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INFORMATION ON OWNING A CASINO WEBSITE BUSINESS? This site is for entrepreneurs considering a business venture to start an online casino and sportsbook business. This area provides a basic introduction to the Internet Betting industry. The Internet Gambling or Online Casino business is currently the fastest growing business in the world. The estimates have been surpassed. Revenue for year 2000 was estimated at approximately well over USD $1 Billion. Current projections for year 2003 are at over 10 Billion USD . There are currently over 1300 online casinos in operation at the time of writing of this website. To see some recent press releases and what others are saying about online gaming, click here for Casino Articles. INTERNET GAMBLING: This is the estimated gross revenue for internet gambling operations based on results of publicly traded companies and research by stock experts. REVISED REPORT - 1997 $0.30 billion 1998 $0.65 billion 1999 $1.17 billion 2000 $2.89 billion 2001 $5.72 billion 2002 $9.17 billion source: Christiansen/Cummings Associates, Inc.

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WHAT IS AN INTERNET CASINO?

An Internet Casino is a form of gambling over the internet. A gambler can place wagers from his home on various games using a computer and an internet connection. Internet casinos vary in what they contain, but most if not all have basic Las Vegas style games (Blackjack, Poker, Slots, Roulette). A gambler uses his credit card for a cash advance, giving him virtual chips or "V-Chips." The gambler uses those chips as he would in any ordinary casino. On the screen is what you would see in almost any Virtual Casino Gaming Software that is sold in computer software stores - Only this time, the gambler is wagering for real money. All this takes place using software and a main server that monitors all the gambling activity. Thousands of people from all over the world can gamble at the same time at one internet casino and sportsbook location.

WHAT IF A GAMBLER WINS BIG?

Most online sportsbook and casino software have limits on individual bets as well as limits on daily bets. Furthermore, most online wagering software is programmed to pay back a certain percentage of the money taken in. Most use Vegas Odds, or odds used in the State of Nevada for various casino games. For example, if Blackjack Vegas odds are at 97%, for every USD $1000 wagered, USD $970 is generally paid back, leaving a profit (known as a "drop" or "take") of USD $30 (3%). So, the odds of one gambler winning big is low. Furthermore, what is commonly known as "the nature of gambling" indicates that most gamblers keep going until they are out of cash.

HOW DOES SOMEONE START AN ONLINE GAMING OPERATION?

There are three basic ways to do this: 1) Design and implement all SOFTWARE for an online casino and E-commerce. Procure a physical loaction, equipment and employees to operate your infrastructure. Keep in mind this may cost upwards of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Also necessary is a gaming license to run a casino, which requires approvals from governments. This too, does not come inexpensively. Antigua charges $100,00 per year. Some other countries are more reasonably priced. 2) Become a Masster Licensee of an Internet Gambling Software Provider. This is a far less expensive option and the client receives all the software and sometimes even the equipment necessary. Costs range from USD $ 60,000 to USD $ 500,000. The average licensing fees are around USD $150,000 and still requirs a royalty paid to the software developer. (this usually excludes any marketing costs). 3) Become a Sub-licensee of a Licensee. This option allows you to use a licensee's gaming license, gaming software, technical support, hardware, customer service and e-commerce relationships. Costs range from USD $ 20,000 to USD $ 100,000. The sublicensee must do all the marketing and receives a smaller percentage than a full licensee. 4) Become an Affiliate of a Sub-licensee. This is the least expensive and most popular option. It allows you to use a licensee's gaming license, gaming software, technical support, hardware, customer service and e-commerce relationships as well. Some affiliate programs offer low payout percentages and only supply banners while others offer handsome payouts and create elaborate websites for you along with your own domain name identity. Costs range from USD $495 to USD $10,000. The affiliate must do all the marketing (unless included in a package) and receives a percentage to the Sub-licensee profits.

WHEN WOULD A CASINO BECOME PROFITABLE?

This may vary from website to website. Marketing is the key to success. What is required is Internet Traffic. Keep in mind one needs to spend money to make money. For a Complete Casino Operation, a reasonable expectation would be to spend about USD $ 400,000 - 500,000 a year (including the licensing fee above). Some internet casinos are doing well over USD $1 million per month in PROFITS. Internet casino and internet sportsbook companies not spending money on marketing are losing money. Do not think people just put down USD $250,000 and expect to make millions in return without a strategic marketing plan. Sub-licensees and Affiliates usually do not have the ongoing overhead as does the Complete Casino Operator. Therefore, budgets can and will vary depending on the intensity of your advertising campaign. Internet marketing as well as print are some options. We have seen monthly budgets, as low as several hundred dollars, that are generating traffic to the website. BACK TO TOP

WHO OWNS THE WEBSITE?

The casino website you receive from the Access Corporation is yours to do with as you wish. You may change the site, copy, graphics, etc. The site is yours to sell, resell, will, or partner with.

WHO OWNS THE DOMAIN NAME?

We are aware that on the internet a business name is usually the domain name. This name can become extremely valuable. The name is yours forever should you so decide and pay the required renewal fees as they arise. (approximately $20 to $50 per year) We currently register each casino domain name to a Canadian company to hold for you. This allows you to remain anonymous as the casino website owner and promoter. Should you require that the name initially be registered to you, just let us know.

WHO WILL HOST MY WEBSITE?

The Access Corporation can host your website for you and we do so outside of the United States. The reason for this is that even though we are not aware of any laws on the books that prohibit promoting an online casino, we feel that all operations should conform to the actual gaming that is done in Antigua. You are not required to host your website with Access, however, it does enable us to be on hand for maintenance of the site.

ARE THERE ANY HIDDEN OR ONGOING COSTS

Aside from the obvious costs needed to advertise the website, the only other ongoing fee is the website monthly hosting fee. This averages about $49 to $75 per month for offshore hosting.

WHAT ARE THE LEGAL RAMIFICATIONS OF OWNING A CASINO WEBSITE?

As we mentioned earlier, we are not aware of any laws prohibiting online casino promotion. This is why you will see casino banners on Yahoo, MSN, Altavista, Mamma and ads in magazines, on billboards and the radio. If you were a US citizen owning and operating an online casino business from US soil, well, that's a different story. This would NOT be legal. We expect the online gaming laws to change in the next few years and the Access Corporation is trying to position our clients in a place to experience the least effect. We encourage you to examine these legalites for yourself with any agencies that you see fit.

HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE TO COMPLETE MY WEBSITE?

The Access Corporation has been building custom websites for years now. We understand the importance of a good website. Each website we build for our clients is unique and built from scratch. It will never be exactly the same as any other website. In addition, we incorporate other features into your website such as a links and advertising area and one stop statistics page. Since these sites are not cookie cutters as some other casino website offerings, expect about 1 to 2 weeks for completion of your site depending on your selection. Sub-Licensee sites may take up to 6 weeks to complete.

HOW WILL I KNOW HOW MY CASINO WEBSITE IS DOING?

The Access Corporation provides you with access to two sets of statistics from your website. You will be able to see all activity for your website pages through our server analyzer software including number of hits, visitors, files served, most active pages, top referring sites and pages, busiest times, etc. In addition, you will have access to your revenue statistics showing your registered users, total bets and payouts for the casino and sportsbook, and gross gains/losses directly from the casino operator

WHAT IF I WANT TO CANCEL MY WEBSITE?

If the situation arises where you no longer want to be involved with an online gaming website, merely contact us via fax, mail or e-mail and notify us to cancel your account and remove your website. There are no penalties or fees involved with a cancellation.

DOES ACCESS CORPORATION HAVE BUSINESS REFERENCES?

See the information above under Reputation.

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IMPORTANT!

The Access Corporation does not wish for you to rely on any comments or information supplied above. To the best of our knowledge the above information is correct, however, we cannot verify that all the information out of our realm is absolutely accurate. Therefore, we suggest that you do whatever research you deem necessary prior to entering into any agreement for a business venture. This includes but is not limited to legal, accounting, local, state and federal ordinances.