do you want to own your own casino?

[Imperator]

what you basically deal with is sending traffic for casinos, so if you had the chance, would you have your own casino or a network of casinos?

[LiveCasinoPartners]

Be grateful your an affiliate. The grass is not greener on this side of the fence.

Being an operator is an entirely different beast.

Here's probably the most candid post I've ever made. lol

Affiliates get the lions share of the revenue and have the most amount of freedom. You don't have to answer emails, customer support, billing problems (full tome job there), liability (you have to pay all winners quickly).

No one likes to talk about their revenue in public, but my change in revenue is another strong argument and possible the strongest for being an affiliate.

I've had to learn an entire new skill set. I quickly learned that because I was good at one thing, doesn't mean I'm good at another. lol. You learn that the hard way.

At the time I made the decision to start LuckyLiveCasino and LCP (then CelticCasino) I felt a "need" to do it. It wasn't for the money, but because I love the live games and felt the niche was under represented. Don't get me wrong, I love what I do and would not have changed a thing. But, for most freedom and revenue are the driving force behind their online business.

If anyone is seriously considering making a move like this give me a call. Having as much information at hand before these big decisions is critical.

Cheers!

[TheGooner]

Not interested in running an online casino / sportsbook or poker room at all.

I imagine it's very capital intensive, and much of the job as an owner will involve staffing issues around technology and customer support. I did a role like this for 4-5 years (banking not casino) in my corporate life - and it was hardly fun.

I prefer the affiliate lifestyle - where I have many revenue streams - I set my own targets - and can work on areas that I choose.

That all gets lost when you go into retail, or customer focused activities.

[Imperator]

yes, but the other side of the fence is you don't have to worry about traffic, SEO, PPC etc. To worry that if your site goes down in SERPS you won't have anything to eat on the table...Your affiliates worry about that. That also should be considered in the equation

[LiveCasinoPartners]

yes, but the other side of the fence is you don't have to worry about traffic, SEO, PPC etc. To worry that if your site goes down in SERPS you won't have anything to eat on the table...

Your worries are the same. Yes, it's hard being an affiliate. You still have all the normal worries plus everything mentioned earlier.

[wagerjunction]

Obviously both sides actually have their fair share of concerns.

On the other hand, working on the Casino Operator side of the industry, I can definitely say that the ramifications of operating your own casino are mind-boggling

Nonetheless it could prove a real challenge for those who like breaking new ground

[Nandakishore]

Before becoming an affiliate I had done some serious research about starting a casino with a partner. But after meeting the big guys like Microgaming, Playtech etc. and a three-day meeting with NetEnt it was clear to me that you must have plenty of money and experience in this industry to have even the slightest chance of success.

[Renee]

I think if starting a casino was as easy as people think, there wouldn't be so many new companies going down the shitter..

For one, yes you need to have a lot of money. There will be winners. You need to pay your staff, bills etc..

I don't see the numbers but I imagine the costs and headaches for management sometimes can far outweigh the outcome if you're not prepared.

[WinYourWayKyle]

I would never want to own an online gaming site.
I like being an affiliate as the sites help with player retention, and working out payments and all that jazz...
I like collecting my cheque at the end of the month and just sending traffic to the sites that I promote.

[graham]

yes, but the other side of the fence is you don't have to worry about traffic, SEO, PPC etc. To worry that if your site goes down in SERPS you won't have anything to eat on the table...Your affiliates worry about that. That also should be considered in the equation

You still need to worry about those things as an operator. More importantly where are you going to get your affiliates from? After so many people have been burned so many times you need to spend a lot of money to attract good affiliates and have something to offer that makes them think you will be around long enough for them to get paid. Sure if you do everything right you can make a nice fortune, but to do it right you will also need to spend a fortune.

I voted I prefer being an affiliate.

[Nandakishore]

For one, yes you need to have a lot of money. There will be winners. You need to pay your staff, bills etc..

I was told by the marketing people from Microgaming, NetEnt etc. that I must have a minimum starting budget of around $1million and about 10% of that as monthly running expenses, provided I understand running such businesses.

Of course you can also do it as a White Label which is much cheaper. But I would rather be an affiliate.

[Imperator]

You can start a casino with much less. I've heard such numbers too, but they are just not even close to realistic. Maybe you'll need a million if playtech charges you 900k for their platform

[Renee]

I was told by the marketing people from Microgaming, NetEnt etc. that I must have a minimum starting budget of around $1million and about 10% of that as monthly running expenses, provided I understand running such businesses.

Of course you can also do it as a White Label which is much cheaper. But I would rather be an affiliate.

I'd say 1 million is at the lower end of the scale.

If you're going with microgaming, remember you'll need to be paying royalties too.. winners, staff, marketing costs. It's not as cheap as one would think.

[casinoranking]

When I approached Microgaming 8 years ago it was something like 350k plus 10k a game plus around 15k a month for licensing alone...

[jackten]

I'm pretty late in answering this thread but I have a very different view from the other posters here.

Yes, I would definitively like having my own operation. => if the market wasn't so saturated (and now with state casinos going online)

I totally agree that being an affiliate is "easy" in terms of low investment, low risk, low pita customer relations factor. That's why I'm one.

BUT you're always limited when you don't own your own product. Sure, you're getting a good rev share % while the casino lets you.

The product owner is ultimately in control of the brand, the strategy, and most importantly the database of players.

Affiliates tend to over-value their own importance. If I was a casino owner, I'd hire an army of 300-500$ / month outsource force to do online marketing for me. I would field my own army of dedicated promoters taking a lot less than 30-40% of revenues. Is it ethical? No less than paying affiliates to create "reviews" which are never really objective.

I guess my only point here is that an operator has all the cards and is giving out what he wants to give out. Say I'm an operator and after rev share and expenses I keep 10% profits (conservative number to show the logic).

Having 500 active affiliates giving me 10% profits, will amount to more than being an affiliate and earning 50%.

This is all rhetorical anyway since the market is so saturated. If I opened an operation, it would be something wild that really differentiates from others. Definitively a unique offer. How many more casinos do you need offering the same software, same game, same bonuses, same marketing model?

I really don't want to offend anyone but a lot of people in the gambling industry are 5 years late when it comes to internet marketing.

[87tm]

yes, but the other side of the fence is you don't have to worry about traffic, SEO, PPC etc. To worry that if your site goes down in SERPS you won't have anything to eat on the table...Your affiliates worry about that. That also should be considered in the equation

I think that the owner of a casino on a global scale should be doing much more work than the affiliate. Of course wherever there are certain nuances, and to own such a system sounds promising, but I prefer to be an affiliate. For me, the answer is obvious, for one simple reason. Working as an affiliate and owning a small online casino projects I will make much less effort than trying to start a full-fledged business. As the saying goes, better an egg today then a hen tomorrow.

I voted "I prefer being an affiliate".

[jctroy440]

I think if starting a casino was as easy as people think, there wouldn't be so many new companies going down the shitter..

For one, yes you need to have a lot of money. There will be winners. You need to pay your staff, bills etc..

I don't see the numbers but I imagine the costs and headaches for management sometimes can far outweigh the outcome if you're not prepared.

Renee hit it right on the head. The main cause of sports book failure is personnel and (lack of) bankroll. It only takes one bad weekend of lopsided upsets to tank a perfectly good sports book operation or lack of people to service your punters.

I think with the increased sophistication of some of the software available on the market today, you have a better chance of success (at Sports Book) than you did in the pencil and paper days of the 70's & 80's.

I'll remain an affiliate and let Ben at Betfair and the boys at sportsbetting.com buy the aspirin.

[Nandakishore]

I think the choice between casino and affiliate is quite simple.

If you have several millions and you are ready to invest that money at the risk of losing it, you can go for a casino. Else you can only afford to start as an affiliate. If you are successful as an affiliate and make some millions then you can again start thinking of starting a casino.

[Imperator]

Ok guys, you are missing one very important point here. I will give it as an example:

Bodog owner started 15 years ago his own brand, last year he made 250 mil profit. Even the biggest affiliates with 10-15 years experience may or may not do 1 mil per year. So did you start in gambling to pay your bills or to become enormously rich? Yes, you maybe won't have that much free time, but is our goal to have free time or is our goal to make a lot of money?

[graham]

Ok guys, you are missing one very important point here. I will give it as an example:

Bodog owner started 15 years ago his own brand, last year he made 250 mil profit. Even the biggest affiliates with 10-15 years experience may or may not do 1 mil per year. So did you start in gambling to pay your bills or to become enormously rich? Yes, you maybe won't have that much free time, but is our goal to have free time or is our goal to make a lot of money?

There are lots of affiliates doing well over $1M per year. There is a lot of risk involved with doing what Bodog did also, and a lot of people don't want to take those risks.