AMA: I Operate an Online Casino

[SirJohnVonSlotty]

I’d like some clarification: you mentioned that many casinos use the WordPress platform. As far as the WordPress core itself is concerned, it’s fairly secure. However, plugins make it quite "vulnerable" from a security standpoint. Its popularity also makes it the number one target" for many hackers.
Bottom line: I think choosing WordPress as a platform for an online casino is quite unsafe. Plus, the security configuration system is quite complex. In conclusion, I believe using WordPress for sites where large sums of money are involved is a pretty risky move!

I never said that many casinos use WordPress platforms. You maybe mistaken it with affiliates. Affiliates use Wordpress.

My question, to start with an online casino how much money do you need? up to 10k, up to 50k up to 100k

Was already answered. Check the first post.

Just a few questions that I have knowing that there wouldn't be an opportunity for me to raise these questions:

• Do you operate to establish a KYC system on your platform? If yes, what are the requirements for such implementation?
• Given that you operate a gambling casino, what are the regulations and laws that you have to follow? Do you also operate on a license that allows you to continue your business?
• Personally, I find that a successful gambling company has at least a responsive customer support service. How do you operate yours and what challenges have you faced from it?
• Was there a time that you were faced with a decision that can either make or break your business?; and lastly-
• Would you recommend this line of business to anyone who has the necessary capital?

I would love to hear your thoughts and answers from my questions above. Those are some questions that would give me a broad idea on how this kind of business operates in the real world.

These are quite broad questions please be more specific. This is like me asking you 'how was your last month, can you explain to me what you did from the first Monday till the last Friday with your biggest challenges during those 31 days from 7 AM till 7 PM'

[Wind_FURY]

What systems do crypto casinos use to flag suspicious cryptocoin transaction patterns? Is it the same for ALL internet casinos, or is there a difference with internet casinos that accept cryptocurrencies?

The other question - Are professional "internet farms" to cheat casinos through using multiple accounts very common?

[Findingnemo]

What systems do crypto casinos use to flag suspicious cryptocoin transaction patterns? Is it the same for ALL internet casinos, or is there a difference with internet casinos that accept cryptocurrencies?

I am sure every decent sized casino that is regulated will use AML/KYC - blockchain analysis services to flag the transaction that is related with hacks and money laundering attemps along with the proof of source verification when the user is supicious with their withdrawal patterns like deposit x amount and only wager on low risk games like plino with easy mode and just enough to complete 1 or 1.5x wagering requirement then immediately withdraw them.

[bangjoe]

I’d like some clarification: you mentioned that many casinos use the WordPress platform. As far as the WordPress core itself is concerned, it’s fairly secure. However, plugins make it quite "vulnerable" from a security standpoint. Its popularity also makes it the number one target" for many hackers.
Bottom line: I think choosing WordPress as a platform for an online casino is quite unsafe. Plus, the security configuration system is quite complex. In conclusion, I believe using WordPress for sites where large sums of money are involved is a pretty risky move!
 

Perhaps precisely all things that are online-based have risks or are not safe, whether it's business, investment or others. Everything has its own risk side especially with the casino which I think the risk is still there for the casino owner or for visitors later.

As you say "vulnerable", but we ourselves must be more careful to do our best because after all we don't want bad things to happen so we should try our best to avoid risks.
Another statement is that operating a casino for the time being has a great chance of being profitable, maybe even it's like it's guaranteed, even though it's basically not.

[Teddy323]

The “puzzle-style” model is pretty accurate, especially for smaller operators. The main difference I’ve seen is how quickly the economics change as you scale.

For a new operation, I’d roughly think about it this way:

Platform: usually better outsourced initially rather than building your own.
Games: almost always aggregated rather than developed in-house.
Payments: outsourced because PSP coverage, risk and reconciliation become a headache very quickly.
Affiliate system: usually outsourced unless affiliates are already a major acquisition channel.
Support: outsourced at the beginning, then gradually brought in-house once volume justifies it.

The interesting part is that “cheaper” doesn't necessarily mean cheaper overall. Building a casino platform internally can easily turn into a six-figure development and maintenance project before you've even proven acquisition.

This is why platforms such as Nuxgame make more sense for some earlystage operators: you're essentially buying the infrastructure and integrations instead of hiring a team to recreate them.

I'd also be careful with the $3.8-5M figure mentioned above. That's a reasonable war chest for a serious operation with aggressive acquisition, but it's not the same thing as the minimum technical cost of launching an online casino. The actual requirement depends heavily on jurisdiction, payment setup, acquisition strategy and how much is outsourced.

[Patikno]

I have two questions (accompanied by some observations) for you @OP, and I hope you can answer them.

First; is it cheaper and easier to operate an online casino than a physical one ?

In my opinion, online casinos are more affordable. They don't require the same kind of physical premises, which demand large spaces, and entail significant maintenance costs; that physical casinos do. However, I want to hear your perspective, as someone experienced in running an online casino.

Second; is the relationship between gambling streamers who advertise casino sites; directly ?

I see many streamers acting as affiliates for casino sites, including those with low engagement levels. So, are they directly involved with the casino company ? I ask it, because I have noticed that streamers often use special links that incorporate their channel names (a kind of customized link).

[DanWalker]

^ I think answer of your first question should be, yes.
But it is not quite that simple.

Online casino can generally be run with much lower fixed costs than physical casino.
Because they don't have the costs of land/building, gaming floor, security, hotel/restaurant, large staff, etc.

But online casinos don't have small costs at all, there are regular costs for licenses, platforms/software, game providers, payment processing, KYC/AML, fraud prevention, customer support, compliance and most importantly, player acquisition/marketing.


You can see this, cost of a white-label casino launch can start from a few tens of thousand of dollars, while development cost of custom-built iGaming platform can go up to $2m+.

[tread93]

It's been a year since I've joined this forum and I was somewhat reluctant in opening an "Ask me Anything" thread due to all the spam going on in the gambling section, but several users requested it, and I've also enabled self-moderation to battle the spammers. Hopefully it will be a fun exercise where we can all together make this section more interesting.

So, I've been in this industry for a while now, I'm part of a team that operates several brands, and have also worked within other operations, including MGA, UKGC and Curacao licensed brands. I would say that I know the ins and outs of most of the operations out there, including some high end competitors, and I would love to share any insights or answer any burning questions that someone outside of the industry has. I'm not the owner of the casino though, so I'll not be able to answer questions targeted towards that area of the business, but I can try to shed light on anything else.

I can cover almost anything, game selections, bonus methods, VIP players, troubles with the law, license structure. You can ask anything, and if the questions are really interesting, I'll include them in this post as an edit.

Regarding the self-moderation aspect of the thread, I will not abuse it. I don't mind entering a proper argument, maybe you'll learn something new, maybe I will. But if I smell an AI-written post, or a random one just to boost your campaign numbers, I will delete it. I already created more than enough cool threads that got eaten up by spammers, I don't want this one to be another of those.

Answers to Frequently Asked Questions:

Q: How much money do you need to open a Crypto or Fiat online casino?
The minimum recommended amount for an experienced team starting an online venture would be in-between 3.8 Mil and 5 Mil, all depending on the team and their salaries. Most new casino operations get profitable anywhere between 14 to 18 months, so you would need enough money to survive that period. However, that's for people who have previous experience with managing a casino operation and are bringing in a lot of contacts from the industry already. If you're starting from scratch, with a junior team, you will need to set more money aside for consultants and failed campaigns.

Q: Can I open an online casino by myself?
I wouldn't recommend opening a casino by yourself or even with a team of junior people, the market is so competitive that you will either be eaten up by the competition, or by scammers. It's a tough job with a lot of stress. If you would like to enter the industry, and do something by yourself, you can always open an affiliate site with Wordpress and work your way up.

Q: How many people do work at an online casino?
Smaller operations usually have up to 15 people, medium operations up to 500, larger can go up to 5000, it all depends on how many services they do in-house. If you're outsourcing almost every aspect of your business, then you can work with a smaller team, but if you have your own customer support or your own casino platform, then we're talking about several hundred people for just one department.

Q: How does a regular online casino work?
Most smaller to medium operations work in a so called puzzle-style operation, that means that you, as the operator, are made up of several pieces that are completely separate from your business, with which you either partner up or you pay them for the services they offer.

#1. The Casino Platform itself, the key element. Same how there are platforms like Wordpress and Kentico, there are also finished solutions for your Casino, usually built either in Angular, React or, sometimes, in Next.JS. Those are companies that are known within the industry and usually manage everything for you, but for a fee of course.
#2. Game Providers, the most important aspect of a casino, there are over 100 different gaming providers on the market who take care of the games, their quality and security. So instead of making your own games, you just plug them into your casino.
#3. Payment Providers, you usually do not process payments in-house, and it's also not recommended since it's a lot of money in question, so you rather let a professional manage that. This is why you get payment providers like Mastercard, PayPal, GooglePay, ApplePay and similar services.
#4. Affiliate Platform Provider, instead of having your own system for onboarding affiliates, you usually outsource this as well.
#5. Customer Support Providers, again, instead of hiring 30 employees of your own, you just find a company that can manage this aspect for you, usually it has to be an experienced or iGaming dedicated company because there's a lot of lingo going on. However, this is also one of the reasons why some smaller operations have bad customer support = because it's outsourced. [/li][/list]


So, basically, the smaller you are, the more you're outsourcing, but the more percentage of your winnings goes to the providers. The bigger you are, the more stuff you're doing in-house.

Q: How much money does an online casino earn?

There are tons of casinos that are publicly trading, so their earnings are available to the public. For an example, you can Google Betsson AB Quarter Report, and you'll see that they are ranging around 50 Million per quarter, but they are also a huge operation that eats a lot of money by itself. Smaller operations usually earn anywhere between 250.000 to a million per month, but since it's such a volatile market, you have to have a fat war chest for hard times.



 

What is the craziest pay out that you have every personally witnessed? What is it like being in this kind of industry? What are the perks of living such a life and on your own account what would you consider the most fond memories of working in this space? What have you learned that impacted you the most as a person? How many people in this industry would you say you have worked with and in your opinion what are online platforms truely lacking and what could make them better?

[xenomorfo]

Was already answered. Check the first post.

thanks for the clarification, I was probably thinking about the question and in the meantime he had updated with someone else's question.
It's very nice and interesting to go behind the scenes of this world that from the outside seems golden and instead maybe you discover that it's just a normal activity like all the others.

we need more AMAs like this

[DrBeer]

I’d like some clarification: you mentioned that many casinos use the WordPress platform. As far as the WordPress core itself is concerned, it’s fairly secure. However, plugins make it quite "vulnerable" from a security standpoint. Its popularity also makes it the number one target" for many hackers.
Bottom line: I think choosing WordPress as a platform for an online casino is quite unsafe. Plus, the security configuration system is quite complex. In conclusion, I believe using WordPress for sites where large sums of money are involved is a pretty risky move!

I never said that many casinos use WordPress platforms. You maybe mistaken it with affiliates. Affiliates use Wordpress.

....

Thanks for your reply!
I actually misunderstood one sentence and concluded that WordPress is used as the technical platform for building a casino!
"#1. The Casino Platform itself, the key element. Just as there are platforms like WordPress and Kentico, there are also turnkey solutions for your casino, usually built in Angular, React, or, sometimes, Next.js. These are companies that are well-known in the industry and typically handle everything for you - for a fee, of course."

[gracreavix]

I have being meaning to ask this question. It might have been asked, but I want an answer for myself. It is regarding players protection and how casinos business are built around it. What if something actually goes wrong with a players money. It depends on the wrong actually. So let's say you made a bet still running and a glitch happens and the money is gone. Who is really responsible? In this case we don't know whether the game played or not. Is it the responsibility of the player or the casino to address such issue? Hope I am making sense

[DrBeer]

I may not have read all the questions, but I don't think anything like that came up.
All "legitimate" casinos operate in accordance with the laws of their jurisdiction, as well as local laws (for players from those locations). Often, according to the law, the government requires casinos to provide information about players who are citizens of that country, as well as information about their income-even if winnings are not subject to taxation.
Question: How do casinos interact with the government in this area? I’m referring to the exchange of information about citizens of a particular country and their winnings or deposits, since this could be viewed as a form of "money laundering" ?
 

[Julien_Olynpic]

What are the most relevant innovations casinos are currently implementing, and which ones are they planning to implement in the near future? Which of these innovations could significantly change the face of casinos? Can user data collection reach a level where the user's verification system is no longer required, given that indirect data collection will be almost equivalent in informational value to direct verification? Will casinos gradually migrate toward predictive platforms, and how inevitable is this?

[Somegory]

Thanks for the information OP, I don't even know that it's this much, 3.5million to run a casino business today is huuuge, I wasn't expecting that much, I thought since most casinos are online the expenses will be small.

I was thinking roughly $500k would be enough to start a casino business, I guess I am wrong all along, who would spend this much on a business that will not yield good amount of money ?

Casinos will always be step ahead of gamblers, it's obviously a business enterprise as you all can see, I'd rather prefer to run a online casino than trying effortlessly to win a jackpot.

[Findingnemo]

I have being meaning to ask this question. It might have been asked, but I want an answer for myself. It is regarding players protection and how casinos business are built around it. What if something actually goes wrong with a players money. It depends on the wrong actually. So let's say you made a bet still running and a glitch happens and the money is gone. Who is really responsible? In this case we don't know whether the game played or not. Is it the responsibility of the player or the casino to address such issue? Hope I am making sense

Casinos will refund the balance if it is wiped due to the glitch and usually these things affects multiple users so confirming such issues is easier so casinos will do the necessary in quick time and also it is very rare thing to see any glitches that is affecting the wallet balances like that.

But what happens is the player unintentionally made bigger bet and claim that it is due to the casino glitch and in the scenario nothing happens they don't get their refund if they lost just like that if they went away with bigger reward if they won.

[nara1892]

I have being meaning to ask this question. It might have been asked, but I want an answer for myself. It is regarding players protection and how casinos business are built around it. What if something actually goes wrong with a players money. It depends on the wrong actually. So let's say you made a bet still running and a glitch happens and the money is gone. Who is really responsible? In this case we don't know whether the game played or not. Is it the responsibility of the player or the casino to address such issue? Hope I am making sense

I will try to answer with my own thoughts to your question, and with my view on the problems that occur as you say it should be the responsibility of the casino.

Why is it like that? because I think when the player has deposited money at the casino so that it is already in the casino wallet of his account then it involves the casino so the problem with the balance that is lost suddenly or as you say should be the responsibility of the casino, even if the casino takes off responsibility for the problem with the situation of the player has deposited money at the casino before then there is a separate reason but I do not think what the reason is just that I think there is an error in the system to make the player's money disappear.

[sompitonov]

Thanks for the information OP, I don't even know that it's this much, 3.5million to run a casino business today is huuuge, I wasn't expecting that much, I thought since most casinos are online the expenses will be small.

I was thinking roughly $500k would be enough to start a casino business, I guess I am wrong all along, who would spend this much on a business that will not yield good amount of money ?

Casinos will always be step ahead of gamblers, it's obviously a business enterprise as you all can see, I'd rather prefer to run a online casino than trying effortlessly to win a jackpot.

There's probably a lot of competition right now, and it's important to think about what tomorrow will bring and what new things to offer future players, who might start using AI to improve their results or find a winning strategy. Furthermore, competitors are constantly thinking about how to attract more players and are spending significant resources on this. In any case, as a player, I will always choose the conditions that are most favorable to me, as well as the best odds.

[KiaKia]

This is like showing the nakedness of  how every casino businesses are been run, thank you OP for sharing this information, I am speechless right now reading through it all, I need more of this.

[TedMosby]

Interesting topic, I have some questions.

• Is there any ratio between wagering and the total profit a casino usually makes?
• I am also curious about casino competition in the gambling industry. What I think about the competition in the gambling industry is a bit dark, involving mafia, unauthorized fees, and unhealthy competition. Maybe one casino could run a black campaign to shut down another casino. Somehow, I also think of casinos probably playing against other casinos too, like they are trying to beat each other until one casino runs out of money.
• Also, if a casino uses a third party game provider, is it only for the games, or do they also manage and maintain them for you? And what about the money? Do you make a deposit to the game provider and they control the money going in and out? Or is 100% of the control on your side, like you get a dashboard? And if you are provided with a dashboard, what data is shown there, and what can be adjusted?

Sorry for my silly questions. I'm just curious and genuinely asking.