Lessons From 57 iGaming Projects: What Actually Goes Wrong at Launch

August 2024 · 7 min read · iGamingUK

After more than 57 projects across sweepstakes casino, crypto gaming, and conventionally licensed brands, we have seen the same mistakes made repeatedly. Here is an honest account of where things go wrong.

1. Underestimating the platform timeline

Platform implementations almost universally take longer than initially projected. Operators who sign with a platform provider on the assumption of a 60-day go-live are routinely still in testing six months later. The causes are consistent: underspecified integration requirements, game studio certification delays, payment provider approval timelines, and KYC tool integration complexity. Build realistic timelines with genuine contingency from the start.

2. Choosing the wrong licensing jurisdiction

Licensing jurisdiction is the most consequential and least reversible early decision. Operators who choose based on cost and speed alone — without adequately accounting for the markets they want to serve and the supplier relationships they need — frequently find themselves locked into a jurisdiction that limits their commercial ambitions. Jurisdiction selection requires proper analysis, not a defaults decision.

3. Treating compliance as a post-launch problem

Compliance frameworks — AML, responsible gambling, KYC, AMOE for sweepstakes — need to be operational on day one, not built after the business is running. Compliance retrofitted under regulatory pressure is far more expensive and disruptive than compliance built in from the start. For sweepstakes operators specifically, AMOE implementation that doesn't work from launch creates acute legal risk.

4. Inadequate game content at launch

Launching with a thin or unbalanced game library loses players quickly. Major studio relationships take time to establish — particularly for sweepstakes operators, where not all studios have cleared their content for the model. Start supplier conversations early, understand their evaluation criteria for new operators, and build your content library before you need it.

5. No marketing plan at launch

A significant proportion of the brands we have encountered launched without a functioning marketing plan. Affiliate relationships take months to develop. Organic search takes longer. Paid acquisition requires experienced management. Operators who treat marketing as something to sort out after launch consistently underperform those who treat it as a parallel workstream from the start.