Starting an online gaming business is a complex process that requires attention to many different aspects.
You will need to deal with issues involving corporate, licensing, regulation, sales, banking, marketing, payment methods, risk, finance, outsourcing/manpower and much more. Owners of online gaming companies require skills in all these fields. There are no short cuts. The gambling industry is a complicated, high-risk and often questionable business when it comes to operation, retention, laws, sales etc.
Financing an Online Gaming Business
In addition to having the skills to deal with a wide range of fields you will need the proper financial backing. It is next to impossible to start an online gaming casino without a large investment. All steps in the setting up process and operating of a gaming company require funds – from licensing which can cost about US$20,000 to financing a white label solution. You can safely say that setting up your online casino will require at least US$50,000 including the cost of a license. In addition there are many more steps involved. If you do not have the necessary funds don’t even attempt to start an online gaming business!
Licensing Your Online Casino
One of the first steps in starting an online gaming business is to acquire a license. This can be a complex process requiring attention to the legal and regulatory aspects of online gambling.
If you are in a country that imposes strict restrictions on gambling of all kinds then it is advisable to look else ware for a different jurisdiction where you can apply for your license. If not you face many problems and your fledgling company might the closed down before you even have a chance to get it up and running.
Jurisdictions with Low-Cost Online Gaming Licenses
For a jurisdiction where it is cheap to obtain and maintain an online gambling license you should check out countries like Curacao egaming. However this means you will have to focus on players from countries where no regulation exists.
Requirements for Obtaining an Online Casino License:
- You will require many legal documents and costly certification of you technology.
- You will need to open corporate bank account and servers in the jurisdiction where you are registered.
- You must have a method of online card payments on your site (if your white label solution does not provide the option of card payments you will have to implement this)
- You may be required (depending on the jurisdiction) to employ people in specified roles e.g. Servers, call center operators, compliance management etc.
- Be sure to correctly calculate the gaming duty, corporate tax and sales tax that is applicable.
- You and your shareholders/partners must be prepared to withstand a high level of personal disclosure necessary when applying for an online gaming license.
Finally if you want your business to be legitimate and licensed but at the lowest possible cost then your best option is Curacao. One of the plus points about a Curacao gaming license is that you can operate all forms of online gaming under one license – poker, casino gambling, lottery, sports betting – all with just one license. Also, working under license will allow the company to open a business bank account in some banks in Europe.
Alternatively if you want to operate from a jurisdiction where a license is not required then choose Costa Rica where there are no gaming licenses.
