I got a quote from one company in Eastern Europe (they are somewhat familiar with the concept of BTC) that it would cost ~$3000. Obviously the cost will largely depend on what the site and software should include and I'm sure a Western company would charge more.
As for the law I presume you are in the US, as far as I know subscription-based poker site would be legal.
What is the difference between subscription-based poker site vs normal poker site (e.g. poker stars)?
I considered setting a legal one up but fell short at the web-designing stage. That price of $3000 seems reasonable. I assume that company was willing to allow you to keep your anonymity or was it a fully project you had in mind? Would you or anyone with depth in knowledge on the subject care to discuss by PM?
EDIT: A reputable poker site is supposedly sealswithclubs.eu
Hi there,
Im currently on a team that's developing a gambling platform actually and I don't think its possible to get anything workable for $3000 at all. Your best bet would would be to wait until there are more poker/gambling services on the market and make some sort of affiliate/skin agreement or similar. (Within a year there will likely be a couple big providers)
If building/owning it yourself is the goal and you want to offer a safe, competitive and bug free poker service I would say a min budget would be $40,000 at the absolute minimum If its software based, maybe a little less if its some inbuilt flash thing.
Take SWC for example, although their original platform was free they have put in a massive amount of effort of 2+ years probably and someone there definitely knows what they are doing. Its not easy and it requires a lot of knowledge.
My advice to you before getting into anything would be to research a lot. There are so many things people aren't aware of when it comes to poker sites, for example what needed in terms of CMS and how to fully secure a service like this.
Then there is the legal aspect, servers, and all sorts of fraud/collusion preventions needed.
When it comes to licensing it depends, mostly on location and what happens in the next months/years. Could very well be that licensing becomes the norm, and then to be competitive you will need to jump onboard that train as well. ($10,000+ yearly)
If you happen to have any question feel free to email me though, would be happy to give some advice. The more bitcoin gambling sites there are out there, the better it is for the bitcoins growth and everyone here
Edit: whops quoted wrong guy