What it really costs to launch an online casino

There is no single price for an online casino. What you pay depends on four choices: the license, the platform model, the markets you target and how you buy traffic. Below are the cost categories every launch budget needs, with the ranges that public sources report as of October 2026. They are not our prices — and every quote you receive will depend on your markets and partners.

1. License

The license is the most predictable cost because regulators publish their fees.

• Curaçao (CGA): €4,592 to apply, then €47,450 a year for a B2C license (license fee plus supervisory fee), with small extra fees per domain and per beneficial owner. From April 2027 you also need local presence in Curaçao: a resident director, local staff and an office.
• Anjouan: €17,828 for issuance and €17,828 for each annual renewal, plus €500 per extra domain.

Add company formation, a registered agent, legal review of your policies and the time of the people who prepare the documents. Public sources give no reliable range for these — ask for quotes. Our guide on Anjouan and Curaçao compares the two licenses in detail; the Curaçao and Anjouan pages show how we guide the application.

2. Platform model

This is where budgets differ most. There are three ways to get a casino platform.

Model	Upfront	Ongoing	Time to launch
White label	Setup fee; public ranges from about €20,000 to €60,000 and above	Revenue share, often 10–30% of NGR	About 3–8 weeks
Turnkey	Setup fee; public ranges from about €60,000 to €100,000 and above	Platform fee and/or revenue share — models differ by provider	About 3–8 weeks, plus licensing
Own platform	One-time source code license, or building in-house	Your own team and hosting	Building from scratch: 12–24 months

Ranges come from platform vendors’ public material, so read them as orientation, not as offers. One vendor estimates an in-house build at €2.5–5 million and 12–24 months to a first version.

With us, Turnkey is a setup fee, then a monthly tech support fee (hosting and maintenance) plus revenue share with a minimum from month 3. Source code is a one-time license fee that can be split into stages. Exact terms are set in the agreement.

3. Game content

Game providers are usually paid a share of the gross gaming revenue (GGR) their games generate; industry sources commonly quote around 10–20%, higher for top live-casino brands. An aggregator gives you many providers through one integration, which is faster and cheaper to set up than integrating each studio directly.

4. Payments

• Card processing for high-risk merchants such as casinos is reported at about 2.5–5% per transaction, compared with 1.5–2% for standard merchants, plus setup, monthly and chargeback fees.
• Rolling reserves: processors often hold 5–15% of sales for 6–12 months.
• Crypto gateways publish fees of up to about 1% on deposits, sometimes with free payouts.

Which methods you need depends on your markets — see our guide to crypto payments.

5. Compliance

Every player is verified (KYC), screened for sanctions and monitored for AML. Public price lists of verification services start at around $1–2 per check, usually with a monthly minimum. Add legal review, accounting and responsible gaming tooling; these depend on your license and markets.

6. Marketing

Marketing is often the largest line after launch. Affiliates are paid by revenue share — benchmarks put it around 25–45% of NGR, with about 30% as a typical figure — or by CPA per first-time depositor, which in tier-1 markets is commonly quoted at $150–400. Budget for a launch period before revenue covers acquisition.

7. Time is a cost too

• License: about 4–6 months for Curaçao from a complete file; 2–3 months for Anjouan in our practice.
• Platform: weeks with white label or turnkey; one to two years to build in-house.

Run the license application and the platform setup in parallel — that is the biggest time saving available.

A budgeting checklist

1. Pick the license and budget its first two years of fees.
2. Choose the platform model: setup, monthly and revenue share terms.
3. Confirm game content terms with your aggregator.
4. Get payment provider terms for your markets, including reserves.
5. Price KYC/AML checks for your expected player volume.
6. Set a marketing budget for the first 6–12 months.
7. Keep a reserve for player balances and unexpected compliance work.

How we help

Turnkey gives you a branded casino on our platform with payments connected and licensing support. Source code gives you the whole stack to run yourself. Request a quote and we will price your case.