In order to open a successful online casino that will benefit its owner and bring joy to its players, a few key steps require your attention.
As an online casino software developer and provider, SOFTSWISS is glad to share its experience. Hopefully, our expertise helps future online casino owners (operators) avoid common mistakes and start a successful online casino business.
How to Start an Online Casino in 2025 Step by Step Guide | SOFTSWISSKey Steps to Starting Your Online Casino Business in 2025
One of the most important things to begin with when launching your online casino business is proper and thorough planning. It is a great idea to write a detailed step-by-step business plan for a full year of operation.
Not only does it give you a clear agenda and strategy, but can also help with reducing stress – it is much easier to complete one step at a time and track your progress instead of having to focus on many tasks at once.
Here are four key steps you need to take to launch your own online casino successfully.
Analyse the Online Casino Market
Online gambling has grown significantly in recent years, particularly since the days of the pandemic. Both sports betting and online casino gambling have become increasingly popular lately, similar to many other sources of online entertainment.
The online gambling landscape offers significant revenue opportunities, even in the face of global economic and political shifts. Online casinos also show to be superior in accessibility when compared to traditional, land-based casino experiences.
Supporting this view, Statista's data forecasts a user base expansion in the online gambling market to 233.7 million by 2027, with expected revenues reaching USD 124bn. This growth trajectory is a good glimpse into the potential of the iGaming industry and its market size.
Acknowledging its promising future, many governments are actively working to regulate and legalise the online gambling sector. For current and aspiring operators in the online casino space, these forecasts signal strong, affirmative market growth and expansion.
Even though most online casinos live in the dot-com domain, players are still very much located somewhere physically. And offering your online casino to players via electronic means still falls under certain laws and obligations, which leads to the next point.
Licensing and Legal Aspects
Like brick-and-mortar casinos, online casinos are subject to licensing. If you want to open your own casino, you need to think about choosing a gaming licence. These are issued by countries, or jurisdictions. The iGaming community distinguishes between national and international gambling licences.
Each licence has its pros and cons – cost, application time, and reputation. Usually, it takes from a couple of months to a year to obtain a gaming licence, for example, at least 6 months in Malta.
In recent years, there has been a notable regulatory shift in the online gambling industry – a movement away from international gambling licences (like those from Malta and Curacao) towards country-specific regulation.
This change motivates operators to consider adapting their brand and offer to regulated markets.