TABLE OF CONTENTS
The online casino industry all over the world is thriving at the moment. As a result, numerous new businesses and start-up founders are finding themselves interested in establishing an online casino platform. However, there’s more to an online casino business than what meets the eye. For starters, the legal scenario around online casinos is highly complex, and varies from country to country, even state to state in several countries. This is why establishing an online casino requires careful planning and gathering of information. If you’re wondering about how to open a casino in Malaysia, this article will help you by providing all the necessary information. Keep reading.
Gambling in Malaysia- An Overview
Being regulated under the Sharia law, many forms of gambling in Malaysia are either illegal or completely banned.
However, yet another few types of gambling activities are not only legal but highly popular too.
Lotteries and horse racing are legal and very popular among Malay residents. However, wagering is allowed only for non-Muslims. When it comes to land-based casinos, there is only one, Resorts World Genting, which is strictly regulated by the government. Activities allowed in the casino include slots, table games, card games, electronic table games, jackpot games, private lounges, poker rooms, and more.
Online casinos are banned in Malaysia. However, when it comes to offshore gambling, there’s a gray area, and the Malay non-Muslim population is often found to be engaging with offshore online casinos. The most popular segment in online gambling is sports betting, especially Badminton and Football. Other than that, other casino games such as slots, card games, or table games are also popular. Apart from these, social gambling such as private arrangements between friends for card or table games is allowed when the wagering is limited and the activity is kept strictly for non-business purposes.
Lotteries and horse racing are legal and very popular among Malay residents. However, wagering is allowed only for non-Muslims. When it comes to land-based casinos, there is only one, Resorts World Genting, which is strictly regulated by the government. Activities allowed in the casino include slots, table games, card games, electronic table games, jackpot games, private lounges, poker rooms, and more.
Online casinos are banned in Malaysia. However, when it comes to offshore gambling, there’s a gray area, and the Malay non-Muslim population is often found to be engaging with offshore online casinos. The most popular segment in online gambling is sports betting, especially Badminton and Football. Other than that, other casino games such as slots, card games, or table games are also popular. Apart from these, social gambling such as private arrangements between friends for card or table games is allowed when the wagering is limited and the activity is kept strictly for non-business purposes.
How to open an online casino in Malaysia?
Given the strict governance and intolerance policy towards casinos, starting a casino business in Malaysia is not an easy feat. Given the lack of physical casinos and the legal complexities related to them, it is not advisable to venture into establishing land-based casinos in Malaysia. Rather, establishing offshore online casinos that will target the Malaysian population as their ideal customers will be a better approach. So, in this article, we’ll discuss about the steps to start an online casino that will be registered under a foreign jurisdiction but will serve the Malaysian population like offshore online casinos.
Starting a casino business in Malaysia: A Step-By-Step Process
Wondering about how to open a casino in Malaysia? Although it’s a complex process, we’ve broken it down for you into small and actionable milestones. Just follow the step-by-step process as described below and start your own online casino business.
Market Analysis & Competitor Research
Starting any business with a comprehensive market analysis to gain insights about market trends, customer choices, best practices in the industry, etc. is always a good idea. Knowing about the competitors, their strengths, weaknesses, and USPs is also important. These will help your business plans immensely and increase your chances of success significantly by offering you a competitive edge over others.
Business Plan Generation
Every competitive business, including online casino businesses, needs a robust business plan. Your business plan will serve as the guidebook on what steps to take and how to make decisions going forward. This plan will include your short-term and long-term business goals, your budget and timeline, business milestones, marketing and promotional plans, license acquisition and legal compliance plans, and everything else.
Developing An Online Casino Platform
Developing an online casino platform can take anywhere between a few weeks to several months, based on what type of software (custom, white-label, or turnkey) you’re choosing. This is one of the most crucial and complicated tasks at hand. Develop a platform that’s attractive, user-friendly, and functional.
Customization & Integration
While developing an online casino platform, you should pay special attention to making it unique, as well as tailored for your individual business requirements. This is why it’s important to customize the design, appearance, and integrations to be used on the platform. Choose themes keeping your target customer in mind, and integrate APIs that will support your business goals.
Adding Games
Selecting the appropriate games that will attract your audience for boosting your revenue is another tricky task. Market analysis and competitor research will come in handy here. For Malaysian audiences, choose games from categories including slots, card games, table games, etc.
Acquiring Licenses
Next up, you’ll need to register your business under any jurisdiction other than Malaysia so that you can offer offshore casino services to Malaysian players. Other than business registration, you’ll also need to acquire proper online casino licenses so that you can legally operate your online casino.
Marketing Your Business
You should also create a detailed marketing and promotional plan for your casino business. knowing about your target audience and localizing your marketing content will help you penetrate the market. A mix of organic and paid marketing will help you reach the maximum number of audiences.
Launch The Online Casino
When you complete all of the above-mentioned steps, go ahead and launch your online casino and start your business. Make sure to promote it vigorously and offer attractive sign-up bonuses for players so that you can onboard the maximum number of players very fast.
Post-Launch Updates & Maintenance
Make sure to have a proper post-launch maintenance plan in place so that you can take care of any unwanted glitches, offer regular updates, and maintain uninterrupted uptime for players. Also, a customer service team can be set up to help players when needed.
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Choosing the perfect software type for starting a casino business in Malaysia
When it comes to choosing a software type, i.e. fully-customized platform, white-label, or turnkey casino platform, each one has its own special advantage. Below, we’ve discussed this in detail.
- Solution Type
- What It Is
- Advantage
- Fully-Customized Casino Platform
- A fully customized casino platform will offer you complete freedom of choice in terms of services and features, and you’ll be able to develop a 100% tailored casino platform for your business. However, it is the most expensive option among the three and takes several months to develop.
- It offers you complete freedom of choice in every single aspect of the development process. You can craft a fully unique platform tailored for your business.
- White-Label Casino Platform:
- A white-label casino platform is a ready-to-use software solution. However, it still offers a certain amount of customization options regarding the appearance, branding, and API integrations.
- It takes less time to get ready for launch and is comparatively more affordable than a fully-customized casino platform.
- Turnkey Casino Platform
- A turnkey casino platform is also a ready-to-use software solution, but it doesn’t allow many customization options.
- It is the most affordable option among the three and takes only a couple of weeks to be ready.
How to select the best casino platform provider?
Selecting the ideal casino platform provider is crucial for the success of your online casino business. inquiring about the deliverables and service quality, and ensuring that the casino platform provider can provide tailored services based on your unique requirements is a must. Besides that, a good casino platform provider should have the following qualities. Take a look.
Experience & Market Presence
While choosing a casino platform provider, check out their industry presence and reputation first. An experienced casino platform provider will enable multiple special benefits. For example, they’ll be better aware of the current industry trends and player preferences. Plus, they’ll be able to do the job faster and more skillfully.
Reliability
Reliability and trustworthiness are other factors that you should find in a casino platform provider. Make sure that the business has proper registration and licensing to operate in the said jurisdiction. Check out whether they have reliable customer service that offers prompt and proper redressal of any issues that may arise. Also, check out their platform and gaming features, and whether they maintain complete fairness in the development process.
Features & Deliverables
Features and functions offered by a platform provider are one of the most important factors in the selection process. Every business is different and has a different vision and purpose. Hence, the features that they might want in their platform also vary significantly. It is advisable to first make a list of features and other deliverables that you expect from a platform provider, and then ensure whether the selected provider is capable of providing those or not.
Post-Launch Services
It is also highly advisable to seek post-launch services such as updates, maintenance, and enhancements from the casino platform providers themselves. Hence, inquire about this as well and find out what kind of add-on services, including marketing services, post-launch updates, and maintenance they provide, and the cost for the same.
Budget-Friendliness
Further, you should also ensure that the services fit your budget. This is especially important for a small business or start-up who have fixed budgets for every step of the business setup. So, along with the upfront cost, also find out whether they have any hidden costs. Also inquire about flexible payment models, costs for add-on services like marketing or post-launch maintenance, etc.
Ratings & Reviews
Finally, also check out the ratings and reviews left by previous clients. These reviews are an excellent way to gain insights into the services and product quality of the casino platform provider. Positive reviews from other customers indicate great quality and advantages. At the same time, negative reviews will inform about the drawbacks and problems associated with their services. Smartly analyzing the reviews will offer you valuable insights.
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How can GammaStack help you in starting a casino business in Malaysia?
GammaStack is one of the top casino platform providers. We have 13+ years of industry exposure, and served 45+ countries around the globe. GammaStack has online casino and gambling licenses from the leading license providers in the world, and it houses 100+ skilled and experienced developers. GammaStack offers both end-to-end development and ready-to-use casino software development services, so that you can choose the right one based on your budget and requirements. It also provides top-notch add-on services including marketing and promotional support, post-launch maintenance, etc. GammaStack also offers 24×7 available customer support who addresses all issues immediately, and provides resolution in record time. Overall, it provides cutting-edge technically advanced services at a competitive price. So, for the best casino platform development experience, get in touch now!
Frequently Asked Questions About Starting A Casino Business In Malaysia
Gambling is legal but highly regulated in Malaysia. There’s only one land-based casino in the country open for tourists. However, offshore online casinos are rampant in Malaysia.
The governing body overseeing and regulating gambling and casino activities in Malaysia is the Ministry of Finance of Malaysian government (Malaysia’s Common Gaming Houses Act).
Yes. Starting an offshore casino business in Malaysia can be a lucrative business because both tourists and the Malaysian population are currently highly interested in casino and gambling activities. This results in a generous revenue generation for any business.
Lotteries, slot machines, table and card games are some of the most popular gambling and casino activities in Malaysia.
If you want to launch your casino software in no time, then opt for a ready-to-launch solution like a white-label casino platform or a turnkey casino platform.
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