Thinking of starting an online sport betting business?

Here are the Top 7 factors you need to get right.

1. Generate an overall Business Strategy
2. Research and choose the Sportsbook Software platform you actually need
3. Agree your Product Portfolio
4. Assess your Marketing capabilities
5. Optimising your data – make business led decisions
6. The customer experience you deliver
7. Your people, your most important asset

1. Generate an overall Business Strategy

• The importance of a realistic strategy cannot be underestimated?
• How are you going to compete?
• How are you going to leverage your existing capabilities?
• Is speed to market important to you
• What will be your positioning?
• What is your total budget?
• What margin do you expect to deliver?

The answers to the questions above (and more) should then inform your marketing, product, technology, supplier, financial and trading strategy and more.

A realistic business plan is also a must-have requirement – with budgets, costs, customer acquisition targets, margins and unit economics all essential.

2. Research and choose the Sportsbook Software platform you actually need

Sports betting platforms can be about more than the sportsbook. You will need to consider such requirements as regulations, customer registration, payments, KYC, responsible gaming, bonus and trading tools.

Maybe you have a platform already and you want to swap out the sportsbook. At Digitain we offer a number of options, including a sportsbook API – a data feed that can be quickly integrated into an existing platform.

Also consider the type of platform supplier you want to partner with. Do you want to be a small fish in a big pond or would you prefer to work with a supplier where you can influence development priorities.

Cost of future development is something to consider – you will want or need to add further developments to your sportsbook platform, as you compete in new markets or new opportunities arise – how much do you need to budget for this?

Build your own iGaming platform and sportsbook?

Pros: Owning your own technology can be a competitive advantage in terms of ability to innovate, differentiate, flexibility of product development.

Against: Time consuming, expensive and carries a great deal of risk.

Getting to market quickly may be your priority and marketing your business may be your strength – so a build strategy may not suit your priorities.

Buy / License a sports betting platform or sportsbook from a trusted sportsbook software supplier?

Pros: Speed to market, proven technology and less risk. Flexibility, scalability and cost are benefits. Experience and technical capability underwritten

Against: Not all platform suppliers are equal. Costs of platform, minimum monthly guarantees and localisation potential, are just some of issues to be considered.

Choose a sportsbook software provider that is flexible, fast and economic in terms of delivering your future product development roadmap. Look at range of products and associated content and customer tools available. Is the combination fit for purpose for the markets you are targeting? Are all the sports and markets covered off? Is the live betting coverage comprehensive?

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3. Agree your Product Portfolio

When European company Ikea expanded into the US in 1985 they were very keen not to adapt their product / service mix. Why change a winning combination developed over many years, right?

However their strict strategy of not localising any of their products wasn’t universally successful. A significant issue for the Philly customers (used to a big gulp) was the relative “tiny” sizes of the drinking glasses available in the shop – so they started buying the Ikea glass vases as drinking vessels…

Inevitably Ikea had to adapt to the market – change their “standardised” approach and localise.

You will need to have a sportsbook product that can be localised and is responsive across all channels.

Be “Mobile First” – consider native app development  if not for launch, then later. This approach will give you opportunities to engage directly with your customers. At a minimum ensure that the mobile web version contains all the main functionality available to players on the web version.

Consider the other key products you want to add to your platform – online casino including specific slots, live dealer / live casino, virtual sports and eSports have all become staples of an online betting and gaming business, so make sure your platform supplier can meet your requirements.

4.Assess your Marketing capabilities

The most successful online betting and gaming businesses are masters of digital marketing.

Unfamiliar with digital marketing?  Then you’ll need to build this capability – perhaps supplementing them with experienced digital agency.

Depending on your location, will you develop an affiliate network? Consider building your own network, or out-source to an existing experienced provider.

SEO, PPC, programmatic advertising, Google regulations, Facebook advertising – knowing how these work and how the regulations apply or don’t apply to your operation – is key. Work with your platform supplier – at Digitain we are experienced in giving new operators a helping hand, guiding them from initial concept to market entry.

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5. Optimising your data – make business-led decisions

A benefit of an online sports betting platform is the amount of business data available.

Invest in a Business Intelligence capability in order to optimise this opportunity –  and make data-influenced decisions. 

Your product development roadmap should be informed by the data you have gathered. You may be tempted to just copy what your customers do – but be careful of a “me too” strategy, copying from your competitors without knowing their “secret sauce”.

6. The customer experience you deliver

Your customers have a choice – your competitors are one click away.

So, build a long term relationship with your customers.

Develop a customer experience strategy to drive continual improvements. Surveys, focus groups or customer feedback – listen and act on the information.. Customer Services are your ears – every member of the overall team need to spend time each quarter in Customer Services, listening to the feedback about your products and services.

7. Your people, your most important asset

The most important element – take time and recruit the best people and build a team.

Train and develop.

Share data on performance, on customer views, new product priorities with them – and be prepared to act on their feedback.

If you’re not talking regularly to customers – you should listen to those in your team who are.

By the way – talk to customers!  Regularly talk to a few customers about their views to sense check what people around you are telling you!

Conclusion

I hope you find the above advice helpful, it’s based on over twenty years of online sportsbook experience but also with plenty of trials and errors along the way

At Digitain we have the technology, the people and the experience to help potential new operators make the leap to online sports betting, with our flexible, scalable and affordable sportsbook solutions.  Please email me at [email protected] for more information, or simply to chat sportsbook.

“There is no more delicate matter to take in hand, nor more dangerous to conduct, nor more doubtful in its success, than to be a leader in the introduction of changes. For he who innovates will have for enemies all those who are well off under the old order of things, and only lukewarm supporters in those who might be better off under the new.”

Niccolo Machiavelli “The Prince”, circa 1513.

So, what relevance can the thoughts of a 16th-century diplomat and political philosopher have on the product development strategies of betting and gaming businesses in 2020?

In truth, probably not a lot – his was a rather negative perspective – but he does raise a good point though. Innovation is hard and there are many reasons – including cultural, financial, utilitarian and internal conflict – why it remains an apparent problem in our industry.

I often read that there’s a severe lack of innovation in the sports betting industry – there’s certainly a lot of Me-Too development, where companies are quick to copy apparent successful innovations – often not realising the full picture why a particular new feature has been successful.

However, to say there is no innovation is wrong I believe. I think one problem is that there is often confusion in iGaming between the terms invention and innovation.

For me invention describes a significant step change in a product or a process, something that has the potential to change how we conduct our business. The microprocessor was an invention – the iPhone was an innovation, taking existing technology and completely changing how the simple mobile phone was used.

An innovation is not a step change, but making an improvement in how product, processes or service are delivered. Innovation does not need to be radical to be successful – but it does need to have utility and should deliver added value.

I would argue, therefore, that innovation is happening across the sports betting and gaming industry – although it could be “under the bonnet” and invisible to outsiders.

Covid-19 and its challenges to delivers to the world economy, it’s reasonable to expect that innovation in iGaming development will shift somewhat from a focus on customer requirements (effectiveness) to a focus on cost optimisation (efficiency).

Another complication when discussion innovation is that often it’s also often confused with continual improvement activities.

It could be argued that a continual, never-ending, process of delivering small improvements delivers more value to a business than focusing on break-through innovations, or even the more difficult to attain, inventions. Continual improvements and innovations should belong to everyone in the business to identify and act on, although there needs to be supporting culture, systems and processes in place to recognise and reward the effort. A business needs to avoid the trap pointed out by old Niccolo above; fear of change and allowing inertia to rule.

Continual improvement and innovation are two sides of the same coin, their meanings overlapping and probably only different in terms of the scale of the change.

A good example of a continual improvement strategy was the British Cycling Team from the mid 2000s.  Before the appointment of a new performance coach, Dave Brailsford, the British Cycling team had endured 100 years of mediocrity.

From 2007 to 2017, British cyclists won 178 world championships, 66 Olympics and Paralympics gold medals and 5 Tour de France victories.

How was this most successful run in cycling history achieved?

Through the aggregation of “marginal gains” – in other words, continual improvement.  This meant searching out a tiny margin of improvement in everything they did – from the alignment of bike seats, rubbing alcohol on tyres to testing different fabrics for aerodynamics and beyond.

Brailsford and his team were relentless in searching for “1% improvements” – even though the impact may not be noticed – the aggregation of these improvements made the difference – as well as having an improvement on the psychology of the team.

Perhaps more businesses in iGaming would be better served to look internally for marginal gains instead of “Going for the W” with an industry-leading (soon to be copied) innovation?

Both are probably true actually – but, as stated above it can be hard to deliver change to the status quo. There can be a lot of internal barriers to overcome. One possible approach to delivering iGaming innovation is to understand that not all the brains are in the business. More and more companies in iGaming (such as Microgaming and Yggdrasil) have reached out with and set up relationships to other smaller businesses or start-ups (with less barriers / more appetite for risk) to deliver innovative products or ideas.

At Digitain we see this to be a valid strategy and via our Digitown initiative we will invest in the youth of Armenia in order to support innovation. Digitown is a technology campus being developed in Yerevan and will be the new home for the Digitain teams as well as offering a degree of free accommodation and mentoring support to new technology start-ups.

We believe this initiative will benefit Digitain in terms of potential innovations generated by the relationship – as well as developing the identity of Yerevan as a technology centre of excellence.

As Machiavelli pointed out 500 odd years ago – change can be difficult and not always welcomed – and can need determination and drive to deliver.

A number of years ago there was a study carried out by management scientists who wanted to look at how the make-up of working groups could impact productivity / performance.

They put together a large group of experienced managers and split them into 10 teams of five people.

They then gave each group a series of identical tasks – which could have measurable but variable results. What the managers in the groups didn’t know that in half the groups one of the participants was a plant.  Their job was to challenge every decision – in a polite way – but to be relentless throughout the process.

When the tasks had been completed and scored the results were interesting. In every example the teams with the plant outperformed the other teams by a significant distance.

The creative tension caused by the actions of the plant questioning every decision had resulted in a better overall performance for the team.

The other teams had formed, stormed, normed and performed – but to a lesser extent than the other groups – who had formed and stormed (didn’t norm) and out-performed.

However – when the groups were later asked anonymously if they wanted to change the make-up of their groups – guess what happened?

In the groups who had under-performed – in each one they wanted to keep the same individuals together – as they were comfortable together.

In the better performing groups, the decision was unanimous – despite their clear success they all wanted to get rid of the really annoying member who kept questioning everything they did!

So, the lesson for us all…

Drive innovation and change by,

Avoid groupthink, don’t get blinkered by the status quo and don’t be too in love with your own products.

Make data led decisions and listen to others, especially your customers.

And finally…

Remember that progress depends on the unreasonable person. Creative tension (not conflict) is a good thing – you’ll get better results. Also encourage ideas and innovation from across the business.

Let’s add “and other online casino games providers” keyword

Doesn’t make sense – saying such as – is quite specific

Argentina is one of those countries where athletes are worshipped as gods. This is especially true for football, but we shouldn’t take Argentina’s success in other sports lightly either. The country has been one of the superpowers in basketball as well, and they also have a couple of great tennis players.

Needless to say, the citizens of Argentina are equally passionate about sports betting, making their country very lucrative for various betting operators.

Is Sports Betting Legal in Argentina?

Ever since the 90s, the gambling industry has been thriving in the country, bringing more than $4 billion annually to its budget from taxes. Online casinos and sportsbooks have also been available for a long time, but their legality depends on the province.

Given the size of this Latin American country and the population living there, it comes as no surprise that Argentinian iGaming jurisdictions haven’t still managed to regulate this form of gambling on a state level. Therefore, you can bet legally in Argentina if you happen to be in the part of the country where this type of activity is legalized.

What Does the Licensing Process Look Like?

Argentina has an official gambling commission called The Provincial Institute of Lottery and Casinos (The Instituto Provincial de Lotería y Casinos Sociedad del Estado) (State Managed) and offers four legal licenses.

Therefore, if you want to apply for a sports betting license, you need to keep in touch with individual provinces which all have separate bodies that regulate the market in their jurisdictions. The problem is that the licensing process can get somewhat difficult, as Argentina still has to fix numerous issues in order to improve regulations.

For example, many of these provincial regulators don’t offer any kind of player protection, meaning that many punters from Argentina feel that it’s safer to place bets on offshore sportsbooks rather than the local ones.

Things Are Looking Good

Regulators in Argentina are well aware that they are losing the battle against offshore casinos and sportsbooks, and that’s why they are pushing forward the idea of regulating online gambling on the federal level. That way, the main gaming commission will have more power and more control over the market. The only way to stay relevant on the market in Argentina is for all provinces to join forces into one regulatory body.

Their efforts have proved futile so far, but that’s another good reason why many officials are insisting on speeding things up. It’s only a matter of time before Argentina regulates the online gambling market on the federal level and improves the gambling industry.

What Drives the Argentinian Sports Betting Market?

Despite the inability to regulate the market, Argentina still generates millions of dollars through taxes imposed on gambling. Argentinians have always shared an amazing passion for all sports, so it’s hardly a surprise that betting is one of their favorite pastimes.

Just like in Brazil (and pretty much all the South American countries), people in Argentina are completely mad about football (or soccer). In fact, one of the best players ever in this sport is Argentinian — Diego Armando Maradona. Moreover, the current Argentinian national team features several football superstars, including Lionel Messi who is the biggest pretender to the throne of the Greatest of All Time.

Moreover, the residents of Argentina love watching club football, including their own Superliga Argentina where legendary clubs such as River Plate and Boca Juniors are often the main reason why people place bets.

Conclusion: Argentina Has Huge Potential

As you can see, punters in Argentina love betting, and football is definitely one of the sports that generate the greatest revenue from bets. However, the country faces a struggle when it comes to regulating online casinos and sportsbooks, as it currently lacks strong federal legislation that could improve the state of affairs.

Despite all the entangled uncertainty, Argentina is still a huge country with millions of people who make up the sports betting market. With such power in their hands, it is only a matter of time before the officials are going to sort things out and allow the Argentinian landscape to flourish further, paving the way for more opportunities.

Sitting atop Africa’s North Western tip is the continent’s largest country – Algeria. All forms of gambling, including online, are illegal in the world’s tenth-largest nation. Over 98 percent of Algerians are Muslim, and the country’s legal system is based on Sharia law. Indeed, gambling is strictly forbidden by the Quran, and therefore by Algerian law.

Online Gambling in Algeria

However, state-sanctioned lotteries and sports betting are used for funding social welfare and public projects. In fact, there’s a 40% tax on all winning and even the occasional instances where betting is permitted are closer to charity than gambling. The country has no licenced gambling sites of its own, nor are there any foreign web-based gaming services hosted within its borders.

Not satisfied with simply restricting gambling services, in the last decade government officials have also tried to censor any website at all that encourages ‘moral degeneracy’.

The best option for Algerian gamblers is therefore to use international operators who accept players from all corners of the globe. Although such providers are offshore for Algerian residents, they are regulated by local authorities to ensure a fair gaming experience. Given that the country’s restrictive betting laws focus on providers, rather than players, Algerians can enjoy playing without fear of legal reprisal.

As ever, though, caution is advisable. While Algerian gambling regulations don’t specify punishments for individual punters, the authorities can simply use other laws to press charges against them. Thus far, however, they have shown no intent to do so.

Online Poker and Online Sports Betting

Although poker is forbidden by Islamic law, there are some foreign sites accessible to Algerian players. Among these exist a variety of international operators, many of them French. France’s gambling laws prohibit citizens from using international poker sites, but players residing in other countries can play on French websites.

Surprisingly, Algerian regulations around sports betting are less stringent. Moreover, the country has hippodromes where horse racing is organized. Betting on them is illegal, of course, but sports gambling often happens regardless.

Both online casino and sports betting are prohibited by law, and websites are typically blocked, but individuals are very rarely prosecuted. 

Potential Regulatory Changes

Clearly, Algerian gambling enthusiasts already play in a highly restrictive regulatory environment. They have little reason to be more optimistic about the future. Lawmakers are considering closing some of the loopholes enjoyed by gamblers. If they do, using a VPN gateway to access foreign sites will be the least of any player’s worries. Indeed, the state is considering criminalizing the evasion of government filters.

However, iGaming is very popular in Algeria, and there is hope that the positive industry landscape in many South African states will inspire their fellow Africans on the other side of the continent to follow suit. If they do, Algerian gamblers may finally have something to cheer about. 

With most of Western Europe’s iGaming industry remaining fragmented, and the United Stated being only at the beginning of approving iGaming on a state-by-state basis, many operators and online gaming software developers find South Africa to be very welcoming to international iGaming brands, while also very hospitable for the growth of local organizations too.

In fact, if we look at regulations, it seems that Africa might have a stronger awareness of tackling issues such as money laundering and other severe links usually found between gambling and crime than most other continents.

A Favorable Landscape

There are many reasons why South Africa is in the focus of many iGaming companies. One of which certainly is the fact that almost two-thirds of the population is aged 24 and under, which of the main target demographics.

This presents an immediate advantage for the iGaming companies looking to set up shop. Increased smartphone use is even faster than the adoption of Internet connectivity, which can help the industry gain a better reach and offer its diverse range of mobile games to an even larger young audience.

Industry reports show that Africa and the Middle East have the highest growth in mobile gaming. These two continents has achieved 26.6% year-on-year growth and demand for gaming titles. But iGaming operators must remember that smartphone technology adoption in Africa is still somewhat behind the devices used in the Western world. So operators and iGaming software developers need to prepare themselves for the challenge of tailoring state-of-the-art mobile games to older devices.

Mobile Gaming at the Center

Another reasons why iGaming operators and software providers are turning their attention to South Africa are the nation’s growing economic power and the regulators ability to keep the industry under control. Africa tries to tackle the iGaming jurisdiction head-on by adopting the global best practices and putting them to work for African consumers.

The African countries have great appetite for gaming. Some of the primary gaming destinations include South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria. But there are also other projects in Lesotho, including the revamp of the land-based casino.

Rising Revenues

Another important factor are the constantly rising revenue numbers. Back in 2015, the PwC manager for South Africa reported in the annual gambling outlook that revenues are expected to make a substantial rise to R30 billion ($2.17 billion) in 2019. Reports in the following years stated that predictions rose to an even higher number of R34 billion, that shows that the gaming industry is growing faster than expected. But the newest edition of the Gambling Outlook is still not publicly available, there are still no indications on what are the factors that account for the industry’s rapid growth.

Another report – Latest Gambling Stats, by Gauteng Gambling Board, published in November 2018 shoes one indicator that stands out about the others. The number of LPM’s (gaming machines) at registered route operators went up, from 1394 to 2266 machines in April 2017. If the similar trend was experience across all provinces in South Africa, the new sites and machines introduced to the market might be why the predictions for 2019 increased by an extra billion rand in 2017.

Last Words

Despite the slow economic growth on the continent, gambling revenues continue to rise in Africa. And entering this market is most certainly a smart decision for any service provides, gambling software developer or operator. But they need to keep in mind that sports betting is also very big in South Africa, with cricket and football being the most popular sports.

However, South Africa is a complex market that requires substantial amount of research, information, planning and networking before making the leap. But the operators, software providers and sportsbooks that put down the necessary groundwork can be handsomely rewarded in the years to come.

The Netherlands is a country famous for its relaxed laws on some types of entertainment. But when it comes to gambling, and specifically online gambling, up until 2012 their attitude wasn’t so liberal. Interestingly enough, Dutch residents can gamble online, but only on websites hosted in the Netherlands. On the other hand, the government has a more relaxed view on non-Dutch operators. So some of the world’s biggest and most famous brands operate on the Dutch market.

The Gambling Landscape

Over the years, the Netherlands has been the host to many types of gambling services. When it comes to traditional gambling activity, Netherlands is the home of one of the world’s oldest lotteries – Staatsloterij – that’s been running since 1762. The gambling scene in the Netherlands is actually a state-controlled monopoly called Holland Casino. There are 14 casinos throughout the country. Holland casino even applied for an online gambling license, but was rejected.  

As online gambling began to spread rapidly, the Dutch government was strongly opposed to allowing it in the country. The Dutch government has tried to block their citizens from betting on foreign sites for a long time. And even took measures to block online gamblers by blacklisting numerous sites, and even insisting that bank’s shouldn’t deal with them all. But the banks refused. However, this was a futile effort and the Netherlands have found out that it’s almost impossible to control the internet because there are over 450 sites that accept bets from Dutch citizens.

The sports betting section slightly different though. There are two other companies that control it – De Lotto and Scientific Games Racing B.V. Scientific Games handles horse race betting, while De Lotto handles all the other markets and is the only legal online sportsbook available.

Changes in the Regulation

The popularity of online gambling, and the potential to generate millions of euros in tax revenues, licensing and registration fees if legalized, has led the Netherlands to make changes to their strict legislation.

Over the years, the old laws were modernized. But at the beginning of 2019 has been pivotal. Two years after the lower house – the Dutch House of Representatives – voted in favor of allowing third-parties to legally offer online gambling, the Senate has voted in favor of legislation to legalize internet-based gambling, opening the market to foreign and Dutch firms to apply for licenses.

Very soon, over 300 companies have openly expressed their interest in running a gambling website in the Netherlands, and at least 50 of them are expected to make a formal application for a license next year.

 The new legislation will not only allow new players to enter the market, but it also brings changes in the current 29% tax rate that the state-run Holland casino and gambling arcade owners are paying at the moment. The tax rate is expected to be dropped to 20% in order to increase competition between operators. But the lower tax rate also translates into better player benefits. Including higher bonuses, more enticing promo offers and higher payout rates.

Meanwhile, the Dutch market is ranked at the 17th largest iGaming market in the European Union, with over 700,000 active online players, earning a gross gambling revenue (GGR) between 130 and 250 million euros.

The Future of Online Gambling in the Netherlands

Gaming industry experts are very optimistic the legalization of online gambling can be favorable for the Dutch market. The predictions say the gross gambling revenue will be even higher, making the Dutch market more competitive. In fact, once online poker and other forms of gambling are legal in the Netherlands, the Government projects at least EUR 10 million yearly in tax revenue from online gambling.

Additionally, this change of legislation is expected to make ripples in other European countries that are still against legalization of online gambling. But we have yet to see how the story of Netherland’s legal online gambling unfolds.

Starting an iGaming company, whether it’s opening a new business or taking your land-based casino online is a serious feat. The good news is that the industry is evolving very fast, which provides operators numerous opportunities for success. As a result, there are more and more operators entering the market, with the hope to leverage iGaming. Making it challenging for companies to survive and grow into respected operators.

Why the Right iGaming Software Provider Matters?

The extremely competitive market and increased player expectations make running an online gaming business challenges. The key to being successful in this ever-changing industry is having a trusted iGaming software provider. A high-quality igaming software provides secure and rigid business growth, and most importantly, boosts ROI.

When choosing your iGaming software provider, you need to make sure you can rely on this trusted partner to go through the stages of leading a successful online gaming business. Meaning, your trusted iGaming software provider should have the following features.

1. Robust and Flexible Platform

The provider should provide a scalable and flexible platform that will be the basis of your operations. It should be able to accommodate all your business needs. The platform will be the core of your iGaming business, and the place where you store all your user data and manage your gaming processes. Whether you go for a white label or turnkey solution, your iGaming platform must contain some basic features.

2.Wide Variety of Quality Games

Even the best developed platform is worthless if it doesn’t offer a large scale of top quality games. The platform should enable you to add comprehensive Sportsbook, Casino, Live Casino, VR Casino, and Skill games to ensure player engagement and enjoyable user experience. The most reliable iGaming software providers offer a wide variety of cutting-edge gaming and betting solutions to meet the varying players’ needs.

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3.Advanced Customer Relationship Management Tools

An iGaming platform should take special steps to attract players and keep them engage. One way to do that is by offering bonuses, jackpots and tournaments with big pool prizes. Most iGaming platforms come equipped with CRM tools that will enable you to better understand players’ needs. Then, offer them what they want, reduce the churn rate, refine player segmentation for targeted market and so on.  

4.Anti-Fraud and Risk Management Tools

Online gaming operators are often the target of cheaters seeking ways to take more than they fair share. Since risky players can cause a huge problem, protecting your gaming business from fraudulent activities is crucial. When choosing an iGaming software provider they offer an AI-powered real-time risk management system. Most modern ML-based risk management tools allow gaming operators to promote responsible gaming, and instantly detect and manage risky players, so they can preventing fraudulent activities before they happen happens.

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5.Multicurrency and Multilingual Support

Providing players with 24/7 support is another extremely important aspect of running an iGaming business. Cos if you fail to provide a correct answer to only one question, you risk losing a customer. But some of the trusted iGaming software providers also provide services such as – top-quality, prompt, helpful, multichannel, and multilingual support. Moreover, you need to make sure your software provider is also enable players to use different payments methods in multiple currencies.

Final Words

There are the top 5 factors you need to consider when choosing an iGaming software provider. The company you partner with needs to be able to provide you full support, comprehensive tools and featured that will help you run a successful iGaming business.

There are many gaming and betting software providers on the market that offer all-in-one, innovative solutions that ensure the growth of your company. And it’s up to you to do your research, and find that one that best fits your needs. Making the right decision and picking the best and most trusted iGaming software provides is how your company can stand out of the competition with a rich offering of quality games, increasing number of returning players and sustainable income. So make it wisely.

Online gaming and gambling are on a constant rise. The internet made online casino gambling available to anyone. Which was very positive to many players how now can enjoy their favorite games without having to make an expensive trip to the casino.

But just like traditional, brick-and-mortar casinos, the online casinos have their dos and don’ts. And before you enter one, it’s important to understand the etiquette, and prevent yourself form looking foolish or worse, like a total amateur. Read on and learn how to behave in an online casino. We’ll have you looking like a pro before your first log in.

1. Know the Law of the Land

Since you can play online from any place in the world, before you log in to your favorite casino, check to see if online gambling is legal in the country, state, province or region where you are residing at the moment. Consult our legality page.  So you won’t end up losing more than just your hand at poker.

2. Play to Win but Expect to Lose

“House always wins” is something we hear all the time, and there’s a reason for that. Gambling online affords players the luxury to take their time to master the games and learn their strategies. Use this to your advantage. Take time to master the games and play to win. But no matter what lucky charm you have on or how smart and strategic your moves are, expect to lose sometimes. Expecting to win all the time will only lead to frustration and no one needs that.

3. Play According to the Best Rules

Almost all online casinos offer the same games. But they may have different variations and not have the same rules. Make Google your friend and search for the rules which suit your preferences. Study the rules or print them out for future reference. That way, you set yourself for success.  

4. Learn to Assess and Trust the Odds

Most casino games are games of chance, that’s true. But some or not. Mathematical statistics are proven, and all casino games are designed on percentages and probabilities for a reason. Don’t rely on luck alone cos there’s more to it. Constant winners aren’t only “lucky” – they have a better understanding of the odds. Learn to calculate the odds – don’t hate them!

5. Always have a Timely Play

Yes, it is expected to take a moment to consider your next move. However, you should make your next move in a timely manner. If you need to do something away from your computers or smartphone, it might be better to use the “sit out next hand” button. The other players will be thankful you did that.

6. Don’t Bet More than You Can Afford

Gambling is meant to be fun. Winning some money plays a big role here, but to win, you must bet first. And the party mood goes away quickly when you spend your rent or grocery money away. Create a gaming budget and stick to a limit that you can realistically afford.

7. Don’t Bet on “Setting Systems”

If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is. Stick to the rules and use proven mathematical strategies to plan your next move. Don’t rely on someone’s unsolicited advice or betting system they made out cos it is a surefire way to fill somebody else’s pockets.

8. Be Polite to All Players

Even though there are casino games where you play against a computer, keep in mind that online casinos are a real community, and most of the time you are playing against real people. Be cultured and polite, even if your playing style is aggressive.

9. Don’t Do or Permit any “Flaming”

One of the worst things you can do is take out your anger or frustration on other players. Or allow and instigate someone else to act angrily. Instead, calm down, and take sit the next hand out. If angry and insulting comments are directed to you, try to respond calmly and avoid getting into a ‘fight’.

Remember that even though you are playing online, it’s still an establishment where you are expected to follow certain rules and behave. Use our short guide to online gambling etiquette to learn the basic dos and don’ts, so you won’t end up being the annoying player that no one wants to play against.

When online gambling software developers consider the next markets, Latin America is rarely their first choice. That’s no surprise since the top countries by game revenue are China, the U.S., and Japan. Truth is, Latin America finished 2018 with 19% growth year-over-year on mobile platforms. And the predictions say that by 2021 there will be over 235 million smartphone users. Latin America is going through a rapid advancement and quickly catching up to global market leaders.

Let’s look at the Numbers

Latin America is comprised of 26 countries. Collectively, it is twice as big as Europe, and has almost the same number of people. And if all countries are consolidated, like the European Union, it would be the fourth largest. Yet it is still off the radar for most online gambling software developers.

Usually, this is due to the fact that there are income disparities and low bank account ownership. These facts, combined with the recent regional economic decline are making doing business difficult. But there’s still good reason for gambling software developers and operators to consider taking their businesses to Latin America. As it seems it will be the next big mobile gambling market.

For one, industry research shows that the LatAm mobile gaming and gambling market will be worth over $2 billion this year, making it over three times larger than Southeast Asia. Additionally, the growth rates are similar for both regions. The growth is expected to continue, even though only something over 150 million of approximately 630 million people have smartphones. The majority of whom reside in Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Chile and Peru.

You need to Invest to Get a Return

In the past several years, Latina America has grown into a potentially huge market, which already accounts for 4 percent of the world’s total game revenue. But research shows that online gambling software developers do not consider this market important and spend less than one percent of their annual ad budget in Latin America.

The key to online gambling growth in Latin America lies in considering it as a region instead of a collection of countries. Mexico has 130 million people and is one of 20 countries that speak Spanish. On the other hand, there’s Brazil, with over 200 million people speaking Portuguese. This fact alone makes it very easy to segment potential players in this region based on language. Meaning Latin America has little of the linguistic complexity of Europe or Asia. Operators’ teams can partner with a local expert in the region and still manage global acquisition campaigns.

Another thing to keep in mind is that you need to appeal to the new generation of gamblers, the ones that prefer online gambling – e.g. millennials (the generation born between 1985 and 2000) who value personalised, innovative online experiences. This is one reason why games themed around a variety of niches are so popular online, providing choice for any type of gamer, regardless of how varied their interests.

Millennials also want to be able to choose between multiple touchpoints. Providing an omni-channel experience that enables playing on desktop and mobile devices is crucial. People in Latin America favour mobile gaming and gambling, the same as in the Western world. It’s just another area online gambling operators should consider when expanding to this market.

Last Words

Even though gambling restrictions remain in place across the world, governments are beginning to see the benefits of a legal but regulated gambling industry. But until online gambling operators see appreciable change in legislation in the U.S and Europe, they are on the lookout for new opportunities. So it’s no wonder Latin America’s one of their new targets.

With the population of the continent standing at over 600 million, there’s a huge audience out there. And people have a strong appetite for gambling. What’s more, travel and tourism are booming in the region – at a rate of 5.1% per year between 2010 and 2020 – which adds the potential for gambling tourism. While it remains to be seen which online gambling operators and software providers will come out on top, there’s no doubt that large organizations with experience working internationally have a clear advantage.

It goes without saying that betting laws, rules and regulations vary for different countries. Different betting regulatory bodies also govern specific regions in some countries. However, the reach of the body’s authority is not always clearly stated, and leaves a lot of confusion to where gambling and betting are legal and where they are not. There’s no such issue in Russia though since gambling laws are pretty clear. Yet, betting is mostly illegal in Russia.

Gambling and Betting Laws in Russia

Online gambling is completely banned in Russia and all online betting activity by Russian citizens is deemed illegal. Additionally, land-based gambling is illegal in the whole country, except in four regions. In spite of the ban, Russians still gamble online with offshore operators. Yet, it doesn’t appear that it is likely the gambling legislation is about to change in the near future.

Brief History of Russian Gambling

In the period from 1928 to 1989 all forms of gambling were banned in the Soviet Union. But the tight grip was starting to loosen. In 1988 when slot machines were legalised in certain locations, then in 1989 all gambling and betting became legal on the whole territory.

As a result, land-based casinos started to open. By 2002, there were over 50 casinos operating in Moscow alone. As gambling’s popularity kept growing, the government felt necessary to control the situation. And in 2006, they voted on a law that prohibits all online gambling and betting. In spite of the ban, most gambling sites still welcomed Russian customers since they were one of the most enthusiastic online gamblers.

A few years later, in 2009, the Russian government decided to restrict land-based gambling too. The offline betting and gambling establishments that didn’t comply with the new Russian law were closed. Moreover, sports betting and casino gambling was only allowed at bookmakers and casinos working and operating in four Russian regions: Kaliningrad Oblast, Krasnador Krai, Altai Krai, and Primorsky Krai. Gambling and betting was banned in the other parts of the countries, which is still the case today.

Three years later, in 2012, the Russian Supreme Court took gambling prohibition a step further. This new decision stated that Internet providers must block all sites operated by online gaming and betting operators in order to make it impossible for Russians to access them. Additionally, a special regulatory body called Roskomnadzor was created. Its purpose was to track down illegal online betting activity and listing all illegal betting sites for Russians. This ruling was against the beliefs and policies of Russian Internet providers so they objected this law vehemently. However, the government’s stance was clear, and they threatened they would revoke the Internet provider’s licenses if they didn’t comply.

As expected, online gambling and betting operators closed their virtual doors to Russian players. But there are some operators that continue to provide services to Russian customers, and interestingly enough, the government hasn’t taken any steps to block these financial transactions.

The Reality of Online Gambling

Russian laws regarding gambling and betting are very strict, and it’s clear that you are breaking the law if you choose to gamble online. There’s also a debate whether poker should fall under this law since it’s a game of skill and not a game of chance, but sports betting and casino games are clearly illegal. However, despite the heavy restrictions, the real picture shows that online betting continues to be one of the favorite part-time activities for Russians.

This is due to the fact that the Russian government is more concerned with identifying and penalizing illegal betting and gambling operators than with individual players. Online gamblers who bet and play online don’t seem to be of interest to the Russian government. This is clear due to the fact that betting transactions between Russian citizens and offshore betting companies are still possible and continue to go through even though they are officially considered illegal activity.

Roskomnadzor is still actively blacklisting new sites, and their infamous list of forbidden online betting and gambling sites is constantly updated with new arrivals. Now, it includes even some of the most famous sites, such as Poker Stars. But the Russians who were using the Poker Stars app before the ban came in force can still use the site’s services.

Truth is, even though gambling and betting are considered illegal, Russians can still place wagers and gamble online if they find a way to do so. They will probably not be stopped, nor legally sanctioned for their actions. It is estimated that around 65% of betting in Russia is done illegally and most of this illegal activity is done through illegal online betting sites.

For the time being, domestic operators are prohibited from offering online gambling services, and Internet providers are required to block gambling sites. Unfortunately, we are not optimistic that the strict anti-gambling laws in Russia will change any time soon. But we keep our fingers crossed.