Choosing Online Betting Platform for Sportsbook Business

According to estimates, the global sports betting market size is currently as big as $3 trillion. And more than $200 billion of this amount came from wagers in the United States alone. This makes the Sportsbook business an idea that could be extremely profitable.

Even though this lucrative idea may seem easy on paper, it is a little complicated in practice. If you don’t know what exactly you need to do, you may end up wasting your time and money. That’s why we offer you to find out how you can start your own sportsbook business using an online betting platform. But first, let us check out what do we mean when we talk about a sportsbook platform.

What is an Online Betting Platform?

An online betting platform or website allows you to make bets on games online. These games could be different: football games, horse races, motorsport, and almost any other events.

Starting Your Sportsbook: What Methods are Available?

When it comes to starting your online betting platform, there are numerous options available.

Start a Licensed Online Sportsbooks

Starting a licensed online sportsbook exposes you to huge markets where online sportsbooks are legal and regulated. Some of these include the UK, Germany, Malta, Spain, Sweden, etc. To do this, you will need to do the following:

• Choose the right betting software
• Get the needed licenses to operate in your selected jurisdiction
• Get your payment provider
• Build your betting website

The major drawback of this method is that you will need to spend a huge amount on licensing fees and taxes. For instance, countries like Belgium and Denmark tax operators of online betting platforms heavily.

Also, if you want to expand your services into new countries, you may need to obtain more than one license. This means that you need to plan your business carefully since you will need to pay license fees regardless of your income.

Open an offshore Sportsbook

Unlike licensed sportsbooks, offshore sportsbooks are not exactly legal in any country. They run their operations in a grey area and serve territories and countries with no strict laws regulating online gambling.

Many offshore sportsbooks run their operations in the Caribbean and Central American Countries. However, if you want to run a licensed online betting website in this region, the popular options for these sportsbooks include Curacao, Antigua, Panama, and Costa Rica.

Offshore sportsbooks are a great option for individual entrepreneurs and growing companies to tap into the market. It is not too hard to obtain licenses from the stated jurisdictions. And those licenses are not so expensive as licenses from renowned regulatory bodies like Malta and UK.

On the downside, offshore licensing jurisdictions don’t properly monitor their licenses. This has led to the abrupt closure of some offshore sportsbooks that absconded with players’ deposits. You may not be able to garner as many players due to this perceived unreliability.

Opening this type of sportsbook requires the same steps stated above, including:

• Choose the right betting software
• Get the needed licenses to operate in your selected jurisdiction
• Get your payment provider
• Build your betting website

Use Price Per Head Bookmaking

This is another method of tapping into the offshore bookmaking market. In this case, the PPH company helps you manage most areas of your sports betting business. This means you don’t need to start your sportsbook from scratch. However, this comes at a cost as you will need to pay the PPH a specific fee for every customer.

The fee is usually around $10, but it could be lower or higher depending on the PPH company you choose. Fortunately, you will only have to pay the fee if the customer makes bets within the period.

Which Should You Go With?

All the options can be very profitable. However, there is always the one that suits you better depending on your requirements and capacity. If you have the financial capacity, going with a licensed sportsbook is the best option. This exposes you to huge markets like Malta, UK, etc.

If you want a less expensive option, the offshore sportsbook is your best bet. Licensing is much cheaper in jurisdictions like Costa Rica, etc.

But if you would rather leave most of the work in the hands of an expert, then a PPH is the way to go. The PPH company offers you a website, betting tools, customer service, etc., all for a flat fee. You don’t need to spend resources creating a website, maintaining software, or getting an office space as required by the first two options.

This is the option we recommend, but make sure you compare each properly to make an informed decision.