ShareThe eternal question for all poker amateurs is how to make money on poker and is it possible to do this on an ongoing basis? The keyword here is amateur, because if you are a professional then you obviously know the answer to these questions. But this article will be of interest to poker players of all levels, as it offers an alternative perspective on how to make money "around" poker. What if you switch sides? What if you open your own poker room or a casino? Admit it, you asked yourself this question, perhaps not seriously, but you absolutely sure had the idea to go to the "dark side". So, what options do you have in 2021 to open your gambling business?
First, let's define the main direction:
1. It has to be online. There are many significant reasons why you need to do business online. They are obvious but still, they are highly important. Let's start with the most global one, the website can be used by anyone from anywhere in the world, this will greatly expand your audience, plus, you can administer the site from wherever it is convenient for you, so it is not necessary to be tied to the specific place. The next reason is, lack of direct contact with people, I think there is no need to explain why this is an advantage. And last but not least is the license, getting the license for online casinos is much easier than for land-based.
2. It has to be a crypto site. In our articles, we have repeatedly described how cryptocurrency, namely bitcoin, affects the poker world, and today it is definitely clear that it will not be possible to control cryptocurrency. But as they say, if you can't win, then you have to lead. The four main advantages of bitcoin that became the key to success are speed, limitlessness, cheapness, and anonymity.
Let's go in order: the speed of bitcoin transactions is in several times higher than of any other currency, and the reason is not in technology, but in the essence of crypto. Since bitcoin is not tied to any bank, it does not go through a bunch of checks, as it does with dollar transactions, for example. The same is with anonymity and limitlessness, no one will ask you about where you got the money, where you are transferring it and why. This means you can make unhindered payments wherever you want, including payments between countries. Cheapness, bitcoin transactions is a free market, that is, when you want to make a transfer, you put it on the "exchange”, and any miner or miners can take on it, this help to keeps the price low.
3. It has to be a bitcoin casino. Why is it better to conduct gambling activities online and why with cryptocurrencies, in particular with bitcoin's, we have figured out, now let's talk about poker clubs and casinos. Why sites like Poker Stars began to emerge and why they separate poker from all other casino games. It's very simple because in many countries poker began to be recognized as a sport, it became possible to advertise it to the general public, and it is much easier to attract stars to testimonial advertisements. But unlike poker for all other casino games, none of this works, so the idea is to split them up. On the other hand, the costs of creating a bitcoin casino and poker site are the same, but in the first case, the audience is much wider, which means that it will be easier to get profit and recoup costs. Therefore, if you are not going to post advertisements on television, in public places, or services, and I am sure that you’re not (later I will explain why), this separation is not for you.
With such simple reasoning, we found out that the best option is a bitcoin online casino. Now the question is how difficult it is to open your own Bitcoin casino?
Bitcoin casino essentials
Looking at the front, I can say that this is much easier than it seems at first glance. Let's start with the fact that the casino has nothing of its own, no matter how strange it sounds. All games that you see on the site of any casino are created by separate software developers and the casino signs a contract with these developers. All payments and transactions are going through third-party resources - the bitcoin “exchange”. Site security is a very important question for bitcoin casinos, and as a rule, a third-party company is engaged in it. Even the support service in a bitcoin casino is outsourced, there are particular companies that specialize in such services.For example, below we will give several bitcoin casinos that have achieved success, but at the same time, all their main activities are outsourced.
Bitcoin casino list
Bitcoin casino | Bitcoin games providers | Support | Cryptocurrencies |
FortuneJack | Amatic industries, BGAMING, Microgaming, NetEnt, Betsoft, Yggdrasil, iSoftBet, Play 'n Go, Evolution Gaming, Quickspin, | Intercom | Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Zcash, Dogecoin, Monero |
Stake | Stake originals, Evolution Gaming, Play N Go, BestSoft, Bgaming | Intercom | Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Dogecoin, Tron, Ripple, Litecoin, Ethereum |
BitStarz | Amatic, Booming Games, Betsoft, Endorphina, Habanero Games, iSoftbet, Pragmatic Play, Softswiss | LiveChat | Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, Bitcoin Cash |
mBit | BGaming, Nolimit, Booming Games, Gameart, Endorphina, NetEnt, Betsoft Gaming, Play'n Go | LiveChat | Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Litecoin, Dogecoin, Tether |
The first steps of creating a bitcoin casino
As you can see, the development of a bitcoin casino is not such a difficult process, given the fact that most of the tasks can be going to third-party workers, but you still have to solve a couple of problems by yourself.
Bitcoin casino license
In the beginning, you need to register a company and collect the appropriate package of documents. A license for a bitcoin casino may not be required in all countries, but it is better to take care of getting it. Firstly, this way players will be confident in the reliability of the casino and will be more motivated to place bets. Secondly, it will allow the owner to act fully within the law.
The types and cost of licenses for Bitcoin online casinos depend on the jurisdiction, for example, in Costa Rica, they issue a license (Data Processing License), which allows you to conduct a gambling business, but it has less trust among the gamblers. On the other side, licenses in the EU countries transfer online casinos to the status of a European organization, but it is often difficult to obtain and very expensive. The most common license among already existing bitcoin casinos is the Curacao License.
Software for bitcoin casinos
After resolving legal issues, you have to prepare the website and software for the bitcoin casino operation. This is what we already talked about: connect support system, the ability to deposit and withdraw money. It is better to turn to trusted companies that use other, already successful bitcoin casinos from our table.Bitcoin casino games
As for the choice of games provider, this won't be a problem, many well-known developers of online poker and other bitcoin casino games offer a lot of products on the market. The main condition that is necessary for a successful start is the variety of games and the availability of the most popular ones. You can even add games with live dealers, by the way, this option is available for poker games too.
In addition to poker you can find a list of games below that are popular in bitcoin casinos:
Bitcoin blackjack
This is a card game between casinos and players. If we talk about a regular online blackjack you will play against a bot, if this is a live game then you will play against a real dealer (a real person). The target of the game is simple, players try to get cards as close to 21 points as possible, but without exceeding this value. Aces are equal to 1 or 11, cards with pictures correspond to 10, else cards match their value. The winner is the player who has collected the highest amount at the table but less than 22.
Bitcoin slots
Briefly, the work of online bitcoin slots can be described as follows: 10 people have contributed $ 1,000 each. One won $ 9,000, the casino took $ 1,000, the rest - zeros. Bitcoin slots are the simplest game, all you have to do is press a button and hope for a successful result. For this reason, casino owners love to host online slots on their websites because this is a guaranteed profit. Therefore, if you want to create a bitcoin casino, bitcoin slots must be there.
Bitcoin roulette
In bitcoin roulette, a player places a bet on one of the virtual table cells. The table consists of rows of numbers 0–36, colored black, red, and green. In some games, there is also an additional square 00, also green, it depends on the game software developer. After the end of accepting bets, a ball is launched into the rotating roulette in the direction opposite to its rotation. After the ball hits the cell, the winning number is announced, the croupier collects the losing bets in the casino's income, and payout the winnings.
How to promote a bitcoin casino?
One of the most important points when creating a bitcoin casino is how you will attract gamblers. The cheapest and most affordable way to promote online bitcoin casinos is, of course, online promotion. The principles of promotion of a crypto casino are not fundamentally different from the promotion of a regular website. As with any other online resource, users value reliability, security guarantees, and ease of use. In order to competently promote the resource it is better to contact the specialists, but you can try to achieve the process by yourself.The main methods of bitcoin casino promotion:
- SEO optimization for user search queries;
- display networks like Google AdWords (there might be some problems since a casino is a forbidden topic for advertising, remember we talked about this earlier. So if you think to promote your website through Google AdWords, you should think about online bitcoin poker, not the casino);
- SMM promotion and thematic posts on social networks Facebook, Instagram, and others;
- email marketing.
But the most effective way to promote Bitcoin casinos is through affiliate programs. There are many affiliate websites in the gambling market where you can place your advertising offer. By working with webmasters, casino owners can expect that their sponsored links will land on thematic sites and attract the target audience..
Bonus system for bitcoin casino
Another task that you have to solve, as the owner of a bitcoin casino, is the creation of a bonus system.A bonus at bitcoin casino is an incentive offered by an online casino to attract new members, keep older players interested in their brand and, in both cases, improve the gaming experience with additional funds.
Although bonuses can be sorted according to various criteria, the most common types of bonuses that you can come across in an online casino are the following:
- no deposit;
- deposit bonuses;
- welcome;
- free spins;
- reload bonuses;
- cashback;
- bonuses for high rollers;
- loyalty bonuses;
- referral;
- birthday bonuses;
- exclusive offers.
In order to avoid misunderstandings from the players, we recommend using just this gradation, since it is the most common. If this seems difficult to you and you need help, you can see how other casinos are doing it. The easiest way to do this is on special sites that are dedicated to the casino bonus calendar. Also, do not forget about the restrictions and conditions of wagering. The casino cannot give out bonuses just like that, otherwise, it will be bankrupt.
Conclusions
Let's summarize the results, the best option for starting a business in the gambling industry is an online bitcoin casino, the main advantages are:
- Opening a bitcoin casino is much easier, cheaper, and faster than a gambling resource that uses fiat currency.
- The limitlessness of clients and market boundaries.
- There is no tough competition in the market.
- It is not necessary to obtain a license to start working on the market (but it is better to do it to increase the level of trust).
- Cryptocurrency is becoming more and more popular, so there will be an increase in the amount of bitcoin casino players.
The share of bitcoin casinos on the market (compared with online casinos) now does not exceed 15%, but experts predict an increase in these indicators in the coming years. So think carefully, maybe now is the best moment to change the camp, and instead of being a part of someone's game, create your own.
Thanks to Edward Ackins for help in preparing the material for this article.
