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Online poker is a big business.

It’s difficult to know how much revenue is generated annually because of all the private sites. But Wikipedia says $2.4 billion was generated online in 2004. No doubt it was much higher than that in 2017.

That’s enough to get anyone’s greed glands working. To get you dreaming of what it’d be like to be the owner of a massive and hugely popular online poker site. To make so much money, you could retire young, buy an island and sip cocktails until you’re old and dusty.

Most people stop there. The dream bubble *pops* and they come back to reality.

But, for the few others, they start to seriously contemplate starting an online poker site. They want to know how to get started.

This page is our attempt to help those people out. But first, a disclaimer:

We don’t know what it truly takes to start a new online poker room. We haven’t done it before, and there aren’t any resources on the web that spell it out from A to Z.

But, we do have experience as business owners (affiliates) and poker players. Industry experience, too, as well as a little common sense.

So the following information is our best attempt at explaining the darn-near impossible task of launching your very own online poker site.

Note: We’re not lawyers, business planners, consultants or anything like that. If you truly plan to start an online poker room, we suggest using the following as ‘food for thought.’ It’s not advice, legal or otherwise. We recommend you speak to a real professional if you decide to move forward with this kind of venture.

The 3 Biggest & Most Common Mistakes to Avoid

Let’s start with the biggest mistakes we see new poker rooms make. This is by no means an exhaustive list, and there’s a lot of overlap, too. In fact, you could say each of these mistakes share a very common thought process – that starting a poker room is easy.

It’s not 2004

This phrase probably sums up this entire section. But many people think we’re still living in the ‘good ol’ days’ of 2003-2004, when Moneymaker won the WSOP Main Event. When poker become cool again overnight.

This was the easiest time to make money in the industry as a player, coach, affiliate and business owner. The market was young, new and ripe for the picking.

But it’s not anymore.

The market’s mature now. It’s going to take a lot more than a deposit bonus, large rake back deal or celebrity endorsement to get your site off the ground.

No Money

I saw a quote the other day on an old (2007) forum post where someone was asking for advice on how to start an online poker site. One of the replies said, if you don’t have at least $10 million, don’t bother.

I’m not sure if that’s true, or, because of how old the post is if you’ll actually need more. But I believe it.

I share more ideas of how much things will cost later in article. But you’ll need money for all sorts of things, such as:

Advertising
Software
Games
Staff
Maintenance
Licensing Fees and Renewals
Web Hosting
Legal

And loads more, I’m sure.

Any one of these points can set you back a solid 6-figures. Combined, you’re looking at millions of dollars.

And you can’t forget yourself – you need money to pay your bills and take care of your family while you build the business. Because there’s a good chance your business won’t be paying you your share of the profits for several months, even years after you get started – assuming it even lasts that long.

‘Me Too’ Business

The last mistake I want to point out is creating a ‘me too’ business. In other words, creating a poker site with no clear USP (unique selling proposition).

A USP, in theory, is simple – it’s merely what makes you different from, or better than, your competition.

This is easier said than done, though. Especially in a mature market where many things have already been tried, and in a marketplace where your competitors are already profitable and have multi-million-dollar marketing budgets.

The simple fact is this – if you don’t have a USP, don’t bother starting an online poker site (much less any other business). It’s so important, in fact, we decided to dedicate an entire section of this page to it.

First Things First, You Need a USP

It’s imperative you realize how competitive the online poker industry is.

You don’t want to be afraid of the competition. But you do need to realize it’s there. You need to respect it.

More importantly, you need to use your competition to see where the gaps you can fill are in the marketplace. Because one of the worst things you can do – something that will make your climb to the top even harder to make – is becoming a ‘me too’ poker site.

Best Online Poker Website

What’s a ‘me too’ poker site?

A good example of a ‘me too’ poker site are poker skins. Skins were a big deal several years ago.

A ‘skin’ is a business in a box. You get the software, games, promotion, banking and marketing from a network (like the Merge Poker Network). Many networks pool the players from all the sites, too, so you even have games for your new customers to join.

Everything about a skin is the same – the games, traffic, stakes, functionality, etc. – the only difference is how it looks – how it’s skinned.

This is great for new businesses. You hardly have to do anything other than come up with a catchy name and make sure the domain URL is available.

The biggest problem, though? You have no competitive advantage. You’re like everyone else.

So why should someone choose you over your competition? Why should someone switch from an existing site – which has more history in safety, reputation and payments – to a brand-new site?

An even better question – why should someone play at your site over PokerStars, Full Tilt, 888 and Bet365? Not only do these sites have a positive track records, lots of games, stakes, options, etc., but they’re also one of a kind. They offer something (most) other sites don’t.

But most, if not all the poker sites on the Merge Gaming Network either busted, merged with another (Merge) skin or for some other reason went out of business.

The bottom line – it’s hard to compete when you’re like everyone else. So, if you can’t answer either of those questions – if you can’t come up with a clear USP – don’t even bother starting a poker site.

Because chances are you’ll fail even if you do have one.

It’s that simple.

“What are you doing to do differently that isn’t already well covered? I think people think it’s a lot easier than it is. Also, players aren’t going to come to play for you just as a favor. Everyone needs to be offered something, or else they will just play where they are already.” – Karl Mahrenholz

How to Come Up with Your USP

Okay, you heard me loud and clear – you need a USP. But how do you come up with one?

The fastest way to come up with a unique selling proposition is to find a gap in the marketplace. What can you do or add to the marketplace that your competition doesn’t? What do they do that you can do better?

Here are some ideas to get your gears turning:

Mobile – Few sites offer mobile poker – or even a full-blown mobile app identical to their download. You could even create a mobile-exclusive app (no desktop version).
3D – Only a few sites have tried 3D (like PKR). This could be telling you one of two things – no one wants 3D poker …or it’s an opportunity.
Virtual Reality (VR) – VR is a huge trend and it’s only going to get bigger. Imagine a poker room where it feels like you’re playing live.
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Start Your Own Online Poker Website