I have been looking into how much the costs and approaches differ when launching an online sportsbook. Here’s my breakdown, based on the estimates platform providers publish. Feel free to add your own perspective or correct me where the numbers don’t match your experience.
Building your own is quoted at anything from $500k to €3–5m upfront, 12–18 months to a first version and around €68–90k a month in maintenance. You keep all your revenue, but trading, compliance and infrastructure are on you.
A turnkey platform usually means a setup fee of $15–50k, or $30–150k plus hosting, and roughly €500k–1m in total for the first year. Monthly fees are quoted at €9–28k. Some suppliers also take 10–25% of revenue, others take nothing.
White label is the cheapest way in, at $5–50k upfront and $2–5k a month. The catch is the revenue share, quoted anywhere from 10–25% to 20–40% of GGR. One provider claims that for a growing operator the share overtakes the cost of a flat-fee turnkey platform within 12–18 months, though they sell exactly that kind of platform. Their advice to make sure you can take your player database with you if you switch is good either way. It’s also worth checking whether the percentage is taken from GGR or NGR, since that alone can change what you pay quite a bit.
Roughly, white label makes sense for a small operator who wants to launch quickly and cheaply, turnkey for a growing one with its own licence, and an in-house build only for large businesses that want full control. The cheaper the entry, the more you pay over time.
For those who have experience: how close were your real costs to these estimates? And if you started on a white label, did the revenue share start to hurt as you grew?
Building your own is quoted at anything from $500k to €3–5m upfront, 12–18 months to a first version and around €68–90k a month in maintenance. You keep all your revenue, but trading, compliance and infrastructure are on you.
A turnkey platform usually means a setup fee of $15–50k, or $30–150k plus hosting, and roughly €500k–1m in total for the first year. Monthly fees are quoted at €9–28k. Some suppliers also take 10–25% of revenue, others take nothing.
White label is the cheapest way in, at $5–50k upfront and $2–5k a month. The catch is the revenue share, quoted anywhere from 10–25% to 20–40% of GGR. One provider claims that for a growing operator the share overtakes the cost of a flat-fee turnkey platform within 12–18 months, though they sell exactly that kind of platform. Their advice to make sure you can take your player database with you if you switch is good either way. It’s also worth checking whether the percentage is taken from GGR or NGR, since that alone can change what you pay quite a bit.
Roughly, white label makes sense for a small operator who wants to launch quickly and cheaply, turnkey for a growing one with its own licence, and an in-house build only for large businesses that want full control. The cheaper the entry, the more you pay over time.
For those who have experience: how close were your real costs to these estimates? And if you started on a white label, did the revenue share start to hurt as you grew?
