How to Make a Gambling Website: 5 Steps Guide
The question of how to make a gambling website is now gaining momentum as more business owners are getting interested in taking part in this industry. However, the realities of breaking into such a competitive niche require a more nuanced perception and understanding of this sector.
Before you dive head-first into building gambling websites, it is best to consider if you are ready to tackle the jurisdictional and licensing part that is inseparable from the gambling niche. With that being said, in case you do manage to wrap your head around such intricacies, you can open your business up to a myriad of opportunities.
In our article, we will provide you with a guide on 5 steps to make a gambling website. In addition, you will find out the actual size of this industry and how much it can cost to build your platform and enter the sector.
What is a gambling website?
A gambling website refers to an online platform that allows users to participate in various types of gambling entertainment activities. During these activities, players can wager money by predicting the winning or other situational results. In case their prediction is true, they receive a monetary reward.
Gambling types of games.
Most commonly, gambling online sites offer a few different types of games players can wager on. The following are some of the typical gambling activities you can find on such a platform:
- Casino games. Traditional casino games that are available on gambling aggregators are table games, like blackjack, poker, baccarat, and random number games, such as roulette, bingo, and others.
- Sports betting. In this type of activity, players can wager money on various sports games and events in an attempt to predict the outcomes. Some of the most popular sports users bet on include boxing, football, and UFC.
- Lottery games. Also known as a game of chance, lottery or lotto typically involves a player purchasing a ticket with a random number. If the number combination ends up being the winning one, the player receives a prize in the form of money or other goods.
- Horse betting. During horse betting, players can wager money by predicting which horse is going to win the race. It is one of the most in-demand gambling activities out there.
It is inevitable that some of the most popular and competitive gambling websites offer a wide variety of games and continuously add new games to enrich their platform, capturing a bigger audience. With that being said, other aspects also help to draw users in.
Nowadays, being able to wager money using cryptocurrencies has become the norm, so be sure to offer this kind of payment option to encourage different users to join the platform. In addition, users are seeking out fair compensations and added bonuses that entice them to keep coming back to play again.
Another major factor in the success of any online gambling site is the safety. Players of all kinds significantly value the security of their personal information, as well as the payment processing. Therefore, put extra focus on encrypting your website and regularly auditing your games to protect user data from breaching.
An essential factor to keep in mind if you are looking at how to create a gambling website or other iGaming solutions is that such games may be addictive to some people. As an owner of a platform like this, the responsibility to promote conscious and responsible gambling lies on your shoulders.
5 steps on how to make a gambling website
Before you can enter the industry with your website, you need to go through 5 steps of making a platform from scratch. We will take a look at more generalized stages of development that all websites go through in order to give you a better understanding of the process.
Keep in mind that to start a casino that will be successful in the long run, you should collaborate with seasoned design and development specialists who have previous experience building gambling online sites. It is entirely up to you to choose either an in-house team or outsource a development provider that offers the necessary services.
Step 1: Requirements analysis
The first step to handling any project like casino website design and development is to make sure you have the complete picture and plan of what the end result must look like and the purposes it should fulfill. Conducting market analysis and user research should be your number one priority at this stage.
Requirements analysis.
After all, you won’t know how to create a solution without comprehending the needs and expectations of your target audience. A good idea you can put into practice is to send out questionnaires to a focus group, asking them to give feedback on your ideas. Whether positive or negative, in detail.
During this stage, validating your idea is essential to ensuring that there is a demand in the market for your solution. Therefore, you and your team must agree upon which features your website is going to possess. For example, what kind of games you will be offering, which payment options you will provide, will there be added bonuses to loyal players, etc.
Step 2: UI UX design
Once you have settled on the requirements for your gambling website project, you can forward the task to the second stage — UI and UX design. For the unfamiliar with this process, this is the step where the entire structure of your platform is created, from visual elements to user journeys. Let’s take a moment to discuss the meaning behind each phase.
UX/UI design example.
A user interface, commonly known as UI design, is the process of creating all of the elements of the visual appearance of the website or betting app design. It encompasses anything from small details, such as icons, logos, color schemes, buttons, and more, to creating an overarching theme and web page designs. Focusing on designing a unique look for your platform that simultaneously corresponds with your overall brand identity is the key to nailing the visual aspect.
On the other hand, a user experience, or UX, design focuses on the core architecture of your website design. The purpose of UX design is to create logically structured user flows, layouts, and intuitive navigation throughout the website. This is done in order to ensure the user can complete tasks without becoming frustrated or overwhelmed by confusing steps. Ultimately, the job of a UX specialist is to create a user-centered design that is easy to use.
Step 3: Development
With a design ready to be implemented, you can move forward in how to start an online gambling business process by developing the actual software alongside your chosen software provider. This stage typically takes the longest to complete as your team will be building your platform from the ground up.
Development.
Generally, the more complex and custom features you want to have on your website, the more time and resources it is going to require. The development of an online gambling website is also divided into two parts: front-end and back-end. Here is what each of these stages entails.
During the front-end development of a website, the developer implements the design of the website that was previously created. This includes all of the visual components that appear on the website, such as the interface, web pages, etc.
On the back-end development, the specialists focus on developing the architecture and the core functionality of the platform. This encompasses everything the user can’t see with the naked eye, like integrating databases and APIs.
Step 4: Testing
The testing phase is vital when it comes to creating a gambling website, as testing allows quality assurance engineers to identify and eliminate any errors, bugs, or failures within the software. You want to be sure that the features on your website, like casino games, are actually responsive and perform as they should.
Core phases of testing a gambling website.
Conducting various types of testing sprints before releasing the platform to the public is a must-do step. Otherwise, you risk exposing the users to a website that fails to operate correctly.
With such sensitive websites like gambling, security testing should also be at the forefront of your priorities. It helps detect any vulnerabilities in the code that carry potential threats to the breaching of user data and other information, like payment processing. Users put their trust in gaming platforms to indulge safely, so it is your duty to provide a protected environment for them.
Step 5: Launch
The launch of the completed website is the final stage of launching an online gambling business. At this point, you have a fully designed, developed, and thoroughly tested online gambling website on your hands from your chosen iGaming software provider that is waiting to be deployed from the local environment to the live servers.
Reasons to launch an online gambling website.
With that being said, the journey with your website continues after you go live. To ensure the platform continues to be functional for years to come, you must pay close attention to maintaining and supporting it. What that entails is monitoring your website for any bugs and reacting quickly to eliminate them. Over time, you will also need to implement updates and changes to the platform to keep it stable and scalable.
By now, you should have a much better visualization of making your website from a fresh start. These 5 stages are all crucial to the success and proper functionality of the site, so be sure to be careful with all of them and treat them with an equal amount of care and prioritization.
Challenges to overcome when you create a gambling website
For now, when you are aware of the essential steps towards your online gambling website, let’s reveal what challenges you may face during the process.
- Adopting cutting-edge technologies. The growing interest in using AI-powered chatbots for 24/7 customer service, Virtual Reality, and Machine Learning causes the need for businesses to implement such solutions. Another point is blockchain, which is used for transactions, a higher security level, and game fairness.
- Leveraging security level. To keep the topic of blockchain, it’s essential to provide a high level of security when it comes to personal data, payment details, data storage, etc. Also, it defines clients’ loyalty and trust, along with ensuring the platform’s safety.
- Keeping mobile-first design. According to the latest statistics, on average, approximately 56.69% of web traffic comes from mobile devices. Therefore, you have to offer multi-device platforms that have robust features and the same functionality.
- Choosing the proper software developer. Further, you will read about license fees, and software is inextricably linked to this since you will have to present a robust platform. Therefore, selecting your partner is a challenging and daunting task that requires a lot of time and effort.
- Making online gambling websites promotions. Your target audiences define this option, what social media platforms they use, what channels will be the most suitable to promote your website, etc.
We have named only a few challenges that are hiding behind making your web platform. For now, let’s dive into the most tricky question on this blog post — pricing and everything related to this point. Another crucial thing to consider is the gambling industry current size and trends in the nearest feature.
With more and more regions making their gambling regulations more flexible and open, the industry of gambling has been showing drastic growth over the last few years. A contributor to this boom is also due to the increasing number of gambling websites that expand across all gambling sectors, like sports betting and casino games.
In fact, according to research, the global gambling market has almost doubled in recent years. It was worth $449.04 billion in 2022. Now, in 2023, the number is at a staggering $702.45 billion, showing a compound annual growth rate of 56.4%.
Online gambling market growth.
With that being said, since a lot of business owners are seeking to make a gambling website and profit from an online facilitator, many brick-and-mortar casinos have faced serious challenges. A part of this may be due to how the world changed after the pandemic. However, it is also likely that players now prefer to indulge in wagering from the comfort of their homes and mobile devices.
Regardless of the fact that the physical gambling industry is having a difficult time, the global market for online betting is not showing any signs of slowing down. Interestingly, Europe is one of the regions dominating the demand for online gambling ever since many countries have legalized wagering.
Additionally, one of the biggest trends in this industry has been innovative modern technology. Alongside the rise of AI, augmented, and virtual reality, the options for a more immersive and interactive gaming experience through continue to drive the demand.
Interestingly, the sports betting sector holds the most significant share of the gambling niche at around 49% in 2022. Private corporations are now more likely to partner with software development providers to create an interactive gambling solution coupled with an attractive design, drawing more users to the platform and ultimately expanding the market.
These and many other reports demonstrate that curiosity about creating a website is warranted and based on factual data. The remarkable interest in online casinos will only continue to grow and bring more players to the table.
How much does it cost to make a gambling website?
Reasonably, the matter of price in how to build a gambling website question intrigues many business owners who are considering entering the niche. In reality, it is practically impossible to research or Google the exact price for your project without turning to software providers and receiving a tailored quote.
Post-launch expenses.
With that being said, the price you can expect to pay will be divided into two parts: the cost of development and the cost of licensing. Let’s stop and discuss what each of them entails.
Development costs
A significant portion of the price of making a website will go toward design and development. Keep in mind that custom solutions will end up costing more than using pre-built templates. However, a unique website has a better chance of becoming competitive in the market.
Other nuances also affect the price of collaborating with software providers. These typically include the level of experience of the team, the number of experts on the project, the scope of work, the complexity of features, and even the location of the vendors.
Generally, more complex websites with many customized features will take longer to create and consequently sum up to a greater price. In spite of that, platforms that provide tailored games, unique visual looks, and are highly functional do perform better in terms of popularity among users.
Licensing fees
When launching a new website, you must apply for a special license in order to conduct activities legally and ensure your platform adheres to your local regulations. Overall, the license fees and the requirements for obtaining them differ greatly depending on the country and region where you plan to operate, as well as the types of gambling activities you will be offering.
Keep in mind that the price for the licensing is comprised of three elements: the application fees, the license itself, and the annual compliance maintenance. The cost of the last element includes reporting to the regulation authorities, annual re-certification, and certification of new games you plan to add.
For example, in the United Kingdom, the application and annual fees are tied to your expected annual gross revenue and can range between thousands and tens of thousands of pounds. Some of the regions that have relatively moderate gambling regulations include Malta, Curacao, Isle of Man, and Gibraltar.
How to create a gambling website?
In contemporary conditions, you need to have strategic thinking and a creative approach in order to create a gambling website that will be successful. The rise in demand for wagering facilitators may seem like it is an easy task to break into the market. In reality, the size of the established competition only complicates the process and puts your odds at a challenging position.
To make your entrance into the industry, it is essential to choose reliable software development partners that will help you make the right decisions regarding your solution. Today, having a website that drives progress through technology and digitalization is the key to building a sustainable business.
In case you are seeking out trusted specialists who have vast experience in building thriving gambling online sites, our team is here to lend you a helping hand. We encourage you to book a call with Limeup and discuss how you can transform your business idea into reality.