Anyone who has spent a reasonable amount of time online gambling has likely come across the term ‘white label’ at some stage. If you aren’t already aware, the term ‘white label’ refers to a developer that creates a gambling product such as a sportsbook or online casino and allows another company to offer that product as part of its brand.

White labels profit from the success of these websites but do not have to deal with the day-to-day management of a platform. It’s a system that has benefits for both parties involved. In many ways, white labels are similar to franchises in the online gambling industry in that the brand pays for a service and takes on the advertising costs whilst the operator provides the infrastructure and product.

How Do White Labels Work?

There are a lot of people who’d like to run a sportsbook or online casino in theory but do not have the capabilities to do so in practice. Setting odds, obtaining gambling licenses, and operating online casino games are far from easy, and even building the website can be very challenging and beyond most. As such, white labels are the perfect solution when looking to start an online gambling website from scratch. 

White labels make this process a lot easier as they have the software with various features and infrastructure ready to go. New brands can get started by specifying what they’d like their site to offer their customers and working closely with the developer. Many of the newest betting sites use the model effectively.

Brands can decide how much of the process is manage by a third-party company. This could be very minor or everything other than the branding and is dependant on levels of expertise. Many of these brands are simply after a bit of assistance with particular aspects of the platform rather than a total under-the-hood operation from a third party.

In either case, white label sites are not operated by the brand owner, and as such the operator holds the gambling license, not the brand itself. It is therefore the operator that is entirely responsible for safety and customer funds. The brand’s domain includes advertising and incentives.

How Can a White Label Be Successful?

A lot of white label businesses are associated with gambling by other means. This is often seen when land-based bookies and casinos use their brand in online white labels operated by third parties. This arrangement allows land-based operators to have an online presence without needing to run the website. Obviously, these brands remain well-funded and as a result can offer good deals, promotions, and advertise heavily online.

There is no shortage of successful white labels showcasing long-term appeal and generating profit online. Some of these eventually gain their own gambling license and move away from the system to become an entirely independent entity. 

Another thing to note is that white labels do not commonly cease to exist. Instead, it is not irregular to see brands sold between gambling companies, resulting in platforms switching around but keeping their branding. This is often done to refresh a brand and generally has positive results for both parties.

Sadly, the industry is very competitive which means that some white labels do not work out and advertising is scaled back after a year or so. This is far more common with brands that have a restricted budget making it harder for these smaller brands to succeed. However, when these brands do go under, the customer is in safe hands due to the operator being responsible for this side of things.