Step 1 of 7
Pick your markets
Your markets come first, because they decide which licence you need and which payment methods you must offer.
For every country on your list, find out three things:
- Its own licensing: Countries such as the United Kingdom, Germany and Sweden license online casinos themselves and expect you to hold their licence to serve their players.
- Blocked countries: Every licence comes with countries you may not serve. The list is part of your licence conditions.
- Payment habits: Players pay by card in one market, by bank transfer or e-wallet in the next and with crypto in others.
Write the answers into one table: country, licence route, payment methods. It is your brief for steps 2 and 5.
What we do: we check your market list against the licences and payment methods that fit, before you commit to anything.
Step 2 of 7
Choose a licence
The licence takes longer than anything else in the launch. Choose it early, and we file it for you.
Three things decide which licence fits you:
- Yearly cost: Anjouan and Kahnawake cost the least per year, Curaçao and the Isle of Man the most.
- Presence: Curaçao and the Isle of Man want a local company and people who live there. Kahnawake wants your casino in its own data centre.
- Your markets: Studios and payment providers check which licence you hold. Match it to the market list from step 1.
Five licences fit most new casinos: Curaçao, Anjouan, Kahnawake, Tobique and the Isle of Man, with yearly fees from about US$20,000 to US$53,000. Our page about the online casino licence compares them side by side, with what we handle for each one.
What we do: we take care of the whole application. We prepare the documents with you and file them. We answer every question the authority sends back and connect the licence to your casino once it is granted. Your quote carries the current fees for the licence you choose.
Step 3 of 7
Set up the company
The licence is issued to a company, so the company and the people behind it have to be ready before the application is complete.
- Where to register: Some licences require a company in the licensing country, others accept one from abroad. Step 2 shows which.
- Owners and directors: The authority checks everyone who owns or runs the company: identity, source of funds and criminal record.
- Bank account: You need a bank that accepts gambling business. Start that conversation in the week you register the company.
- Player money: Decide where player funds sit, and keep them apart from the money the company runs on.
What we do: we tell you exactly which company, directors and documents your licence needs, and build the application around them.
Step 4 of 7
Choose a platform model
The model decides who holds the licence, who holds the player money and how you pay for the software.
GGR, gross gaming revenue, is what players stake minus what they win. Revenue share deals are priced as a percentage of it, so the term comes up in every quote.
- White label: Your brand runs on the platform's licence, so you can open without one of your own. In return you usually pay a share of your GGR for as long as the casino runs.
- Turnkey: You hold the licence and the player money; the provider delivers the platform and connects it. Our page on the turnkey online casino shows what that includes.
- Your own code: You run the source code yourself and need a team that hosts, updates and secures it. Our Ownership package hands you finished code instead of a blank page.
Our comparison of a white label casino and turnkey goes through all seven points that set them apart.
What a revenue share costs you
A share of GGR costs little in a slow month and a lot in a good one. Put in your numbers and see where a fixed fee becomes the cheaper deal.
Over three years
- Revenue share
- $540,000
- Fixed fee
- $144,000
At $100,000 GGR a month, the share costs $11,000 more each month than the fixed fee. Both cost the same at $26,667 GGR; above that, the fixed fee is cheaper.
Example values: put in your own numbers or the quotes you have. Set-up fees are left out; add them to both sides.
What we do: we build your casino turnkey at a fixed price, with no share of your GGR now or later. Try it in the live demo before you decide.
Step 5 of 7
Connect games and payments
Games come through one aggregator, payments through providers for each market, and both run on accounts in your name.
- Games: An aggregator contract brings the games of many studios into one lobby. Each studio earns a share of the GGR its games bring in, settled through the aggregator. Expect the aggregator to ask for your licence before games go live.
- Payments: Payment providers bring cards, e-wallets, bank transfers and whatever else players in a market are used to. Each one charges per transaction and asks about your licence and markets first.
- Crypto: A wallet with an address for each player takes crypto deposits without a card processor in between.
What we do: we connect your aggregator account with 11,000+ games and your payment providers with 300+ methods, next to the crypto wallet that comes built in.
Step 6 of 7
Build, test and launch
Run the slow steps side by side from day one. The platform comes last and takes the least time.
From day one
Paperwork side by side
- Licence application
- Company and owners' documents
- Bank account
- Talks with the aggregator and payment providers
The licence time
Licence granted
Accounts in your name
- Aggregator access
- Payment provider accounts
- Wallets for player funds
- Domain
Set by each provider
Accounts open
Platform set up
- Your brand and design
- Games and payments connected
- Back office access for your team
2 to 3 weeks
Before you open
Test, then launch
- Real deposits and withdrawals
- KYC with a real document
- A soft launch for a small group
Until every test passes
Plan the total as the licence time plus 2 to 3 weeks. Start everything else on day one, so it is ready when the licence is. Before you open, test every path real money takes:
- Payments: Make a deposit and a withdrawal with every payment method, in every currency you offer.
- Games: Play a round in a game from each studio, so a missing release shows before players find it.
- Players: Run the know-your-customer (KYC) check with a real document, and try deposit limits and self-exclusion as a player.
What we do: we set up the platform in 2 to 3 weeks once your accounts are open. Then we run these tests with your team and stay with you through the launch.
Step 7 of 7
Bring in the first players
Your licence and your markets set the rules for marketing. Inside them, affiliates and streamers bring the first players.
- Affiliates: Partners who send players for a share of revenue or a fixed fee per depositing player (CPA, cost per acquisition). The affiliate programme in YourCasino tracks both.
- Streamers: Creators who play live and bring their audience. Agree on age limits, the countries they may promote to and how the deal is paid before the first stream.
- Offers: A welcome bonus wins the first deposit. VIP levels, rakeback and races bring players back.
- Rules: Aim every ad at adults, follow each market's advertising rules and keep blocked countries out of every campaign.
What we do: we build the affiliate programme, promo codes, VIP levels, races and raffles into your casino. Your marketing has something to offer from day one.
What it costs in total
Seven lines. The licence and the platform are planned costs; games, payments and most marketing grow with your revenue.
| Item | Paid to | How it is charged |
|---|---|---|
| Company | The registry and your corporate service provider | Once to set up, then yearly |
| Licence | The licensing body | An application fee, then about US$20,000 to US$53,000 a year |
| Platform | Your platform provider | A fixed price with us; elsewhere often a share of GGR |
| Games | The studios, through the aggregator | A share of the GGR each studio's games bring in |
| Payments | Payment providers | A fee on each transaction, set per method and market |
| Reserve for winnings | Nobody: it stays in your wallets | Set aside before launch, enough for the biggest win you can owe |
| Marketing | Affiliates, streamers and media | A revenue share, a fee per depositing player or a fixed fee |
What we do: we put every line of this table into your quote, priced for your markets, before you sign anything.
Mistakes that sink new casinos
Five mistakes we steer you around, each cheaper to avoid than to fix.
- Filing the licence last: It is the longest wait of the launch. File it in the first week and run everything else beside it.
- No reserve for winnings: A big win in the first month is paid from your own money. Set the reserve aside before you open.
- A cashier that misses the market: Players leave at the cashier when their usual way to pay is missing. Match the payment methods to each market.
- Marketing into blocked countries: Players from countries your licence excludes waste your budget and put the licence at risk.
- A share that outgrows the business: A revenue share costs little in month one and a lot in year two. Run the calculator at the GGR you plan for.
Checklist before you open
Tick off each point as it is done. Once you sign, we take many of them off your hands.
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