Krati SharmaBetting on sports has been there for centuries. But, today, we are witnessing its whole new facet, what we call “online sports betting”. Thanks to digitization and technology advancement for making sports betting more convenient, interesting, and fun than ever. Due to amazing perks and improved gambling experience, online sports betting is gaining huge traction. And the market size is self-evident. In 2020, the global sports betting market size reached 203 billion U.S.D.
Undoubtedly, this is a lucrative market one can consider for starting a business. In fact, many of you have already decided or are thinking of doing so.
But, where to start from? What things are required to start sports betting business? How can I make it successful?
All such doubts might be causing hold-ups in your journey. If it is true, this blog can help you significantly. Here, we attempted to cover all crucial aspects required to start an online business in the sports betting niche. This guide will solve most of your queries and lead you towards a successful business launch.
Let’s first get some basic knowledge about the sports betting industry.
What is Sports Betting?
Sports betting is the conventional form of gambling in which gamblers place a wager on outcomes of different sports, such as Cricket, Football, Tennis, Horse Racing, Basketball, and many more. They can also place bets on sports events happening during the tournament or matches. In Sports betting, bettors have better opportunities to earn hefty amounts than other gambling activities.
Online Sports Betting
With the emergence of online sports betting platforms, punters have got a new way to place bets on their favorite sports from the comfort of their home, using their PC, smartphones, or other mobile devices. Due to the fast-paced operations and ease of access people are more inclined towards online betting.
Sports Betting Industry Facts and Stats
- The current sports betting market size is around 60 billion US dollars and is expected to double in the upcoming years.
- As per the legal sports report, the sports betting industry is now legalized and regulated in 13 states of the US.
- Around 70 billion dollars are spent on legal sports betting globally.
- Currently, Sports betting accounts for more than 40% of global gambling revenue.
- The APAC party is responsible for 47% of global sports betting.
- Over 50% of US inhabitants admitted placing wagers at a sporting event at least once in their life.
Seeing these facts and stats, we can be sure that starting an online sports betting business is a lucrative and winning decision. Now, let us see what steps you need to take to kick-start your business and make it successful.
Steps to Consider for Starting an Online Sports Betting Business
Research
Thorough market research lays a solid foundation for any new business. For successful online sports betting business, you need to study both the sports and gambling markets in detail.
In this research, identify and understand the below aspects:
- Sports
Find out sports that are most popular in the betting arena and can get you a maximum audience. You can offer these sports on your betting platform.
- Geographical Region
Find out the countries or states where the chosen sports are played and loved the most. Also, you need to identify the geographical location where you can set up your betting business without legal issues.
- Betting Trends
Identify the latest trends in the betting market that you can use for your online betting platform. Staying abreast of the latest trends can get you an advantage over your competitors.
- Target Audience
Identify the type of audience you want to attract to your sports betting business. You need to analyze the age, gender, and interest of the audience. Also, find out expectations and needs for a particular audience that you can fulfill with your platform.
- Competition
Competition analysis is one of the crucial aspects of a successful betting business. You need to identify how many betting businesses are offering the same sports as yours and what strategies they are implementing.
Also Read – How to Create a Robust Dream11 Lineup Prediction App
Obtain a Gambling License
Different countries have different laws for sports gambling that you must know about. You must be aware of all the legal requirements, including licensing and certification for your targeted geography region. As a license is indispensable for operating a sports betting business, you must apply for the same in the chosen jurisdiction.
When choosing the jurisdiction, consider factors like time and complexity for getting the license, reputation, cost, taxes, and more. Gibraltar, Malta, UK, Africa, and the USA are the most popular jurisdictions for gambling licenses. You may also require gambling certificates from a particular jurisdiction.
White Label Software Solution
If you want to launch a sports betting platform within a few days or don’t have enough time to apply for the license, this is the right option. A white label solution helps you get fully managed and ready-to-use software that is easy to install and requires minimal operator infrastructure.
Also, you can choose to customize the software as per your requirements for sports, security, design, development, features, payment methods, and more. You can add your brand logo and design to the software.
Choose a Trusted Online Merchant
In the online betting business, you need to deal with a lot of transactions daily. Thus, it is essential to integrate fast and secure payment gateways on your platform. Choose the trusted online merchants offering swift payment service equipped with the latest security protocols. Bettors should be able to perform seamless transactions while ensuring high confidentiality of their information. Below is the list of the most reliable payment gateways that are widely used for sports betting platforms.
- Ikajo
- Cardinity
- PurePay
- First data
- Latpay
- Neteller
- AstroPay
- Skrill
- Paypal
- Instabill
Now that you know which option to go for and what payment gateways to use, you need to choose a reliable company who can help you with the same. Let’s see how you choose the best software development company for your sports betting software requirements.
Choose a Reliable Software Provider
Here are a few aspects you need to consider and evaluate to find one of the reliable software development companies.
Experience
Know much experience the company holds in the gambling software development area. The more the experience, the better quality service/product you will get.
Team of Professionals
The company must have an in-house team of skilled designers, developers, QA, project managers, and other professionals. Also, the professionals must have ample experience in developing software for gambling businesses.
Reviews
Check the reviews of the company on Google and websites like Clutch, GoodFirms, and more.
Testimonials
Check what the former clients have to say about the company’s services and how their experience was.
Turnaround Time
Know how much time the company takes to deliver the final software product. The company must be able to meet your deadline while maintaining product quality.
Support
Make sure the company offers dedicated support and maintenance for the sports betting software so that you can ensure seamless operations.
Features that Your Sports Betting Platform Must Cover
Features play a crucial role in the success of a sports betting platform and business. Your platform must cover all the below features to fetch users’ attention and keep them involved.
User Panel
Login/Registration
With registration and login, you can ensure secure access and safe gameplay. But, the registration process should be quick and easy. You can also add a social media login/sign-up option for improved convenience.
Sports Categories
You need to offer multiple sports in order to gain more users and retain them on your platform. There should be multiple sports categories so that users can choose as per their interests.
Betting Categories
Different bettors have different interests and needs for betting. Thus, your software must support multiple bet types such as single, head-to-head, totals, handicaps, each way, and multiples. Users can select their preferred category and start betting.
Player Information
Users should get detailed information about each player so that they can make wise decisions about betting.
Complete User Guide
There should be a detailed user guide to help beginners, or new users understand how the software functions, its features, and terms & conditions.
Live Streaming
Live match streams let users enjoy the match and place bets simultaneously. As users get live match updates, they can make quick decisions and create better strategies for betting.
Multi-language
If you want to reach global customers, add multiple language options to your software. Users from different countries can choose their preferred language and use the software seamlessly.
Multiple Payment Gateways
There should be different payment options so that users can do transitions conveniently and quickly. Having a high level of payment flexibility and security boosts customer experience and improves retention rate.
Admin Panel
The admin panel should cover all essential features for seamless management of all the aspects of the software.
Admin Login
Admin needs to create an account and log in to access user details and confidential information.
Managing Users
Admin should be able to track and manage all the information of registered users and their activities.
Managing Rewards and Loyalty Points
Admin can manage referral and reward points allocated to the users. This ensures fair allocation of rewards to each user and entices new users to use the software.
Managing Payments
Admin should be able to track and manage the payments by users and distribute them appropriately among the winners.
Additional Features
Social Media Sharing
Let the users share the games they are wagering on with their friends and family. Also, they can invite friends on social media to use your software.
Notifications
Send users the latest news and updates about the sports and betting market that they are interested in. Also, inform users about the prices, reward points and money they have won, and bets they have placed.
Betting Tips
Provide newbies with expert betting tips to ensure fair gameplay and increase retention rate.
Cryptocurrency And Fiat
Your software should support all the major cryptocurrencies and Fiat for improved payment flexibility, transparency, and security.
Calendar and Schedules
Users can check the upcoming events and plan their betting game accordingly.
Must-have Bet Types for Your Sports Betting Platform
Besides the above features, here are a few, must-have betting types that your platform should support in order to cater to the diverse needs of bettors.
Straight Bets
The straight bet is a basic type of sports bet every bettor is probably familiar with. In this, a betting line often called the point spread is set. Players can either bet on favorites and abandon the points or place a wager on the underdog and earn the points.
Parlay Bets
A parlay bet refers to grouping together multiple bets into a single wager. They are also known as accumulators, combo bets, or multi. The odds are adjusted according to the total number of picks bettors’ group makes together.
Handicap Bets
Handicap bets are most popular in Football betting. However, other sports like Rugby, Golf, and Tennis often have handicap markets. In this bet, bookmakers can even the field by providing advantages or disadvantages to some competitors.
Over/Under Bets
It is also known as Total line wagers, which means the wager depends on the total score of the particular match.
Future Bets
Future bets refer to wagering on the outcomes of events or matches that will occur in the future. For instance, it may involve betting on MLB world series, WorldCup, or football championships before they even take place.
Money Line Bets
In money line bets, bettors need to pick a team that he/she expects to win. Bettors win the bet straight-up without any point spread. Also, the bets are represented in both positive and negative values.
Building a Mobile Application
Besides launching powerful online sports betting software, you must also consider creating a mobile application. A mobile sports betting app proves to be an excellent, additional source of income for sportsbook or bookmakers. This is because there is an increasing number of Smartphone users and huge traction for mobile betting.
Therefore, it is wise to invest in sports betting app development as well. An app not only gets you more revenue but also helps you boost brand visibility and credibility.
Marketing
Once you have launched a feature-pact software and app into the market, it is time to focus on the promotion and marketing campaigns. You have to implement all the effective and trending marketing strategies such as SEO, social media marketing, PPC, and more to reach the target audience and generate a huge ROI. You can eights and digital marketing executive or an experienced sportsbook marketing company to assist you with the marketing company.
Betfoc Helps you Kick-start your Online Sports Betting Business Successfully
Betfoc has been in the online sports betting software industry for years. This vast industry experience and a talented team enable us to deliver top-tier sports betting software development solutions to clients in this area. We assist you in setting up your online sports betting business successfully by providing you with end-end solutions. Let us know your requirements and goals in detail so that we can kick-start the project ASAP.
