Starting an Online casino

[benpals]

I have a client who has expressed a desire to start a small "hobby" online casino, quoting games in UK sterling. As an accountant I have little knowledge in this arena other than losing a few pounds spread betting!

I imagine a turnkey solution is the best route as they have little web experiance, however are experianced marketeers.

Without over stepping any forum rules or flaming me, I would be very appreciative if anyone could point me in the direction of any good resources.

At the moment I can only find a lot of US $ turnkey sites and affiliate "pass through" portals, none quoting games in £.

The site does not need to be the most glamourous ( ie not the $50k ones ) as I believe it will be targeted to a select membership rather than the general public. The ability to change the game formats and publish live payout rates may be relevant.

Any thoughts or comments , good or bad most welcome.

Apologies if this should be in the commercial area, I am guessing its is more guidance than a "To buy" post.

Thanks

[Casinomeister]

I have a client who has expressed a desire to start a small "hobby" online casino, quoting games in UK sterling. As an accountant I have little knowledge in this arena other than losing a few pounds spread betting!

I imagine a turnkey solution is the best route as they have little web experiance, however are experianced marketeers.

Without over stepping any forum rules or flaming me, I would be very appreciative if anyone could point me in the direction of any good resources.

At the moment I can only find a lot of US $ turnkey sites and affiliate "pass through" portals, none quoting games in £.

The site does not need to be the most glamourous ( ie not the $50k ones ) as I believe it will be targeted to a select membership rather than the general public. The ability to change the game formats and publish live payout rates may be relevant.

Any thoughts or comments , good or bad most welcome.

Apologies if this should be in the commercial area, I am guessing its is more guidance than a "To buy" post.

Thanks

The best thing to do to get started is to "bone up" on the industry. The best way to get started is to attend some of the crucial conferences:
CAC (affiliate marketing) Amsterdam May
GIGSE - Montreal June
CAP (affiliate marketing) Bahamas June
EIG Barcelona October
ICE London January
These are located in our "Events" calendar
http://www.casinomeister.com/forums/calendar.php

You can always gather information on the Internet, but there is no comparison to meeting operators, regulators, software vendors, people like me , etc. in person. This is why these conferences are so crucial. This is a "people" business.

If you want to be successful, you want to consider this a long term commitment and not a "hobby". Most of these "hobby" operations end up here:
http://www.casinomeister.com/rogue/rogue.php

Check out http://www.startcasino.com/ lots of useful information there.

[Simmo!]

The software platform is key, not only from a quality of games perspective, but also from a credibility perspective too. I'm guessing an MG licence will be out of your client's league, and I wouldn't go for a "skin", but an RTG licence may be an option, although they do suffer from some bad operators, the games are generally good and some (iNetBet, Bodog, Club World) have good strong reputations.

Reputation is everything. How a casino treats its players, speed of cashouts, the way bonuses are handled and customer support are the 4 main areas of good ops I would say. Obviously financial backing is imperative.

But like CM says, the conferences are a good place to start. As is the "Complaints" forums here which give you a good idea of what not to do! I can't imagine it's an easy task these days with so much competition, various "exclusion" zones and the costs involved. My suggestion would be to work with a brand name, perhaps a joint venture, to get a head start. Someone like SIS maybe who have access to offline punters via their shop feeds? Or a Satellite TV channel looking for new revenue streams. Just an idea. But good luck

[benpals]

thks for all the help, very kind of you to take the time to help. All the points are very useful. Thanks again