Anyone here run their own online casino?

[internetgamble]

It seems to me that it is a saturated market. I keep hearing stories of millions being earned and top affiliates earning thousands a month.

Maybe it's better to get one's own software and licence and then have an affiliate programme. How much dosh is needed to start up?

Regards

andy@internetgamble.org

[John Holmes' Stunt C**K]

Realistically? 250k start-up i'd say. its simply not just a case of writing a program on VB and get a few mates to get a few mates to get a few mates to join up.....

Most online casino's are run from tax havens, Gibraltar being the most common.

Affiliate schemes work to a point. Very similar to the pyramid schemes that were arund in the 90's. There will be a point in time when there are no more people to join up

[kohldoug]

Hello

So you want to start your own Online Casino

I recently started to operate my own Online Casino. And let me tell you it is not easy. I was running own affiliate page. But everyone has the same affiliates and the same offers. I think if I was going to do that again I would just run a directory with advertisements.

I think that giving every one the stats on all casinos, and making money on a couple of well placed ads would work better than trying to place 100s of ads on a page, and confusing your readers into clicking off and fining a casino on there own.

Now the problem with your own. Licensing the software will be expensive , and who do you think pays the winners? Don’t be fooled by the scams out there. You pay for all the advertising and promotions, as well as all the jackpot money.

What is left is not much. Especially when you are first starting out like I am…. Search engines only index the first couple, and then you must magically come up with the right combinations of keywords, and links to get any referrals from search engines. So there is a lot of work everyday posting ads, and giving away much money on bonuses. And incentives. I give away free CD’s of my software. I have to burn them and label them and mail them out. My cost is around 2.50 Per CD.

Every one out there running a casino licenses there software from just a couple of companies. I.e. all of microgaming software casinos all look alike and perform the same way; as well as RGT ect. If you are truly interested contact the companies supplying the software of the casino you like to play at the most.

Write a business plan. Factor in all the cost down to envelopes, stamps, advertising, and even gas to get you to the post office. Create a marketing plan. And remember all the things that don’t cost money, like friends and family, posting your ad at grocery stores, laundry mats, and even on power polls if you have to until the money starts coming in….

Put your domain name on everything including your car, all outgoing mail, your t-shirt. Make sure you have another source of income, until the money starts to roll in (and Out), and have fun. Remember you are not going to be an instant millionaire. There thousands of online casinos, and we are all fighting for your gambling dollar.

Good Luck and God Bless

Doug Kohl
<snip>

[internetgamble]

Hi Doug,

Thanks for the info. I currently operate a casino and sportsbetting website, affiliated to various products - commission only basis - good rates of commission but extremely competetive market. And, of course, you have no control over bonus rates etc, - apart from adding in your own free stuff separately. Toughest part seems to be getting quality "traffic" - hate that term but it's basically true. Need new members who actively place bets.
I do have other sources of income, but you're right - you need to get the car emblazoned and start placing ads in windowws etc.
Can't post a link here as it will get erased - not posted 20 times yet, though been a member over a month?! But if you ORGanise after internetgamble then you'll get there.

Anyway, thanks again for quality info.

best wishes


internetgamble

[internetgamble]

My online casino and sportsbetting site has over 50 members now.
Judging by the stats, looks like only 11 of those have ever placed any bets.
Trouble is they seem to win more than lose and I'm therefore still in the red and not making any money yet.
I've been offering free gambling systems on my site as an enticement to play and wonder if I've done the right thing.
If I don't start winning soon, I'll probably get my site pulled by the big boys.

This is not a recruitment drive, but any losers are very welcome.

internetgamble

[alexross1977]

cmon admins. whats the story... ?

I would imagine that its probably very cheap to get your own branding on an exisiting casino product (like those from boss in sweden)... and an automatic large user-base for your punters to lose their money to :-P

anyone got any prices?

[alexross1977]

Realistically? 250k start-up

lmao.
where on earth did u magic that number from?

startup would cost u less than 10k to code, debug, test and deploy. the problem I see is having a critical mass of users to begin with.

[Gus Mango Fish]

cmon admins. whats the story... ?

I would imagine that its probably very cheap to get your own branding on an exisiting casino product (like those from boss in sweden)... and an automatic large user-base for your punters to lose their money to :-P

anyone got any prices?

Having done some research to this in the past, I can say that to get a branded version of Boss software is far from cheap. I believe it's in the region of €60k. Playtech cost around $250k, Microgaming/Cryptologic a similar cost. You also need to prove that you have a client base ready to use the software. A bit Catch-22 in that regard.

However, there are much cheaper alternatives out there, if you can cope with an unbranded product. Eg "Online Casino", or "Online Poker" being the client name. This is pretty much the same as an affiliate deal and can cost from £0.00 > £5k or £10k-ish.

There are even some alternatives that will brand your software for you for free, though these tend to be lower quality solutions, hence their willingness to do it for free.

There are not many casinos/poker rooms that produce their own software in-house. I believe Party Poker, now they've split from Empire, and Poker.com are almost the only two. Even huge companies like Sporting Odds, Virgin, Littlewoods, William Hill, Ladbrokes, license and 'skin' their products from a third-party developer.

[John Holmes' Stunt C**K]

My initial estimate was based on betting exchange I worked for. The initial set-up cost was 250k, this included "incentives" for people to use the site.

If anything thinks they can be successful on a limited budget, they should think again

[georgechristodoulou]

Your better off going for a cheap domain, finding articles about gambling or writting them yourself and making an info site with ppc or affiliate gambling sites.

the prob with affiliate banners is they are flashy as heck and they distract people from the content and make them leave.

Thank you,

George Christodulou