According to Statista, the global casino and online gambling industry have generated $230.86 billion in 2021. With such an immense size of the market, everyone wants to start an online casino business. The Curacao license is the fastest and easiest way to do it. Read this article to know how to launch a virtual casino in just six months. The GBC Time studied a real-life case from a gambling consultant with over 20 years of experience.
SEO & Co-founder of a gambling consultancy firm BulletPoint, Ioannis Lagos, has shared his experience of opening an online casino back in 2016. The text below is the expert’s own words.
Creation of an online casino with a Curacao license – gambling consultant’s experience
Hello, GBC Time readers. In the 20 years of my career, each project I have consulted for has been a challenge. Target country and region are always important. You need to know the mentality of the potential clients, analyze the competition and try to make a difference. The other important thing is the will of the investor and, of course, the team.
In 2016, I was approached by a team of investors with a talented project manager and asked to help them create an online casino, which is now one of the most rapidly growing and well-known casinos in the world. My apologies, but I cannot reveal the name!
The goal of the project – to build a brand name for the casino
It was a Curacao license casino, which meant that we were ready to dive into the vast ocean of online casinos worldwide. The main objective was to break even in one year.
The goals were to build a brand name in the countries we chose to operate. At the time we were operating under a Curacao license, so we targeted grey areas, like Scandinavia (except Sweden and Denmark), Canada, Latin Amerika, and, after a while, some African countries.
We measured the goals and the KPIs regarding operation and marketing costs based on our experience with similar projects.
Key steps to take before the launch
Choose the type of casino brand you want to develop
My strategy is that one must choose from the start which type of brand one wants to bring to the market. It could be:
- a VIP targeting brand;
- a classic brand;
- a social media brand, etc.
Pick domain name, style, and the brand story
Then, after this decision has been taken, one starts with the domain name, the style, and the story behind the brand, which will better resonate with the audience they want.
The team is the most essential “tool” for the casino launch
My essential tools, in the beginning, were the people: I am working with the same creative director for all my projects, and he is guiding the marketing team.
Top-3 steps to build an online casino in 6 months
Start with domain name and brand style
As I said, I am starting with the domain and the style of the brand. This is a decision where the investors have a big say (but, of course, I try to guide them).
Build the project itself
Then, I must start building the project. Selection of the platform provider is the most difficult thing. Mainly, because I need to see which platform fits the project best.
Conduct integration & testing
Then, a 3-months integration period follows, during which I find the opportunity and time window to recruit people. After that, the testing period follows, and then you go live.
There are no easy parts whatsoever, especially when you are building a brand from scratch. If everything goes well, the site must be live in 6 months after the first step.
Creative director, graphic designers, and affiliates – the key specialists for a casino launch
Finding people is not easy. Personally, I believe in talent more than in experience. So, I am trying to find really talented people, even though they may lack the years in the market. As I already mentioned, the creative director is the key position. Then, the rest of the departments operate based on his ideas, from the CRM to the support teams.
A team of skilled graphics designers is important too (could be just one person in the beginning). Last but never least, nothing can move forward, if you do not have a good affiliate department.
Marketing of the casino starts from the day one
The marketing starts from day one – from the moment a potential player visits your casino. You are starting with a concept that needs to be unique and eye-catching.
The target audience is all the potential players, based on the strategy you already made.
In our industry, it is not easy to meet your targets, usually because they are set too high due to inexperience. We did it, but it was not easy.
The next stage is never to sit and relax but keep on working, to grow. It begins right after you break even. There are always additional or unexpected stages because competition never sleeps.
First-year investment was approximately $300k
The investment for the first year was approximately $300 000 question. The rest is, unfortunately, not public due to NDA agreements. What I can tell you, though, is that by choosing the correct planning and strategy, you can save your client at least double their expenses.
The casino went live within 6 months
As I said, it took us 6 months to go live. The client is more than satisfied since now they are the owners of one of the most famous casinos in the world.
A strong brand story was the key to success
The strongest part of the project is the story behind the brand. There is no weak part that I can mention, apart from a limited budget – but this is actually the default situation with many casinos. It is very rare to launch an operator with unlimited funds.
100% trust from the client helped reach all goals of the project
We reached all the goals. The client gave me 100% of their trust. The project manager and I worked smoothly and without friction. There were no difficulties with the client, and it is one of the main reasons that the results were trully great.
If I could redo the project now, I would do exactly same things! Maybe, I would have invested more in designers, but we are doing this now.
Expert tips for online casino launch: invest in market research and business plan
For those who want to open an online casino, my advice is to do market research and build a strong business plan, which will help them decide to move forward. It is better to invest some money in research than lose lots of money on a bad investment.
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