How Online Casinos Make Money. Honest vs Rogue Casinos
Have you ever thought about what factors affect the profits of online casinos? It’s not only about the number of clients. In reality, the situation is way more complicated. Let’s try to make sense of it.
Jurisdiction
The top important factor is the country (or area) where the online casino is officially registered. It’s not surprising that casino operators tend to choose countries with a mild gambling regulation and favorable tax regime.
Another major factors include the initial cost of the license, annual license fee (if any), and whether the license allows the casino to operate in the strategic markets (e.g., in the European Union).
This is why the majority of online casino are registered in offshore zones. For gambling businesses, this is a smart way to minimize their tax and other expenses.
Number of Players
Client base is the key asset of every online casino. It’s no secret that gambling sites are vying for new clients. Casinos encourage their players with generous bonuses and use other incentives to gain their loyalty.
The more clients a casino has, the more money it’s making.
User-Friendly, High-Quality Service
Building an attractive gambling website and distributing bonuses among new clients is now enough. To be successful, a casino must also provide a high-quality service and continuously increase its collection of games. The casino must provide the player with both in-browser and downloadable casino versions.
Plus, the casino must take care of different categories of players, including those who prefer to gamble on their smartphones or tablets. Nowadays, a clever mobile app is an absolute must for every respectable casino. Live gambling is another innovation a modern casino can’t ignore.
In addition to games, online casinos often provide other kinds of entertainment, such as bookmaker services, lotteries, bingos, etc. This is a surefire way to expand the client base, increase profits, and boost brand awareness.
Payout Rates
There is a reason why we’ve saved this factor for dessert. We can talk about RTP (payout rate) as a factor in casino profits only if the casino is already prosperous. If the casino is not popular among gamblers, even a high RTPs won’t be able to save it from closure.
Rogue Online Casinos
For a gambler, there is nothing worse than falling victim to a rogue online casino. Unfortunately, this is still a very common pitfall for unexperienced and naïve players. Let’s take a look at the signs that can help you identify rogue casinos like a pro.
Very Large Bonuses
Welcome (aka signup) bonuses are among the most effective ways to attract and retain new clients. Most of the time, a welcome bonus equals to 100-200% of your first deposit. Some casinos provide bonuses on the first 3-5 deposits.
Releasing a welcome bonus can be very hard. It’s not uncommon that the player fails to meet the wagering requirements or only gets a part of the bonus. This kind of thing happens all the time.
Rogue casinos stand out through their sky-high bonuses, starting from 300% and higher. Such generous money gifts are usually paired with mild wagering requirements. If the offer seems too good to be true, chances are you’re looking at a rogue casino.
Few Payment Systems
Rogue casino don’t meet the requirements of major payments systems which is why the latter refuse to partner with them. As a result, fly-by-night casinos offer a very limited selection of payment methods for deposits and withdrawals.
Usually, the player has to choose between as few as 2-3 deposit methods. Reliable websites offer at least 10 payment options, if not more.
Unlicensed Software
Unlicensed casino software is a major deal breaker. Leading software providers would never work with questionable gambling websites. For software manufacturers, it’s the question of reputation and image. This is why rogue casinos have to use stolen gambling games that were released quite a while ago.
If you see that the casino has no new releases to offer, this should put you on alert. Even if the website turns out to be perfectly honest, who would want to play old games?
No License
Needless to say, you must not trust your data and money to a casino that doesn’t have a license or whose license has expired. But the problem is that a casino can display fake licenses.
In this case, we recommend to play it safe. Contact the regulatory body that issued the license to make sure the license is valid.
Outdated Website
A website is the face of any online casino. In addition to having a beautiful design, a gambling website must be functional and easy-to-navigate. It must be filled with useful and relevant content. Plus, the information on promos, ratings, gambling news, etc. must be regularly updated. An outdated, messy website signals that casino owners don’t particularly care about the image created by their business.