Full Guide on How to Make a Betting App

Gambling business has changed due to the digital revolution. There are a lot of solutions like online casinos and betting apps. But how to create a betting app? This process can be challenging and time-consuming. The main reasons for that are a gambling license and app store restrictions.

In this guide, we’ll discuss the main points to consider and the steps to create a betting app, as well as its basic features. Also, we provide you with a comprehensive cost estimation and comparison of gambling app development prices in different regions.

There are several obstacles that you may bump into even before betting app development. You have to think through several points to make a gambling app that works legally and is allowed to be used.

The primary task is to get an online gambling license. It’s the only way to enter the gambling industry. It’s impossible to promote the gambling application and gain users without a license.

Every country has different rules and regulations for getting an online gambling license. You have to study the jurisdiction of a particular country or state. You can speed this process up cooperating with a qualified lawyer.

Below you can find general information about getting an online gambling license in various countries.

Getting a license for a betting business can be quite challenging and cost a lot. So how to make a betting app in this case? You need to partner with a reliable software provider who has deep experience and effective frameworks on delivering solutions compliant with local and industry regulations.

Beyond obtaining a license, it is crucial to have a comprehensive understanding of the legal landscape for online betting in your target markets. Compliance with various regulations ensures the legality of your operations, helps build trust with users, and protects your business from legal repercussions.

Here are the examples of some key legal requirements in various regions you should be aware of before you create betting app:

• United States: Anti-Money Laundering Act (US), Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), Internal Revenue Code (IRC), various state laws (California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA))
• United Kingdom: Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017, Gambling Act, Gambling Act, Gambling Act, Betting and Gaming Duties Act, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
• Australia: Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006, National Consumer Protection Framework for Online Wagering, Interactive Gambling Act, Interactive Gambling Act, varied by state (Gambling Regulation Act 2003 (Victoria)), Privacy Act 1988
• Singapore: Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act (CDSA), Remote Gambling Act, Remote Gambling Act, Remote Gambling Act, Betting and Sweepstake Duties Act, Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA)

How to create a betting app and succeed? Developing a gambling app involves navigating a variety of technical challenges to ensure a secure, smooth, and enjoyable user experience. In this section, we'll explore the key technical hurdles you should know about before starting to make gambling app.

When launching a betting app, it's crucial to understand the specific requirements and regulations of the app marketplaces to ensure compliance and successful publication. Below are the guidelines for the Google Play Store and Apple App Store.

The backend, in simple words, is the cortex to build a sports betting application. It directly works with all data-related processes. This is an essential aspect to create a betting app successfully. You’ll require a robust and scalable server architecture to process all the app’s backend operations.

However, the process of backend development may be complicated and time-consuming. Your main goal is to hire a qualified web software development company to help make your service scalable, effective, and successful in managing all user data, transactions, and real-time updates.

How to make your own betting app to accept payments? You need to implement several payment methods to make the transactions fast and comfortable.

A lot of payment system providers are ready to cooperate with online gambling platforms. Among the most popular ones are Paypal, NETELLER, and Skrill.

How to make a betting app without solid data protection? Unconditionally, that doesn’t make sense. Security measures are one of the primary aspects that you must consider while entering such a sensitive industry. All transactions and users’ personal data must be safe.

There are several ways to implement a strong set of security measures:

• Data encryption. It’s a method of turning a readable scope of data into coded unreadable one in order to prevent it from being read by unwanted intruders
• Two-factor authentication(2FA). This type of authentication requires two or more forms of identification, usually including phone number, email, login, etc.
• Secure payment gateway. It’s an important aspect of every service that directly engages funds. Payment gateways are usually protected by encrypting sensitive transaction data in this case.

How to create a betting app? These apps require a lot of features. It’s better to start with the MVP version of the application. MVP stands for a minimum functionality that can satisfy users. Having developed an MVP of a gambling app, you can release it on the market and get some feedback from users. After that, you can upgrade your solution and implement advanced features.

The app functionally is the most significant factor that affects the final cost. Let’s discuss a set of basic features and the cost to implement them.

Users start interacting with an app from registration or login. The basic option is to offer players the ability to register with an email and password. After signing up, users need to log in. Also, it’s necessary to provide ‘Forgot password’ and ‘Log out’ features to make a gambling app user-friendly. Your live betting app must also provide security measures to ensure users' accounts stay safe. Consider adding additional safety features like two-factor authentication or biometrical login.

The ability to make a wager is crucial for any betting app. Players should be able to bet on sports events by browsing a comprehensive list of categories and events across various sports, each accompanied by detailed information and odds. Integrating a flexible search system helps users quickly navigate through wide range of sports events, allowing them to filter by sport, league, or event date. Additionally, users need to place bets on various sports events easily, with intuitive interfaces that guide them through the process.

Online sports betting app needs a feature that allows users see the list of their wagers and sort them according to various filters like date, status, and more. Betting app developers can also implement a suggestion system. So the app functionality will include the ability to offer the list of recommendations depending on users’ previous activity and popular betting options.

Are you still wondering how to make a betting app user-friendly? Integrate a convenient wallet feature. This wallet should allow users to securely add and store their credit card credentials, top up their accounts, and withdraw winnings with ease. Providing the ability to delete cards and add multiple cards enhances flexibility and security. Additional features like transaction history, balance tracking, and quick deposit options can make the wallet more efficient and guarantee seamless betting activities.

The menu bar has to consist of several points. It’s better to create a ‘Rules’ screen for users to see the gambling policy. The successful sports betting app requires an ability to contact managers if necessary, providing users with a 'Contact Us' or 'Support' option for instant help and customer service. Additionally, ensure that your sports betting app involves 'Account Settings' for managing personal information and preferences, 'Transaction History' for tracking deposits and withdrawals.

This feature is important among feature preferences of sports betting app since it is quite useful to give users a heads-up about new wagers, betting options, and any other changes in the betting industry. Additionally, push notifications drive better betting experience and engagement making users spend more time with the app.

Now, let's unveil what if the cost of implementing these betting app functionality. We’ve calculated the time and price to make a gambling app with this minimum required set of features. All the estimations provided below are based on the average rate in our region (Central and Eastern Europe) — $50 per hour. We’ve calculated only the costs to create a sports betting app's core features. However, there are additional expenses that we’ll discuss later.

You can also integrate several unique features that will differentiate your platform among competitors and engage more users. Here are some ideas for advanced features to develop a sports betting app:

• Customer support 24/7
• Bonuses
• Several languages support
• Real-time messaging
• Several currencies support
• Cryptocurrencies support
• Betting guides

How to create a gambling app from scratch? Let’s clear up the development aspects and find out how to build such a solution in stages.

A concrete understanding of what you want your final product to look like is halfway to success. Determine the main goals of your sports betting app, the key aspects of design, and fundamental features you want to create making sure your app meets user needs.

Moreover, if you are wondering how to start a sports betting app, you must define your target audience because you are building a sports betting app for these people, so you should consider their needs and preferences. Your ads campaign must reach exactly these users. Besides determining the people to whom you will be delivering your service’s value — it’s required to research and analyze the solution of your competitors in the field to develop sports betting app that will lead on the market.

Let’s rank 5 leaders in the online sports betting market that will give you a solid understanding of what you need and which users’ needs you can address by making your own platform:

• William Hill
• BetMGM
• Paddy Power
• Caesars Sportsbook
• Parimatch

The question of how to make a betting app rigorously is a very arguable topic. Betting is basically a controversial industry that is even considered illegal in some countries who introduced a federal ban on sports betting. You must abide by all necessary guidelines, laws, and rules to avoid multiple troubles.

However, keep in mind that the rules differ depending on the country you will launch your service in. Also, you must consider the question of getting a proper license. This aspect may also vary in its difficulty depending on the region. If you struggle with defining regulations your gambling app should comply with, you can ask for advice from your software vendor.

To start a successful collaboration and make gambling app that will prosper, make a checklist of crucial aspects to pay attention to while choosing an betting software or app development company:

• The range of IT services the company provides, such as mobile development services, AI integration, web development services, cloud development, etc.
• The types of cooperation models the provider offers, so you can select the right development team that fit your budget and interests
• Real clients' feedback and reviews on trustful platforms like Clutch, GoodFirms or IT Firms
• The availability of business analysts and solution architects in the company. These specialists will assist you in the research and planning phases and ensure that your gambling app complies with legal regulations

Deciding on what functionalities your platform must contain is a tricky process. Thus, we recommend to create a feature list with your tech partner. The expert team will help you decide on the functionalities required to implement the solution logic and meet your target users' expectations.

In fact, the best option is to develop an MVP version of your betting app. This approach implies implementing essential features in the application. After its launch, you can expand it to make your platform more advanced.

How to start a sports betting app that brings a lot of users? You need to pay attention to user-friendly and intuitive UI/UX design. According to the latest trends, applications should have a simple interface without unnecessary elements that can distract users. However, it’s common to integrate small animations. For example, you can add motion or animated transitions among the screens.

A UI/UX designer is a member of your development team who ensures the quality of the overall appeal of your sports betting app. Usually, the main visual aspects should be agreed upon previously discussed business goals, and purposes of your betting app or casino platform.

Developing a sports betting app involves creating separate applications for mobile devices (iOS and Android) as well as the option to create a web application for browsers. Native development ensures optimization for each platform individually. To expedite the process and reduce costs, you can turn to cross-platform app development services and opt for Flutter or React Native. These frameworks allow for building applications from a single codebase, ensuring cost-effective development.

Development process also includes building app’s backend, which involves creating server-side components such as databases, user authentication, transaction processing, and other server-side functionalities. Additionally, integration with payment systems is an essential part of this stage.

Once the engineering part is paced, QA specialists help to ensure the general product’s quality and to trace all possible technical issues or malfunctions of an app before launching.

Finally, it’s time to make a gambling app available for users. Depending on your chosen solution, you can opt for one of the app marketplaces (such as App Store or Google Play) or provide a solution to cater to both platforms to reach wider audience.

Besides, to make your app competitive and up-to-date you should consider its further developer support. It’ll help to enrich your product with advanced functionality and essential updates.

Sports betting app development takes time and a joint effort of various specialists. Here come the team members (they can vary depending on your project requirements):

• Business Analyst
• Solution Architecht
• Project Manager
• UI/UX designer
• App developers
• QA engineer
• DevOps

To create a mobile app, you need to choose a suitable tech stack. Below you can find an example of tech stack that our development team employs to create a betting app for our clients.

To find out the final cost to create a gambling app, you need to consider several critical factors that can affect the final price. Among the most significant ones are:

• Admin panel costs
• UI/UX design complexity
• Development team’s location and expertise

The Admin panel facilitates the handling of transactions conducted through the app, ensuring smooth operations and efficient monitoring of financial activities. Moreover, opting to develop separate mobile apps for iOS and Android platforms doesn't necessitate duplicating the administrative workload; a single admin panel suffices to manage both applications seamlessly. To build a basic solution, developers would need at least 105 hours.

Design is crucial for any mobile application, especially to create a gambling app, as it shapes the user's first impression and determines ease of use. You need to hire a qualified designers who can provide high-quality UI/UX design services and create a user-friendly design. To make a good-looking app design, specialists need approximately 130 hours for one mobile platform.

It’s common to cooperate with outsourced development companies to make betting apps. This option is widely used due to its cost-effectiveness, availability of experienced specialists from any country, and more fast and effective development. Depending on the location, vendors offer various hourly rates. Here are hourly wages for developing a betting application in the most popular outsourcing regions:

Betting app development for two mobile platforms (iOS and Android) may cost about $60, 000 - $100,000+. This number is APPROXIMATE and is based on a $50/h rate.

We’ve calculated the MVP features of an app, design, and admin panel.

Please note: The calculations we provide below are approximate and based on the MVP version of gambling app with basic features.

How to calculate the final cost? You need to multiply the number of hours by the developers’ hourly rate. Now, let’s explore the price of starting a gambling app for different regions.

• Central and Northern Europe: $83,600 (based on $50/h)
• North America: $167,200 (based on $100/h)
• Western Europe: $150,480 (based on $90/h)
• Australia: $167,200 (based on $100/h)

Cleveroad is a software development company with 12+ years of experience in web and mobile application development. Our team builds mobile-native apps for iOS and Android, responsive web applications, and flexible cross-platform solutions. We also provide on-demand IT services to satisfy any technical need of your company: custom software development, legacy software modernization, cloud development, UI/UX design, IT consulting, DevOps services, etc. Cleveroad is recognized as a Clutch Global Leader, Fall Clutch Champion, and ranked among Top 1000 Service Providers.

By cooperating with Cleveroad, you are assured of such benefits:

• Free Solution Workshop stage aimed to connect your gambling app vision with technical specifications for its realization
• Expertise in creating iOS and Android solutions using native programming languages like Swift, Objective-C,Java, and Kotlin
• Experience in developing regulatory-compliant software adhering to various somain laws such as GDPR, PCI DSS, SOX, HIPAA, CCPA, AML, KYC, etc.
• A robust quality management system, validated by an ISO 9001 certification, ensures your sports betting app meets high-quality standards
• ISO 27001-certified security management, founded on well-established policies and processes, guarantees strong data security, essential for gambling apps
• Flexible cooperation models to suit your business needs: Dedicated Development Team services and Staff Augmentation
• A comprehensive Project Management dedicated to overseeing your betting app project, ensuring it is delivered on schedule, within budget, and aligned with your business goals and industry standards