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Extendy. How much does it cost to operate an online casino?
When thinking about launching their own online casino, many arbitrageurs consider a white label solution as the best option. With so many platforms on the market to choose from, it’s no wonder that many may feel deterred by all the work involved. Fully-fledged, high-level operations are offered only by a few white label casinos. What’s more, attempting to launch an online casino by one’s self essentially involves building a new business from scratch with all the risks and pitfalls that accompany it.
In this article, we will discuss all that goes into launching and operating an online casino based on one of our experience, the main departments and tasks involved, the number of employees needed at the start, and the costs involved in employing teams of iGaming professionals.
Payment Processing / PSP
Deals with player payment processing – from connecting payment methods to quickly resolving issues with deposits.
While part of the team monitors deposit drops, the other works ‘on the front line’ 24/7. This involves handling all player requests, and financial reconciliation. The Payment Processing department also ensures the necessary number of payment methods and their proper functioning: searching by GEO, signing, testing, integration, routing (switching payment methods), and communicating with payment account managers.
Included in the tasks of the Payment Processing team are helping to avoid signing unreliable payment methods, ensuring quick onboarding and annual payment method verification, quickly resolving deposit issues, and thus avoiding additional chargeback fees.
The department includes monitoring managers, inbound request handlers, business developers, lawyers, account managers, and technical specialists. To set up a PSP team would require at least 5 employees, with the cost of the team starting from €9000 depending on the location.
Payments, Risk & Fraud
Handles KYC, regulates payments, conducts checks when necessary, and identifies and combats fraud. While the team primarily uses automated solutions in their daily tasks, a significant part of the daily work is performed by employees.
Payment verification is carried out in several stages. Identifying fraud sometimes resembles detective work – one needs to study the overall behavior of different groups of players and look for patterns. Fraud is constantly evolving which also means employees in this department will be continuously analyzing, adjusting and tweaking processes to prevent fraudulent clients from returning, and to prevent various risks, including license complaints.
The department’s work affects direct potential losses from fraud, which can be quite substantial. A few months back, thanks to the quick work of the Payment, Risk and Fraud’s team, we were able to promptly identify and prevent a potential case of abuse of funds which could have cost us several hundred thousands of dollars.
When setting up a Payment, Risk and Fraud team, you could expect small volumes of FTDs (First Time Deposits). This means you can start off with a team of 6 employees which would cost around €9000 a month. Training employees and finding employees who are well-experienced in identifying unusual fraudulent schemes can prove to be particularly difficult, so these aspects should be taken into consideration.
CRM
Responsible for tournaments and gamification, this department’s key functions are player retention and upselling. The functionality can vary depending on which CRM system is used: more advanced solutions allow you to set up more flexible chains of actions and bonuses, quickly connect new GEOs, introduce player missions, and much more. However, such systems require more experienced employees to launch and manage activities for different segments of players, including VIPs.
When setting up your online casino, you could be looking at recruiting three CRM managers for one brand, and, depending on the location and the managers’ experience, the cost could begin at around €8000. Once again, it is important to consider the few experienced specialists on the market which could mean the price could be even higher.
Game Management
Responsible for negotiating with game providers and discussing promotions with game studios. The game management department also handles the placement of games on the casino site while taking the GEO into account. For instance, players in different countries will likely prefer different games. Localisation and dedicating proper prioritization to players will help increase casino revenue.
Specialists with a deep understanding of games and the markets might be hard to come by, and the cost of one manager when setting up a brand could start at around €2000 depending on the location.
Content
Responsible for player communication. This includes explaining tournament rules, drafting marketing material about upcoming tournaments and campaigns, drafting notifications, email newsletters, Gamble Addiction & Anti-Money Laundering policies, payout rules, various terms and conditions, and much more.
Discrepancies in the terms and conditions of ongoing tournaments can lead to thousands of support requests and even more serious consequences such as discrepancies in payout limits indications, followed by player complaints and license revocation.
When launching your content department, each language team can consist of 3 content writers who are native speakers of the language they are writing in, with each team costing around €5000 per month.
BI Analytics
One of the most important departments in an online casino, its main aim is to help the business make the right decisions. BI is critical for marketing, VIP management, CRM, antifraud, payments, and much more. The analytics team processes huge amounts of data from various sources, allowing other departments to monitor important metrics, evaluate efficiency, and optimize work.
Building an effective BI Analytics department can take up to a year and costs start from around €300,000 per year. The main expenses are the employees, software, and hardware. We should point out that investing more in the employees, or choosing rather to invest in the software aspect will have an effect on the level of automation but will not significantly impact the final cost.
While “Ready-made solutions” usually provide access to an analytical solution, there still needs to be someone who will manage it. Therefore, an operational team with high expertise is needed. Its size can vary from 5 to 20 employees depending on the tasks and solutions used. On average, the cost of the team’s work, including software and hardware expenses will be around €25,000 euros per month. An analytics team can start out with three employees, and can cost about €14,000 euros per month.
Support
This is the first point of communication for players, and the quality of the department’s work directly affects player retention and loyalty. Properly written player communication scripts, case resolution algorithms, and team training help with this.
Support agents work 24/7 to help solve various problems encountered by players regarding fund deposits and withdrawals, player and payment verification, and account settings. Customer support agents also explain tournament rules, promotions and campaigns, as well as casino features such as bonuses, missions, etc.
An effective customer support team usually includes between 20 to 70 customer support agents, depending on the level of automation and the GEOs involved. As the number of GEOs grows, finding enough employees with the required language skills and suitable experience can be a challenge. When setting up a customer support team, you need to consider starting out with at least 6 people, and the cost of this team would be around €7000.
Call Center
Partially complements support functions in solving new player problems but also performs other important business tasks, such as reactivation. A properly set up call center could mean a return of up to 20% of players.
Another function of call centers is collecting feedback and passing it onto the product team. For example, optimizing bonuses could result in players receiving more attractive rewards and an increase in deposits for the casino.
A call center department can start off with two employees, and can cost around €3000 per month.
VIP Management
Working with VIP players is key in casino operations, ensuring retention of high-paying clients and revenue growth. VIP managers develop a VIP management strategy and set metrics to classify clients as VIPs, such as average bet size, frequency of play, or deposit amount.
The main principle in working with VIPs is to provide a highly personalized service through creating exclusive promotions and bonuses based on the VIP players’ preferences and actions on the site. Unique bonus calendars need to be developed for each product the client plays: casino, sports, live.
The VIP manager should have a good sense of the player, a desire to solve problems, and have a sense of empathy, as well as be able to upsell bonuses, games, and other offers to the client.
The department also handles objections, resolves complex cases, and legal issues together with lawyers and other departments such as Risk & Fraud.
When starting out, a VIP department can consist of two managers, and should cost around €6000.
Conclusion
When launching an online casino, you’ll be looking at a minimum of 30 professionals and a minimum monthly cost of €63,000. This amount is based on CIS countries and only includes the net salaries of department heads and employees, mainly at mid-level. When hiring on the international market or head-hunting the best industry professionals, you could be looking at double the cost per team, and possibly higher.
Extendy is a white label solution that offers turnkey operations without additional costs for partners. We look forward to discussing the possibilities of launching your online casino brand. Reach out to us by filling in an application on the website if you want to discuss the possibility of cooperation and launching your casino brand with us.
The post Extendy. How much does it cost to operate an online casino? appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
One of Brazil’s most iconic music exports, Alok, will headline the INFINITY Lisbon at SBC Summit, delivering his signature fusion of Brazilian rhythms and electronic dance music to the global event audience.
Set to raise the roof with an unforgettable fusion of lights and sound, the MEO Arena, home to SBC Summit’s ‘Super Stage’ during the day, will shift into high gear on September 18 as it transforms into the venue for the INFINITY Lisbon. Having hosted global icons like Beyoncé and The Weeknd, the arena promises an electrifying night designed to captivate the global gaming community.
Rasmus Sojmark, CEO and Founder of SBC, said: “The INFINITY is about blending high-level business networking with unforgettable experiences, and bringing someone of Alok’s caliber to the stage takes that to a whole new level. I’m proud that we’re able to deliver this kind of energy and entertainment to our attendees.”
Alok rose to global fame with his breakout hit ‘Hear Me Now’—now nearing 850 million streams on Spotify—and has since become a trailblazer in the Brazilian Bass genre. Ranked 4th in DJ Mag’s Top 100 DJs for three consecutive years (2021–2023), he commands a massive global following with nearly 22 million monthly listeners on Spotify and 29 million Instagram followers.
In addition to headlining some of the world’s biggest festivals, including Tomorrowland, Ultra Music Festival, and Lollapalooza, Alok has collaborated with international stars such as Dua Lipa, Jason Derulo, and Ed Sheeran. His influence extends into gaming culture as well, with his inclusion as a playable character in the hit game Garena Free Fire.
Beyond the stage, Alok is a passionate philanthropist and the founder of the Alok Institute, which supports educational programs, environmental preservation, and social impact projects across Brazil.
He also champions the next generation of artists through his labels Controversia Records and UP Club Records—platforms dedicated to discovering, nurturing, and promoting emerging talent in the electronic music scene, both in Brazil and internationally.
With accolades such as Forbes Brazil’s 30 Most Influential Brazilians and Spotify’s Top 100 Global, Alok is the ideal artist to headline SBC’s second INFINITY experience, according to Sojmark.
“The INFINITY brand was born in Lisbon. It’s where we dared to try something different, hosting our first-ever EDM-style festival with massive names like Don Diablo, Miss Monique, and Darude. The energy that night was off the charts, and it confirmed what we already felt: we had created something truly special for the industry,” he said.
The INFINITY Lisbon is the grand finale of SBC Summit, the industry’s fastest-growing global event uniting 30,000 professionals across betting, gaming, payments, and affiliation. After making the move from Barcelona, Lisbon’s second edition is gearing up for an even bigger return this September 16-18.
Sojmark added: “Funny enough, Alok was originally set to headline the INFINITY Rio, but plans shifted—and now it feels even more right to have him take the stage in Lisbon, where this whole journey began. It’s going to be one hell of a night.”
Asked about his vision for the INFINITY brand, the SBC CEO said: “I see it as a thank-you to our community—a celebration for those who believe in SBC and the connections built at our events. Experiences like this strengthen those bonds. That’s the power of joy, and that’s the essence of The INFINITY brand.”
The INFINITY Lisbon is an exclusive experience reserved for VIP Event Pass holders. Secure yours now for just €400 and take advantage of a €200 early bird discount.
Operators and affiliates can apply for complimentary VIP Event Passes.
The post Global EDM Icon Alok to Lead the INFINITY Lisbon at SBC Summit appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
The phrase “drive for show, putt for dough” is a long-standing mantra in golf that emphasises the importance of putting over driving – specifically driving distance – in winning golf tournaments. But is it true?
While the saying has a clear implication, modern data from professional golf paints a more complex picture. Using the Shots Gained (SG) metric we can compare different parts of a player’s game to see if there really is a formula for winning.
Driving test
Using shot data gained from datagolf.com we can compare the top players in the world (according to the Official World Golf Ranking) over the last 12 months.
Comparing “shots gained off the tee” with “shots gained putting” seems to turn the myth on its head – the top players gain a higher proportion of their shots off the tee than from putting. For players ranked in the Top 10, nearly 0.8 shots are gained from driving as opposed to around 0.3 for putting. Whilst the differential narrows as the players’ ranking decreases, for players ranked 90 – 100, driving still gains more than 0.2 shots more putting.
This ability to reliably gain strokes through driving gives top pros an edge, setting them up for better scoring opportunities throughout a tournament. Over a whole season, this advantage compounds and allows them to stay at the top of the leaderboards.
The long and the short
However, since “shots gained off the tee” includes par 4 and 5s, the metric is not necessarily just a measure of the importance of driving distance, but also a measure of accuracy. So, whilst driving matters, is it the distance or the trajectory that is most advantageous for winning tournaments?
Again, using the top ranked players, it appears that distance stands out as a key factor for success, with Top 10 players on average gaining nearly 10 yards per drive compared with those outside the Top 100 throughout the year. This extra yardage translates into shorter approaches and better chances to attack pins throughout the season.
These findings are corroborated by Mark Broadie in his 2014 book Every Shot Counts, where he shows that for professionals, an extra 20 yards of driving distance is worth about three-quarters of a stroke per round. Relatively speaking, for the rest of us amateur golfers, driving distance becomes even more important for scoring than driving accuracy.
Putt to the test
While driving distance provides the groundwork for long term success – and is a characteristic that all the Top 10 players seemingly must possess – it doesn’t necessarily “bust the myth” that putting is more important for winning tournaments. Indeed, looking more deeply into the metrics for the outcome of individual tournaments uncovers the fact that putting becomes more instrumental for who comes out on top.
If we look instead at the finish positions in PGA events over the last 12 months, rather than the World Ranking, putting comes to the fore. For players finishing first, putting gained an average of 1.2 shots versus a gain of 0.7 for driving. Even for players finishing 30th – 35th, putting is worth more than 0.4 of a shot on average compared to driving. The fact that top finishers in a given event typically post higher gains from putting rather than from driving underscores the vital role of putting during tournament play where players have to capitalize on scoring opportunities and avoid mistakes on the green to win.
The outcome
Fundamentally the relationship between driving and putting reveals a balanced formula for success. Driving creates opportunities and contributes to consistency while putting often decides who makes the best of those opportunities and ultimately wins on a given weekend. In a game of ever-increasing competition and precision, power and finesse must work together to elevate players to the pinnacle of the sport.
With all the attention on these extremes of golf, other aspects are often overlooked. Completing the same analyses and including shots gained for “approach” and “around the green” makes it clear that there is one area that consistently contributes to wins and ranking, making it arguably the most important aspect of a players golf game.
The post Masters Betting: Drive for Show, Putt for Dough appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.
Best Interactive Sportsbook Experience 2025
Digitain Wins Sportsbook Excellence Award at SiGMA Americas Awards
Digitain has been awarded the “Best Interactive Sportsbook Experience 2025” title at the SiGMA Americas Awards in São Paulo, Brazil, for its outstanding innovation and commitment to delivering advanced sports betting solutions.
Digitain, a leading provider of Sportsbook and iGaming solutions, has won in the “Best Interactive Sportsbook Experience 2025” category at the SiGMA Americas Awards. This prestigious recognition highlights Digitain’s relentless drive for innovation, excellence, and its ability to deliver state-of-the-art Sportsbook solutions to its partners.
The SiGMA Americas Awards took place on April 7 during the BiS SiGMA Americas event in São Paulo, Brazil. The awards celebrate the best and brightest companies, recognizing exceptional achievements, groundbreaking innovations, and significant contributions to the industry.
Iain Hutchison, Digitain’s Chief Revenue Officer, stated: “We are honored to receive this award, which marks our fifth major recognition this year. It’s a powerful validation of our commitment to innovation and the strength of the partnerships we’ve built.
At Digitain, we continuously strive to develop forward-thinking Sportsbook solutions that meet the evolving needs of our partners in a highly competitive global market. We remain focused on continuous improvement, ensuring that our partners have access to the best tools and solutions to drive their business forward.”
As Digitain continues its expansion across regulated markets, this award further strengthens its position as a trusted partner for operators seeking a competitive edge in the dynamic field of sports betting.
The post Digitain Wins Sportsbook Excellence Award at SiGMA Americas Awards appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.
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