Creating an online casino

[markis]

A group of us programmers would like to create an online casino like no other. Of course we don't want to give details away, but we had a few questions before we wasted our time. I figured this would be the best place to ask them.

1) Can the server reside in the US? Or does it have to be offshore? Ie is
it legal in the US? If it cannot reside in the US, how safe is our code? ie...owner of our server - says - hey, I like this site - its now mine....take it down - copy all code and wala his new site.
2) Can anyone over 18/21 play? I seen one site that does not let Americans
play. Are there laws out there, that we need to be aware of?
3) How much of a bank roll do most online casino's need when they open? We
thought about opening with nickel/dime/quarter slots, as well as create
(same nickel/dime/quarter/$1) poker games. Trying to offer as many poker games
as possible.
4) Do we have to pay big bucks for people/organizations to "monitor" our site? Are there any licenses we have to have to operate an online casino?

Here are just a few "small" things we thought about.
1) No annoying popups
2) When you close our window, no other windows pop up.
3) Allowing people to pay a monthly fee and play with all the fake money they wanted.
4) Being able to watch others play.
We have a whole slew of ideas which we would like to incorporate, but one thing we are worried about. Advertising...we don't want to be annoying like these other casinos, are there other ways to effectively advertise in the online casino world without being a pain?

Yes, we are naive when it comes to the casino world, but we can create a wonderful site, one with options that has not been done before. We just need to educate ourselves about the online casino world and we are looking for help in that arena.

Any advice? Books to read, websites to visit... Any help would be most appreciated...

[pokeraddict]

1. No the server may not be in the U.S. One exception seems to be if it is in Nevada and does not allow U.S. players as I have seen some real casinos in Vegas try this. If you owned it I would think it would be best not to be in the U.S. since it is not legal for U.S. citizens to be involved in the ownership of this. I believe the WSEX founder is the only one to go to jail for this before though.

2. Since your server will be elsewhere I thinkthe legal age is up to the local jurisdiction. The reason you may have seen no U.S. players is because this is gray area in U.S. law and it seems all the UK casinos dont allow U.S. players to respect this gray area. Keep in mind the goverment has in the past year tried to ban bank transactions involving online gambling, something that may hurt your business even though there will surely be some way around it if it passes.

3. I dont have any idea how much $$ you want to invest for winners.

4. Depending on where you put your server you will need some sort of license. Some countries have gaming associations while others just make you have a business license and no governemtn intervention at all.

Being able to watch others play would be a decent idea but charging people to play for fun will not fly. Every casino will let you play for fun for free. It is prfectly legal for you to design this software in the U.S. I see you are in suburban Atlanta, Real Time Gaming is based in Sandy Springs wonder if you might do some research on them there for find someone around who works or had worked for them that might be very helpful.

[benroles]

http://www.startcasino.com is a pretty good site with different sections looking at start-up costs / legality etc. Whilst it doesn't always provide the answers, it raises a number of good points that need to be well thought out before launching a venture of this nature.

It also has a forum where industry bods and newbies alike can converse with regards to casino start-up and operation.

Hope it helps!

Cheers,
Ben.

[EDIT = Lame spelling.... mental note - must not drink and work at the same time...!]

[blackjackguy]

Hmmm... seems to me all you have to do to be original is make a casino that pays out within 15 minutes, is willing to provide full game logs to prove randomness, and has a public bankroll to prove you have the money to payout!


Blackjackguy


www.cheatatblackjack.com

[wossisface]

Hmmm... seems to me all you have to do to be original is make a casino that pays out within 15 minutes, is willing to provide full game logs to prove randomness, and has a public bankroll to prove you have the money to payout!

Yeah! If you could 'ringfence' your bankroll, it would instill more confidence and give you a unique selling point. The betting exchanges, betfair and betdaq do this.