Hi,

I've been doing a lot of research in the past few weeks on a possible online casino venture. There are a lot of things that concern me, so I wanted to start a dialogue here and see if anybody was interested in conversating?

1). The industry is unregulated, and there are a lot of people saying a lot of things with a start up cost that runs from $50-$25,0000... Can anybody tell me what you should realistically hope to pay to get off the ground?

2). People are offering 25%-90% in the payout of net profits each month. Can someone explain to me what the highest you should expect to get would be depending on what you invest, etc?

3). Can someone explain what the advantages/disadvantages are of running through an affiliate program vs. starting your own online casino from scratch? How about vs. going with one of the higher priced packages where they allow you to create YOUR OWN affiliate programs beneath you, etc?

4). Can someone provide (MAYBE the webmaster?) an ubiased opinion of what companies to steer clear of, and what companies are OK to deal with?

5). Can someone provide me with a realistic monthly operating cost estimate... I know that you can't do this for free obviously if you hope to make any money, and I've heard people saying they advertise & market for anywhere from $100 a month to $5000 a month.

Thanks in advance!

hakrjak@yahoo.@#$%&

I think I have settled on 1 that I can't really find anything negative about on the internet, with some good references, good sample sites etc...

Global Interactive (ginteract.com)

Does anyone have anything negative to say about this company before I proceed?

There difference between the ones that sell you a package for $100 - $2000 is that they are only affiliate programs and you earn around 25%.. The problem with this is that they are never your customers and you are doing all that work for another casino. Also with affiliate programs you have no control of the marketing, customers, money, etc... Its ok if you want to make a few bucks but if you are looking at having your own business then you need to purchase a License.

The main thing is that you can do this for free. It doesnt cost anything to sign up for a casino's affiliate program. You dont need to pay them for this.

I have spoken to Global Interactive and they are a good company from what I can tell so far. I have also spoken to one of their Licensees and they had good things to say. Although I am not licensed through them I am talking to them about switching over to their system. Its good stuff and they have a good support staff thats been helping me out.

As far as your marketing costs, this depends on how much you will do yourself and how much you will hire out. You can do some yourself and see a higher ROI. The bottom line is that it is not hard to make money in this industry. You have to put out the effort. The problem is many people want to make money doing nothing and no business works like that. If you put the effort out you will make some good money.

good luck!

Would you mind sharing the name / url of your casino? I'd love to check it out!

Thanks!

Hi hakrjack,

I'd like to invite you to take a peek at Real Gambling Software. Our URL is [www.realgamblingsoftware.com].

It's much like a sub-licensing arrangement but we prefer to call it an Independent Contractor relationship.

We offer a turnkey package that includes 10+ JAVA casino games, 6+ web-based JAVA lottery games, a sportsbook, featuring lines from North America and Europe, C++ downloadable client casino software with 13+ casino games, affiliate program software and ad tracking software.

We'll also take care of customer service, support and financial transactions for you.

If you find it attractive, please give me an e-mail at realentertainment@consultant.com and I'll assist you immediately.

Thanks,
Bart

If you've settled on Global Interactive, it's obvious that your research hasn't been that extensive. Sure, some of the sample sites look good, but have you noticed there are no links in their "portfolio" to the actual casinos? Try typing in the URL of the sample casinos and you'll find that most either don't exist anymore or they feature a different design and are powered by another software provider. This should bee a major red flag. Moreover, the software they use is World Gaming software. There are a few World Gaming licensees who actually pay their affiliates, but in general they are notorious for not paying their affiliated webmasters. Moreover, World Gaming sites are on Casinomeister.com's "rogue casino" list which you have touted as a great way to let webmasters know which casinos to avoid.

Perhaps you should start seriously considering that Subway franchise. To illustrate my point about Global Interactive, here's a breakdown of the 22 casinos listed in their portfolio.

Casinos that are redirected to SportsbookUSA.com (powered by Futurebet):

1) International Bet
2) Phantom Casino
3) 22nd Century Casino (They even have the audacity to include an old testimonial from them on their home page)
4) Casino Experience
5) Champion Casino
6) Real Bet
7) King's Court Casino
8) Shamrock Casino
9) Superbowl Bet
10) Casino of the Orient
11) The Big Win
12) Galaxy Casino

Other casinos that have jumped ship:

1) Classic Casino (New design; now powered by Futurebet)
2) 100K Casino (Grand reopening this month; new software provider)
3) Black Tie Casino (New design; new software provider)
4) 00 Casino (No Web site at all; "under construction")

Other casinos that have obviously not been updated in years:

1) Planet Rock Casino (Copyright 2000 on site)
2) Jackpot 7 (Copyright 1999 on site)

I think the poster praising Global Interactive was a shill; otherwise he's not a very shrewd businessman if he's going to jump on a ship that others are abandoning at a staggering rate.

When you talk to Global Interactive you might want to ask them why so many of their clients have dropped them like a bad habit. Best of luck to you in whichever endeavor you choose. It takes more than just a few weeks of online research to do your due diligence before entering this industry, though.