Highlights:
- You need from 12 weeks to 8 months to open an online casino.
- Completing detailed research and analyzing audience preferences are crucial before launching an online casino.
- You must obtain a gambling license to start an online casino legally.
- Creating a profitable bonus system and VIP promotions are necessary for casino success.
- The price of a new casino opening depends on the jurisdiction, license type, offered gambling services, software, and other factors.
How to Start Your Own Online Casino
Launching a new online crypto casino involves several stages: comprehensive research, drafting a business plan, website launch, license obtaining, and advertising. Below, the Legal Pilot team will introduce you to each of these stages.
Research & Target Audience & Plan
The first step to success in gambling is completing detailed research and studying global and local trends in the area. Analyze flourishing websites with casino games, their payment methods, and bonuses. Additionally, technical innovations in the region, including blockchain websites and AI-powered opportunities, should be considered.
Of course, you need to find the right audience for your gambling services before starting an online casino website. You need to decide which jurisdictions you focus on, remembering that some countries restrict online casinos. Analyze potential players’ gender, age, and habits. Consider which games they prefer more (slots, live dealer shows, table games, bingo, etc.) and their preferred payment types.
As a result of this research, you should create a detailed business plan with a model of your company and income strategy. The business plan is crucial not just for your company but for the regulators who will require it before issuing a gambling permit for your activities.
Get a License for Legal Business Operating
According to the law, you should obtain an official license to start an online casino or a betting website. The type of permit depends on the regions in which you plan to operate. Moreover, you need to pick the regulator according to your budget, provided services, and reputation. For instance, Curaçao is a cost-effective choice with fast license approvals. If you want to pick a regulator with stricter terms and a better reputation, consider the Malta Gambling Authority. The Kahnawake, the Isle of Man, and Gibraltar also are well-known jurisdictions for operating on international markets.
To receive a license, you need to go through several stages. Check the necessary information about the licensing procedure, gather the required list of documents, pay the indicated fees, and wait until the regulator makes a favorable decision.
Choose Software Solution
A casino or a betting site is just a platform providing access to games and other gambling activities created by other companies. So, you need to pick suitable software providers to start an online casino business. Any reliable casino should cooperate with top-rated game developers and provide the finest titles for its players. For instance, NetEnt, Play’n Go, and Pragmatic Play are some of the best slot providers. If you want to add live games to your library, pick Evolution and Ezugi. Meanwhile, Microgaming and Playtech are brilliant choices for table games.
Remember that modern online casinos should be optimized for mobile devices (iOS and Android). Ensure that the chosen games are HTML5-based and quickly load on smartphones.
Create a Brand and Website
Of course, you cannot start an online casino without a website, title, and brand strategy. You may pick a suitable option from a white-label solution or order turnkey website development. The white-label solution is a pre-created online platform with available branding. This option includes payment methods, games, licensing help, and technical assistance.
Another option is to hire developers and designers to create the software from scratch. This is the go-to choice if you need to start an online gambling website with specific requirements and complete control over features.
Bonus System, Affiliate Program, and Marketing
The next step for success in gambling is crafting a well-thought-out marketing strategy. Initially, you need to find SEO specialists for website promotion and copywriters to prepare casino reviews and helpful guides for thematic blogs and affiliate platforms. Do not overlook partnerships with influencers for additional casino promotion.
Moreover, providing a bonus system for newcomers and regular gamblers is crucial at the first stages of your development since it will attract the potential audience’s attention. A generous bonus system should include welcome packages, free spins or chips, no-deposit bonuses, and VIP perks for loyalty club members. Plus, if you plan to start an online Bitcoin casino, add crypto bonuses to your promotions as well.
How Much Will It Cost to Open an Online Casino?
The budget for opening your own online casino depends on the chosen jurisdiction, license type, offered gambling services, software solution, and other factors. Check our table, where we listed all possible costs.
| Spending Category | Approximate Cost | Features |
|---|---|---|
| Website Creation | From $5,000 to $50,000 | It can be a basic online platform, white-label solution, or website development from scratch. |
| Licenses and Legal Fees | From $20,000 to $500,000 | It depends on the jurisdiction, the desired license type, and the offered gambling services. |
| Game Software | From $10,000 to $150,000 | Online casino software cost varies according to the chosen provider, its games, and RNG and other certifications. |
| Security Methods | From $1,000 to $10,000 | Firewalls, SSL, two-factor authorization, AML tools, and other security measures. |
| Hosting Services | From $300 to $2,000 per month | The necessary server and its price depends on traffic volume. |
| Payment Methods | From $1,000 to $5,000 for set-upping | The price depends on the picked payment gateways. |
| Affiliate Partners | From $1,500 per month | The price depends on traffic volume. |
| Advertising and Marketing | From $10,000 to $200,000 | The cost involves SEO, social media promotion, PPC, and other advertising activities. |
| Casino Managers | From $3,000 to $10,000 per month | Salaries for customer support on your online platform. |
The Cheapest Way to Start an Online Casino
If you are on a budget, you need to use a wise strategy about how to start an online casino. Here are our recommendations to minimize the costs of launching a gambling company:
- Pick a low-cost regulator for licensing. Compare prices in several jurisdictions and opt for the most profitable one. For instance, Curaçao, Kahnawake, and Anjouan offer cost-effective licenses.
- Prefer white-label solutions. A white-label website is a ready-made platform with available licensing, games, and payment systems. It will be cheaper than creating an online casino from scratch.
- Do not create a colossal game library. You may start an online casino with a limited game assortment, preferring titles from budget-friendly providers. For example, it can be developers like BGaming or Spinomenal.
- Optimize transactions. You may use cryptocurrencies instead of well-known traditional banking methods to cut processing costs.
- Use marketing wisely. Do not try to use all advertising at the same time. It will be a brilliant idea to start with affiliate marketing for your company’s recognition and, after a few months, go to other methods, like PPC or social media advertising and more.
How Long It Takes to Launch an Own Online Casino
You need from 12 weeks to 8 months to start an online casino. We created a table describing all stages of online gambling company opening and indicated time frames.
| The Stage | Time Frames | Involved Actions |
|---|---|---|
| Gambling license obtaining | 4-12 weeks | Company registration, collection of all the required documents, applying for the license, and compliance checks. |
| Casino software setting-up | 2-6 weeks | Using a white-label solution or creating software from scratch. You also need to integrate casino games and set up payment methods and security measures. |
| Website development | 6-30 weeks | Website creation or adaptation, mobile optimization, branding, and UX/UI design. |
| Testing and compliance with regulations | 2-4 weeks | Casino game testing, verification of payment methods, and security audits. |
| Marketing and advertising campaign | At least 2 months and will continue for the entire duration of the casino’s operation | Content marketing, SEO, affiliate partnerships, and cooperation with influencers. |
What a Successfully Opened Online Casino in 2025 Should Have?
Maintaining your reputation and attracting new players and partners is essential, even if you profitably started an online casino website. Keep reading to learn features that online casinos in 2025 should have.
According to Statista, the number of sports bettors is expected to be 206.6m users by 2029. Thus, you may offer bets on soccer, basketball, horse racing, hockey, and other sports and esports to target more clients, increasing your income.
How Legal Pilot Can Help With Starting a Legal Online Casino
So, you have decided to start an online casino and now know about many legal challenges, such as obtaining the necessary license, ensuring regulatory compliance, and more. Sure, you may try to navigate these issues independently, but the process is time-consuming and requires extensive legal expertise. We may offer you a more efficient approach – using the experience of our legal team, which has been assisting with gambling business setups for years.
The Legal Pilot company has over three years of industry background. We have successfully helped over 100 clients obtain gambling licenses for their casinos. With our support, you can move from the idea stage to a fully operational online casino much faster and without obstacles. We assist in selecting the correct jurisdiction, establishing a company, collecting all required documents, obtaining the license, and launching your business. By partnering with us, you may quickly and legally launch the gaming business with guaranteed results in the shortest possible time.
Final Thoughts
So, we have described all the vital information that may help you to start an online casino from scratch or with a white-label solution. We explained the main steps you must complete to open your gambling website. Moreover, we gave an idea about the costs for online casino launching and time frames for each creation stage.
Now, we would like to give you some essential tips on minimizing the costs for your gambling company. Initially, you should opt for the cheaper license (for example, Curaçao) for your future casino, cooperate with low-cost game providers, and use white-label solutions instead of developing the site from scratch. So, use the presented information, follow your business plan, and your online casino will give you the desired profit.
FAQ
Yes, you can legally start an online casino business if you obtain a special license for your activity.
A turnkey online casino is a gambling website created from scratch with complete control over branding and customization. In contrast, a white-label solution is a ready-made casino where the provider is responsible for licensing, games, payments, etc., allowing for a fast launch.
Yes, in most cases, you need to hire at least online casino managers for customer support on the gambling website.
You may use content marketing, find affiliate partners, and contact well-known influencers to draw organic traffic to your online casino.
Offer high-wager games, progressive jackpots, exclusive bonuses, generous VIP rewards, and crypto payments to attract high-value players to your online casino.
