.
However, the most important thing is to remember that your customers are on your site because they want a smooth gaming experience. Go out of your way to provide that by giving step by step ways to navigate their way around on the site and keeping guesswork to zero. In case your customers have queries, make sure that you have a 24×7 efficient and friendly customer care support system in place. Remember, at the end of the day people come back for an experience, not for a product.
Launch
The launch of your online casino is the most anticipated event and to ensure that everything goes according to plan, you, the business owner has equal responsibility as much as your software provider.
When you have everything in place right from obtaining the license to getting all the legal formalities sorted and making agreements with payment system providers, a software provider will usually take up to 3 months for setting up the website, games and custom settings that you require. As a business owner if you provide timely feedback to all the questions that designers and programmers have you can expect a faster rollout process.
How Chippy can help
Chippy software will provide you with a white label and turn-key solutions which are best-in-class and use their 13 years of industry experience to handhold you for success in the online gambling industry. Our 24×7 support, unmatched incorporation support and consulting is with you all the way. Added to that our world-class tie-ups with industry-leading games providers and payment providers are the testimony to our commitment to your success. Get in touch with Chippy today to start running your own brand online casino with minimal effort and in the shortest possible time. We wish you all the best and are there to support you along the way to success.