How to Start Your Own Sportsbook: Step-by-Step Guide 2025

Looking for a way to starting a sportsbook, becoming a bookie, or launching your own bookmaker business easily in 2025? You got to the right page!

The business is for sure a profitable one, yet it requires a crystal clear step-by-step planning, any future bookie needs to understand what the costs look like in 2025, study legislations as well as licensing in the chosen region, choose a software provider and build your own site. 

This guide mixes a simple comprehensive guide for newbies in the industry and real stats and expenses to understand the bookmaker industry deeper.

Who’s a Bookie and What’s a Sportsbook? Defining the Basics

Before getting to such practical issues as “how to start a betting site”, let’s get the most basic but essential definitions clear:

• Bookmaker (or bookie): A person who sets the odds (overround), accepts wagers, handles payouts and risk.
• Sportsbook: Betting website or application where bettors view odds to wager, deposit, etc.

Having an understanding of these makes things more straightforward when you are deciding what components you wish to build (software, licenses, data, payments, etc.).

How to Start Your Own Sportsbook: 5 Main Steps

To be exact, there are many steps on the way to start your own sportsbook, yet we’ve compiled the most efficient and important ones that answer “how to be a bookmaker online” in one article below.

Step 1: Study Laws and Sports Trends in Your GEO

Most obvious one is checking the laws for the GEO you’ve chosen for the sportsbook. It’s obvious that the laws differ from country to country, for instance, Indian market was a grey area for many years, now it’s gonna prohibit all online Gambling activities this October.

Another example, as of early 2025, 30 states in the United States allow online sports betting, but not all of the states in the country, so the research shall be thorough. The safest is Europe, most countries there license sportsbooks on a national level, with the UK and Malta being the best-known hubs.

At the same time, you must also research the most popular sports for bettors in the chosen region. In the world, soccer is behind over 40% of wagers, but, for instance, in America football (NFL) and basketball, and in India cricket, are dominant. 

Esports is a very fast-growing segment, industry professionals estimate betting on esports alone to exceed $25 billion by 2030. If your bookie does not have whatever local supporters love, you will be struggling from day one.

Step 2: Project Your Costs and Consider Competition In Advance

Running a sportsbook is not only about profits, it’s about calculating costs wisely and estimating it in advance. The costs usually include software, licensing, servers, payment processors, and marketing of the platform. 

We’ve researched the market and can see the average costs pic:

• A modest-sized platform might get by on USD 100k-200k.
• A decent-sized mid-level sportsbook generally requires USD 500k+.

In order to compete on an international level, you’re looking at USD 1-2 million minimum.

Marketing is generally underestimated, but can become your largest expense. Professional sportsbooks spend over a million annually in sponsorships and ads. For a smaller sportsbook, save $50k–150k for annual players’ attraction and retention.

Your rivals already do so. That’s why margins (the bookmaker’s “take”) are tight: football betting, for example, may have a margin of only 5-7%, so your actual advantage shall be about user experience and trust.

Step 3: Choose Software and Build Your Site

This is where most inexperienced bookmakers fall down. 

Basically, there are two options:

• Building from scratch: The main advantage is total control, but can be quite expensive (hundreds of thousands of dollars) and time-consuming.

• White-label / turnkey solution: The pros is that it’s quicker and cheaper, but not perfectly customized and the control is shared with the provider.

Whatever you choose, remember that the iGaming industry is digital-first nowadays. 

Over 70% of bets in 2025 will be placed on mobile, and over 40% of bets will be live, with the online segment thriving, according to Grand View Research. 

That means your sportsbook platform must be speed-optimized, mobile UX-friendly, and real-time odds-enabled. Slow software or poor mobile design could kill your business before it can even go live!

Step 4: Get a License

If you’re wondering how to start a legal sportsbook, this is the critical step. A license is a proof to players, banks, and payment providers that you’re legitimate. 

Costs depend on the jurisdiction:

• Curacao license: entry-level, around $20k–50k, but not accepted everywhere.
• Malta (MGA) or UK license: stricter, starting at $100k–300k, but highly trusted.
• US state licenses: often $500k+ with heavy compliance.

Unlicensed, you’ll struggle to get payment partners, and most gamblers won’t have faith in your site. 

For instance, with the Americans who bet USD 150 billion in 2024 alone (up 26% year over year), according to LegalSports, regulators are paying ever closer attention to each website.

Step 5: Adapt for Your Players

A sportsbook can be created or destroyed by its clients. Bettors are usually more loyal than gamblers, when it comes to a bookmaker choice, so make use of it.

Make your website as user-friendly as possible at all costs, in this case people are the key to success!

Players in 2025 expect:

• Fast sign-up and verification (nobody wants to upload 10 documents).
• Fast deposits and withdrawals (crypto and e-wallets are becoming dominant).
• Smooth mobile app (as mentioned, three-quarters of bets are mobile).
• Live betting (in-play betting is already half the market in many countries).
• Compelling but genuine rewards (generous promos do attract users, but clear and open terms keep them around).

Your sportsbook is not only competing with other new venues, it’s competing with giants of the industry, so give users not only the same experience, but also make it as smooth as they haven’t seen yet!

How Much Will It Cost to Get Into the Bookmaker Business?

Launching a sportsbook in 2025 isn’t cheap. You’ll face both up-front startup costs and annual operating expenses. 

Let’s break the upfront costs down.

These are the expenses you pay just to get off the ground:

Is Creating a Sportbook It Worth It?

Now that you know how to start a sportsbook, let’s actually see if it’s worth your time and effort in 2025.

• Potentially high profit: Sportsbooks typically operate on a 5–10% margin (the “vig” or “juice” on bets).
  That means for every $100M wagered, your hold might be $5–10M before expenses.
  
• Payback period: A really well-managed sportsbook can break even in 2–3 years, while those chasing major markets (e.g., U.S., UK) need much deeper pockets and longer runway.
  
• Market growth: The global sports betting market is projected to grow from $53.78B in 2025 to $93.31B in 2030, according to GlobalNewswire. That’s real expansion, but also means more competition.

If you look at the numbers in the sheet, you can compare your possible investment with potential profit and risk and then make the decision!

FAQ: How to Start an Online Sportsbook

How do I become a bookie?

In order to become a bookie, you need to combine compliance with law, money investment, technology, risk management, good odds setting, and excellent customer service.

Statistically, many operators that are successful are those that possess good mobile as well as in-play products since more than 70% of bets are mobile in the majority of markets.

How to start an online sportsbook legally?

As mentioned in the article, first you need to ensure that your jurisdiction (country or state) allows online sports betting and has clear licensing laws. 

It’s also crucial to follow KYC/AML regime, consumer protection, data law (like GDPR in Europe), and taxation.

What is required to start a betting site?

The minimum requirements include: sportsbook platform (software), sports data feed, valid license, payment processing, customer verification, secure hosting, marketing.

Additionally, the ability to handle live and in-play betting is increasingly expected.