The Benefits of Turnkey Sports Betting Solutions: An In-Depth Guide

Technavio and Maximize Market Research have reported even higher projections, expecting the market size to surpass $200bn by 2032. 

Rapid market growth coincides with an uptick in the number of operators. This is due to increased accessibility thanks to turnkey solutions that provide a streamlined approach to launching an online sports betting platform.  

iGaming entrepreneurs point to a number of advantages of choosing a turnkey solution over traditional platform setups. Unlike traditional platforms, turnkey solutions provide you with a ‘ready-to-go’ platform, including all the features you request, such as odds management tools, payment processing systems, security features or staff training components. 

The key audience for turnkey solutions includes new operators inexperienced with setting up online platforms and established gambling businesses looking to expand into sports betting. 

Ultimately, those who want to prioritise speed and efficiency with operational simplicity, within the online sports betting market, should consider turnkey solutions.

However, can turnkey solutions address all the features and expectations you have for an online sports betting platform? This guide will explore four key advantages of opting for turnkey solutions over white-label alternatives or manual development, helping you determine whether turnkey solutions are compatible with your business vision.

Turnkey Sports Betting Solutions Explained

The definition of “turnkey” means something that’s ready for immediate use. In other words, ‘just turn a key and go’.

Many entrepreneurs lack the skills, funds or time to manually create websites that meet their business goals. Therefore, websites with compatible features and designs for their business can be acquired in the form of a package that’s ready to use with minimal setup. 

Turnkey sports betting packages can include the following:

1.    Core betting platform

2.    Odds feed integration

3.    Risk management tools

4.    Payment processing systems

5.    Back-office administration interfaces

6.    KYC verification

7.    Marketing tools

8.    Customer support modules

When comparing turnkey sports betting packages with alternative methods, these are the following key differences:

Custom development: This method requires you to build a platform from scratch using the necessary skills and tools to code and design. With turnkey solutions, software components are already built with the necessary skills and tools needed for the tasks, essentially eliminating development time on your behalf while offering you full ownership over the final product. 

White-label solutions: Unlike custom development, a white-label solution offers you a ready-made platform to use with no development needed on your behalf. While this method is similar to turnkey solutions, the key difference is that a white-label platform can only be rented by you. This solution limits your control and customisation over a platform compared to turnkey solutions.

Custom development and white-label solutions began to lose traction to turnkey solutions in the mid-2010s as online betting expanded its reach in the global market, as technology became more standardised worldwide and less niche. 

However, with this sudden uptick in the market, many lacked the requirements for custom development and preferred owning a platform using a turnkey solution, as opposed to white-label solutions.

1 – Efficient Business Launch

With waves of entrepreneurs rushing into the online sports betting market every year, getting through the door first is a key advantage, as you will be one step ahead of the competition when it comes to marketing and promotions. However, to achieve this, it means first getting your platform up and running.

Building a platform on average can take between 8-12 months and that can apply to those with knowledge of coding and game design, as time management is key when it comes to custom development.

With a turnkey solution, you can have operations running within 2-3 months at maximum. The time you save not only allows you to focus on other core factors of a sports betting business, but you can capitalise on many sports betting events throughout the year and not have to worry about your platform being ready on time to at least capitalise on one major event.

Key areas within an online sports betting business that turnkey solutions target with efficiency include the following: 

1.   Regulatory Compliance: Instead of spending months trying to meet KYC requirements and making sure your business operates legally, regulatory compliance is included as a feature in your package and ready to be implemented into your business for instant compliance.

2.   Essential Features: Implementing essential features into a sports betting platform cannot be achieved all at once and requires lots of testing before and after development, as bugs can occur. A turnkey solution includes all essential features within the package that are tried and tested, resulting in fewer chances of failure, unlike with custom development.

2 – Total Business Control & Ownership

A key selling point turnkey solutions have over white-label solutions is that you get to keep all profits your business makes with a turnkey solution platform. As you have full ownership over the platform and complete control over the revenue streams without any revenue-sharing arrangements typically found with white-label deals. 

Key parts of full ownership and control benefits include the following:

1.   Decision-making Authority: From determining which sports and betting markets to offer to setting odds margins, you ultimately call the shots on how to shape your business. The key advantage to having complete control of the decision-making process is that you can quickly pivot in volatile market conditions.

2.   Branding: With branding, you won’t have to worry about a template provided to you with limited customisation options. Instead, your sportsbook can entirely represent your brand vision and desired identity.

3.   Marketing Strategies: Without restrictions or conflicting interests, run promotions, loyalty programs and bonus offers that resonate with the audience you are targeting.

4.   Risk Management Tools: As part of turnkey solutions, risk management tools come standard, allowing you to monitor suspicious activity to counteract fraud, set betting limits to promote responsible gambling and balance your book. The key advantage to having full ownership of these tools is that you decide on betting parameters and risk tolerance.

3 – Reputation and Reliability

When choosing to use a product not developed by you, you are putting your trust in those who developed it. Over time, the online sports betting industry has garnered many established turnkey providers with a history of success 

The nature of turnkey solutions means that established providers have benefited from numerous hours of prior testing and live testing with customers, which aids in the refinement of their turnkey solutions. Importantly, this means many early bug fixes and improvements have already been made with established turnkey providers. 

Some essential considerations when seeking out turnkey solutions include:

1.   Market Validation: Don’t go in testing an unproven business model; make sure the turnkey solution you choose has proven to be successful with customers.

2.   Reliability Factor: Make sure the critical functions that matter most to you for your platform have been stress-tested by other businesses in real high-volume scenarios, such as major sporting events.

3.   Risk Reduction: Any signs of recent technical failures with turnkey solutions should be a red flag if they have not been addressed in the latest version. Turnkey solution providers that continuously improve upon flaws in each version are putting customers first, which is ideal.

4 – Business Growth Scalability

Turnkey solutions are designed primarily with growth in mind, as their fundamental architecture can manage a rise in users and transactions without requiring a complete overhaul of the entire system when your business expands.

Areas of a business that expand efficiently with turnkey solutions include: 

1.   Feature Expansion: Features such as virtual sports content, live betting and a casino section can be added as modules to your platform without having to make any adjustments to the platform. 

2.   Market Expansion: To expand into further markets, you can seamlessly add options such as multiple languages and currency or region-specific compliance features that can support your entry into new markets.

3.   Technical Foundation Expansion: The API-driven architecture deployed by turnkey solutions for platforms allows for connecting with the latest third-party services or custom features as your business requirements shift and develop.

Are Turnkey Solutions for You?

Whether you’re a new operator or an established operator seeking a new sports betting venture, Turnkey sports betting solutions provide compelling advantages over alternative methods, including:

1.    Fast Launch

2.    Full Ownership

3.    Reliability

4.    Scalability

As you search for providers, make sure to find one that can tailor a package to your business needs and has earned a strong reputation within the online sports betting market.

Some important points to identify in your checklist for evaluating turnkey solution providers include:

1.    Licensing jurisdictions supported

2.    The types of payment methods and currencies offered

3.    Smart device capabilities and responsiveness

4.    Customer references

5.    Support hours

6.    Contract terms and fee structure

7.    Business experience and track record of successful launches

The ideal turnkey provider is more than just a vendor for your business – they’re intrinsic to the strategic growth of your sportsbook.