Who this guide is for
Founders planning a first betting brand, casino operators adding sport, and affiliates in betting who want to keep the margin they now send to operators. It is a sequence of decisions, not a vendor pitch; the sportsbook software page covers what we sell.
In order: confirm a licence that covers betting in your market, decide who trades, then choose the feed, the platform and the payments in that order. The trading decision is the one most guides leave out, and it is the one that decides whether the book makes money.
Step 1: find a licence that covers betting where your players are
Licences split into those that cover betting alongside casino and those built for betting alone. The second kind is narrower and much more expensive to enter. The right-hand column is cash committed before the first bet.
| Route | What it covers | What it locks up or charges |
|---|---|---|
| Cyprus Class B | Online betting only, for players in Cyprus, on a .com.cy domain with a mirrored server in Cyprus | €500,000 share capital and a €550,000 bank guarantee; €30,000 a year in fees; 10% of net betting revenue plus a 3% contribution; three to five months |
| Finland, from 1 July 2027 | Fixed-odds and pool betting for Finnish residents | €29,000 to apply, about six months; 22% of GGR; no affiliates, no acquisition bonuses, no crypto |
| Gibraltar B2C betting | Remote betting from a substantive presence on the Rock | £30,000 to apply and £50,000 a year below £20 million gross yield |
| Isle of Man | All verticals, betting included | £5,250 to apply, £36,750 a year, duty from 1.5% of gaming yield; a Manx company and two resident directors |
| Offshore: Anjouan, Tobique, Curaçao, Tuvalu | Betting alongside casino, minus a restricted list that on every one of them includes the US and the UK | From €17,828 a year on Anjouan; weeks rather than months |
In the United States, sports betting was legal in 39 states and the District of Columbia at the end of 2025, each under its own licence; no offshore route reaches those players. Buying a pay-per-head service does not change that. Great Britain needs a Gambling Commission licence, and remote betting duty there rises to 25% on most remote bets from 1 April 2027.
Tax on stakes is not tax on revenue
Most taxes in the table are charged on what the book keeps. The US federal excise tax is charged on what players stake: 0.25% of every state-authorised wager, 2% of every unauthorised one, plus an annual occupational tax of $50 or $500 per person accepting wagers. In 2025 US commercial books kept $16.96 billion of $166.94 billion staked, a hold of about 10.2%. At that hold, 0.25% of handle is roughly 2.5% of revenue before any state tax, and it rises in a year when hold falls.
Step 2: decide who trades
This is the decision that sets the launch model. On a white label the feed, the traders and the licence belong to the provider; you set margins inside its limits and pay a share of GGR. On a turnkey build the feed contract, the trading policy and the regulator relationship are yours, and so is the liability. A founder with no trading experience and no desk usually starts on white label or on turnkey with managed trading, then takes over one sport at a time.
Step 3: choose the odds and data
The feed is a fixed contract with a minimum term, the one recurring line that does not fall in a bad month. Three things matter more than the headline coverage figure:
- Coverage of what you will trade. Providers count events, fixtures or live events differently; compare the competitions and markets you plan to price.
- Official data rights. Regulated markets and some leagues expect official data; Genius Sports, for example, is official data partner for the Premier League and the NFL.
- The supplier's own licence. Anjouan requires every supplier, feed providers included, to hold a B2B recognition certificate at €9,500 a year.
The odds feeds page compares providers on the same unit.
Step 4: set the trading and liability rules before launch
Liability is what the book pays if a result lands. It concentrates on popular favourites and big finals, so the worst weekend of the season sizes the cash you need. Write these down before the first market opens:
- Maximum liability per market and per event, and what happens when it is reached: reprice, suspend or refuse.
- Maximum stake per player tier, and when a player is profiled and limited.
- Bet-acceptance delay per in-play market, the main defence against a price taken after it moved.
- Who decides a void, who signs a resettlement after an official correction, and how it is recorded.
Some regulators make this a licence condition: Cyprus requires proof of reserves to pay out winnings. Before go-live, replay a full season of results through the settlement engine; abandoned fixtures, corrected results and void legs in accumulators are where a new book loses money quietly.
Step 5: payments and payouts
Betting shares the casino's merchant category, MCC 7995, which Visa classes as Tier 1 high integrity risk, so acquirers need Visa's separate approval for the category before they can sign you. Published fees run 2.5% to 8% with rolling reserves of 10% to 25%. Licences add their own rules: Cyprus accepts electronic payments only, with funds on account before the bet; Finland bans crypto and requires strong electronic ID. Size the payout float for the weekend the favourites win, because withdrawals follow results. The payment gateway page covers routing and reserves.
Step 6: compliance, integrity and marketing
A named MLRO, self-exclusion connected to the national register where one exists (Cyprus and Finland both run one), and monitoring for suspicious betting patterns. On marketing, Google Ads requires a valid local licence for every country targeted, and Finland bans affiliates and acquisition bonuses, so a free-bet welcome offer does not survive that market.
How long it takes
| Route | Typical time to first bet |
|---|---|
| White label on our licence | Six weeks from signature, written into the contract |
| Turnkey, licence in hand | Three to four months, including settlement and load tests |
| Turnkey with a new Anjouan or Tobique licence | Add two to eight weeks |
| Cyprus Class B | Add three to five months, if the guarantee is ready on day one |
| Isle of Man | About nine months from first step for a group new to the island |
| Finland | Not before 1 July 2027 |
Who should not start a sportsbook yet
- Anyone whose players are in a US state or another market with its own licence, without a route to it.
- A founder who cannot fund the worst weekend's liability on top of the feed minimum and the reserve.
- A book planned on one tier-one feed at a turnover that will not cover its minimum term. A lower-cost feed or white label fits better until volume arrives.
Questions to put to any provider, including us
- Whose feed contract is it, and what happens to it if we change platform?
- On managed trading, who sets the liability limits and who answers at 2 a.m. on a cup final?
- Show the settlement of an abandoned match, a corrected result and a void leg in a multiple.
- Which acquirers have taken betting brands on this licence in the last year?
- Does every supplier in the stack hold the certificates our licence requires?
Frequently asked
How much does it cost to start a sportsbook?
It depends on the licence more than the software. Cyprus locks up about €1.1 million in capital and guarantee before the first bet; an offshore licence starts at €17,828 a year. The feed adds a fixed minimum on top. The cost guide lists every line.
Can I run a sportsbook and a casino on one licence?
On the offshore licences, the Isle of Man and Finland, yes. On Cyprus Class B, no: casino, poker and betting exchanges are criminal offences under the same law.
Do I need my own traders on day one?
No. White label includes the provider's desk, and turnkey can start with managed trading. You still need one person who owns the trading policy and signs off liability limits.
Is a pay-per-head service a way to start legally in the US?
No. It supplies software and lines; it does not license you. In the US the licence is issued by each state, and the federal excise tax is 2% of handle on wagers the state has not authorised.
What is the biggest risk in the first season?
Settlement and liability. A mapping error settles the wrong selection without anyone noticing, and one popular favourite winning at the wrong moment can cost more than a month of margin. A season replay and written limits catch both before players do.