Over the last few years, the iGaming industry has arguably been one of the fastest-growing industries on the internet. Especially in the UK and African countries. The amazing growth the industry has been experiencing can be attributed to two things.
First and foremost, the COVID19 pandemic left adults all over the world looking for something fun to do while locked down at home. Second, technological innovations have made online gaming sites easier to access while also making accounts easier to fund with a wider range of deposit/withdrawal options.
When an industry catches fire, entrepreneurs are always quick to look for opportunities within that industry. Indeed, the new online gaming community is loaded with opportunities due to the drastic increase in participation that is taking place all over the globe.
If you are ready to seize on the opportunities afforded you right now by the iGaming industry, you will need a roadmap. Your best option is to develop your own iGaming platform. Assuming you are interested in heading in that direction, you need the following fundamental information on how properly grow a new iGaming brand.
The Step-By-Step Process
The best way to do anything for the first time is to follow a road map that has been provided by someone who has already done what you want to do. Keeping that in mind, the process for developing a new iGaming brand can be broken down into the following seven steps.
1. Choose Your Product and Target Customer-Base
If you want to create an iGaming product, you need to first decide in which direction you want to go. For the most part, the most feasible options are sports betting, online casino, esports, fantasy sports, and the lottery. According to recent studies, online sportsbooks offer the best potential Return on Investment (ROI). Online operators might be a bigger draw, but the potential returns are lower while requiring more of a financial and time investment.
2. Set Goals and Means of Measurement Against Those Goals
You can’t guide a business if you don’t have objectives. Of course, your primary goal is always going to be making money. However, it’s possible to also have ancillary goals that involve things like growth goals or figuring out ways to connect the business to social initiatives.
While you are goal-setting, you will need to figure out measurements you will be able to use to determine whether or not your business is meeting its goals. Both goals and means of measurement are going to be needed as critical components when approaching potential lenders and or investors.
3. Create a Budget
It takes money to build a business, especially an iGaming business that comes with financial exposure in terms of paying gaming losses. After creating a business development road map (first 2 steps), you will then need to create a financial road map as a means for controlling your financial resources.
The creation of a budget is critical to the financing of any business. It’s nearly impossible to get support from lenders and investors if you can’t show where their money is going to be spent and how they will be able to get their returns (loan payments + interest, ROI).
4. Select a Software Develop
Clearly, your iGaming business is going to need the support of a state-of-the-art software platform. This is where things can get a little tricky because there are a lot of quality software developers out in the marketplace. These developers are hungry because of fierce competition.
When interviewing prospective software developers, you will want to focus on two things. First, let your budget direct you to the best software developer you can afford. Once you know which software developers you can afford, let the reputation of these developers be the deciding factor. Remember, the best software developers will have lots of products you can see in action if you do the proper due diligence.
5. Seek Licensing from a Reputable Regulator
At some point in the process, you will have to decide out of which jurisdiction you will be operating. That decision will be made for you if you incorporate the business in a particular country. Once you know which jurisdiction out of which your iGaming site will be operating, you will need to make key decisions about licensing.
You can choose to go without a license, but it puts you in a quandary. While having more autonomy about how you run the business, the lack of licensing will scare off a lot of potential customers. To overcome that you can learn from tips provided by non GamStop member operators in the UK. These non GamStop Casino-Wise.com tips are used by various UK websites without GamStop exclusion as a means of making customers feel comfortable about the lack of licensing.
Should you choose to secure licensing from a top regulatory body like the UKGC, you would have to deal with more regulations. The tradeoff is your business would have government protections, which makes your online iGaming site a bit more marketable to the general public. Always keep in mind that there is a perception that unlicensed online operators are non-compliant because they are acting improperly. It’s a bias you would have to work hard to overcome.
6. Create Marketing Strategies
While your iGaming platform is under development, you will need to start laying out your marketing objectives. Don’t ever lose sight of how competitive the iGaming community has become.
Given this competition, you will need to figure out how to market to two groups of people: new (first-time) online players and experienced online players who are looking for new and better options. Your efforts to build a brand should include a catchy business name that will attract people through social media and email fo
. As you are marketing to potential customers, don’t forget to offer ways (bonus and loyalty) or programs to give online players extra value.
7. Add Mobile Access
After your web-based platform is ready to go, you should then focus on creating a similar mobile app. Recent UK online gaming studies indicate that 80% of all online gaming is being done with mobile devices. That number is fully expected to increase to 90% in the next two years. If a native mobile app is out of reach because of budget concerns, you can ask your software developer to make sure your finished website is adequately “optimized” for mobile device users. If you don’t focus on mobile access, you could lose a lot of competitiveness.
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