If you are considering starting an online sports betting website, this page will provide you with some basic do and don’ts as well as a start up checklist.
The very first thing to keep in mind is that you cannot get rich overnight by starting an online sports betting website. Unlike others will tell you, sometimes directly and sometimes more subtly, this is actually a very complex business that requires good planning along with sustained efforts, good marketing and management skills, and not quite rarely a significant investment.
A solution provider such as our company can provide you a variety of tools and services to set up your business, but in the end it is you and you alone that determine the outcome of this venture. Building a good brand and a good service takes months and sometimes years of work and the advertised massive profits take some months to show up.
Here are some details that may be instrumental during your start up:
- Go through the Mathematics of bookmaking and make sure you have a proper understanding of how bookmaking works.
- A high quality website is of utmost importance. The software has the last word to say on this one. If you have a shady website people will stay away from it and if there are also any service failures, a bad reputation will be easy to build and impossible to get rid of. There is only one shot at this, so make sure you choose the right software provider for your business.
- The betting platform in general must be robust and stable. Beware of the one-stop-shops that sell you “complete” betting sites (or “scripts” as some call them). This is not an one-stop purchase and there is no turnkey solution, a proper sports betting platform must be custom-tailored and well designed to match the requirements of a more and more exigent user base. The provider must be available around the clock to provide you support when needed, improvement as your business grows and advice if you find yourself lost on occasion.
- Sports content feeds are crucial, even if you have the best software. Up to date list of events and prices will keep users attracted to your website, if your solution provider cannot offer complete and up to date content you should reconsider. And contrary to popular belief, quality sports content cannot be obtained by “scraping” other sites (which is also illegal).
- Complete terms of service and various other policies must be published and enforced at all times.
- Fast payments and deposits are also vital, nobody wants to wait when depositing or withdrawing funds from a sports betting website. If you manage to process payments fast you will build a great reputation within your user base.
- Your website must include an affiliate program as well as a large selection of marketing tools such as banners, links, widgets, bonus coupons and vouchers.
Now regardless if you have chosen or not our white label sports betting platform, we may have some more hints and tips for you:
- When picking a sports betting website system, make sure it includes the complete set of features your business requires.
- Triple check if the sports content provider is offering the events and prices you are looking for. Also make sure updates are fast and error-free. This will make a major difference for your business. There are only few providers that offer a complete range of content, most of them just have some data entry workers supply a few basic lines for some of the most popular events.
- Be sure the vendor provides customer support and ongoing maintenance. There are a lot of shady enterprises that will sell you the license then never reply to your emails for weeks.
- Make sure it is clear who will assume liability for the wagers – will it be you or your white label provider? There are advantages and disadvantages to both options. If a large bankroll is not available to you, you may then want your white label provider to assume all liability and offer you a smaller revenue share, however if you can afford backing all bets you should definitely do it. An option to change your mind later will also be welcome.
- If you are required to obtain any business licenses, certifications, authorizations etc.
From a regulatory point of view, regarding if betting is legal or not in your country, sometimes additional licenses are required and these will have you invest significant time and money to obtain. Your vendor should make very clear if they will cover the licensing needs or you are supposed to obtain your own license.
Absolute DON’TS when starting an online sports betting business
- Do not think it will make you rich overnight, that is impossible.
- Don’t make picking your software provider an easy to make decision. Test the software thoroughly. Have someone technical assist you if you feel you don’t know what to look for and what questions to ask – a few hundred dollars spent on counsel may save you a lot more in the long term.
- Do not miss checking that the vendor is providing accurate and up-to-date contents. This is crucial. Some providers only publish some basic placeholder content, run away if you feel there should be more content available to you. Companies that don’t use a sports content feed are real bad to do business with.
- Don’t deal with shady companies. Make sure you know who the provider is and that they do not have a bad reputation. Check the company registration information as well, some “providers” aren’t even incorporated.
- Do not trust promises. Test customer support using different phone numbers, e-mail addresses and IP addresses. If the vendor takes too long to reply to your messages, simply move on.
- Do not forget to make sure you are legally entitled to run the business as planned – some countries forbid gambling and you may be required to redesign your monetization plans.