Are you about starting a sports betting business? If YES, here is a complete sample sports betting business plan template and feasibility report you can use for FREE.
Okay, so we have considered all the requirements for starting a sports betting business. We also took it further by analyzing and drafting a sample sports betting business marketing plan template backed up by actionable guerrilla marketing ideas for sports betting businesses. So let’s proceed to the business planning section.
It is very important to note that building a sports betting business in the united states is risky because it is termed illegal. Since it is illegal to bet on sports in most states in the United States, you must consult first the services of a lawyer to make sure that it is legal to start a sports betting business in your state.
Even in the united kingdom or any other country, you need to make proper research before you start this business. It is a known fact that betting on sports can be sometimes confusing because sports bookers have their own terminologies. Familiarizing yourself with these terminologies before even starting your sports betting business is a must.
Also seeking advice from individuals in the industry will help you in learning the dos and don’ts in doing a sports betting business. Certainly you shouldn’t expect competitors to give you good advice because that will be the last thing that they want to do.
If they give you good advice, that would mean less profit for them and intense competition. This business can be lucrative but deadly if it’s illegal. Some people see sports betting as an art because it involves complex processes and techniques that consume time to actually learn, master and play.
If you do not understand the sports betting industry, you would end up being unsuccessful that is why it is very important to know most, if not all, of the things involved in sports betting or alternatively you can hire somebody who will run your sports betting business for you.
A Sample Sports Betting Business Plan Template
1. Industry Overview
Without doubt the value of the global sports betting market is very hard to estimate because of the lack of consistency on how it is regulated in some countries.
Few of the analysis put the value of the sports betting industry at between 700 billion U.S. dollars and 1,000 billion U.S. dollars. But it is known that Illegal sports betting alone could be worth 500 billion U.S. dollars according to some experts.
It is good to know that sports betting make up about 13 percent of the global gambling market, which also includes lotteries, casinos, gaming machines, bingo and other gaming paraphernalia. Estimation puts the gross win of the global gambling industry at more than 400 billion U.S. dollars.
Gross win from gambling is actually the amount of money the gambling operation keeps from the customer’s stakes, wagers, bets etc, less the winning paid out to the customer and before deducting operating expenses. Asia is the biggest market for gambling and sports betting in particular.
The online/interactive category is probably the fastest growing segment of the industry. Worldwide gross win from online gambling was at around 41 billion U.S. dollars in 2016 and is projected to reach 57 billion U.S. dollars by 2018. Gross win from online sports betting reached about 21 billion U.S. dollars in 2016.
An estimate from several years back projected a gross win of only around 6 billion U.S. dollars. Within 2012 to 2016, sports betting generated more than 50 percent of the total worldwide online gross win.
2. Executive Summary
FavourBet is a standard, licensed and well-functioning sports betting company that will be located in one of the busiest streets; the entertainment hub of London,UK. We at FavourBet have been able to secure a standard facility in the central and easy to locate Regent Street in London.
We have made sure that we are well equipped to service the whole football community. We believe that our bet company is going to become the number one betting destination for all sports lovers in the United Kingdom. We have been able to get all necessary documents to make our business legal and formal.
We at FavourBet have been able to conduct thorough market research and feasibility studies and we came to the conclusion that Regent Street in the centre hub of London is the right place to start our Bet company.
We at FavourBet believe that our client’s best interest would always be our utmost priority, and all our activities will be guided by our values and professional ethics. We also hope to hire professionals who are well experienced in the betting industry.
We at FavourBet plan to be open for 24 hours in a day during weekends (Fridays to Sundays) and from 6:00 am to 12 midnight from Mondays to Thursdays in order for us to provide the best services in the industry. This is the reason why we have been able to make adequate provisions for floodlight system and also to recruit enough staff to run shift amongst our workforce.
We at FavourBet will at all times show our unadulterated commitment to sustainability, both individually and as a firm, by actively participating in our communities and integrating sustainable business practices wherever possible. Our management are always ready to hold themselves responsible to the highest standards by meeting our client’s needs precisely and completely.
We will cultivate a working environment that provides sustainable approach to earning a living, and living in our world, for our partners, employees and for our clients. FavourBet is a family business owned by Thomas Nuffield and his immediate family members. The business will be managed by Thomas Nuffield and his son Maxi Nuffield.
Peter McAlister has well over 22 years of experience in the betting industry, after having a successful football career and gaining a recognised business management certificate from the University of Birmingham. He is well known and noted as an upright man who gave his all to Everton Football Club during his young days.
3. Our Products and Services
FavourBet is a betting industry that aims to provide good betting system and odds for sports lovers all over the world, which is why we have put up a facility that can help us achieve this goal. We at FavourBet are positive that anyone who leverages on our business will remain happy and interested.
These are the services and amenities that will be made available to our clients;
- Football bets
- Basket ball bet
- Badminton bet
- Lawn tennis bet
- Horse racing
- Dog racing
- Boxing bet
- Wrestling bet
- All other bet liable sports
4. Our Mission and Vision Statement
- Our vision at FavourBet is to create a betting company that will serve and support the well established, easily identifiable sports lovers in the world.
- Our mission at FavourBet is to provide the highly brand conscious and affiliation of loyal individuals and organizations whose members live and breathe the world of sports, a platform to earn from their hobbies.
Our Business Structure
Our business structure at FavourBet is built to be a flexible version of a normal business structure. We understand that a cross-functional workforce is key to our success. We also plan to make sure that the leadership or any staff team community of our business must be able to perform related tasks when the need or technical crises arise. Listed below are the portfolios we wish to start FavourBet with;
- President
- Internet Commerce Manager
- Marketing and Brand Manger
- Company lawyer
- Chief Technology Officer
- Application and content Developer
- Technical and infrastructural manager
- Guards
5. Job Roles and Responsibilities
President
- He is in charge of overseeing all other executives and staff within the organization.
- He is tasked with board of directors and other executives to determine if the company is in accordance with its goals and policies.
- Charged with encouraging business investment.
- He also promotes economic development within communities.
- His in charge of directing the organization’s financial goals, objectives and budgets.
- Implement the organization’s guidelines on a day-to-day basis.
- Preside over quality control.
- In charge of hiring, training, and terminating employees.
- In charge of developing and implementing strategies and set the overall direction of a certain area of the company or organization.
- Provide visionary and strategic leadership for the organization.
- Collaborate with the board of directors to develop the policies and direction of the organization.
- He makes sure that the members of the Board of Directors have the information necessary to perform their fiduciary duties and other governance responsibilities.
- He also provides adequate and timely information to the Board to enable it to effectively execute its oversight role.
- Direct staff, including organizational structure, professional development, motivation, performance evaluation, discipline, compensation, personnel policies and procedures.
Chief Technology Officer
- Charged with establishing governance processes of direction and control to ensure that objectives are achieved.
- He directs and develops a security plan.
- He protects the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the company’s data and servers.
- He identifies and implement technology trends and platforms.
- He also communicates the company’s technology strategy to investors, management, staff, partners, customers, and stakeholders.
- Evaluate and recommend technologies.
- Select and register company’s domain names.
- Tasked with Establishing email service.
- Implement web-based internal communications system.
- He oversees graphic designer’s efforts to create a company corporate identity and website.
- Manages vendor relationships.
- Conduct code reviews and specification conformance testing.
- Establish quality assurance process.
- Establish an application deployment process.
- Monitor web analytics regime to ascertain site traffic.
- Implement technical requirements for Internet marketing and search engine optimization.
- Integrate customer service and support with the software engineering process to support resolution of customer issues and improve application usability.
Application and Content Developer
- Manage web traffic and analyse alterations accordingly to improve the Return on Investment.
- Project management along with front-end development advertising using Ad words and other tools, implementation and optimization.
- Validating contents for accuracy and usability using support communications and ensure adherence to goals set by the higher officials.
- To find out the right place for the placement of content in the website to develop the business and act as a traffic manager for supplier online marketing operations.
Marketing and Brand Manager
- In charge of meeting the sales targets of the organization through effective planning and budgeting..
- In charge of deciding strategies and techniques necessary for achieving the sales targets. He is the one who decides the future course of action for his team members.
- In charge of mapping potential customers and generate leads for the organization. He should look forward to generating new opportunities for the organization.
- In charge of brand promotion.
- Tasked with motivating team members is one of the most important duties of a sales manager.
- It’s the duty of the sales manager to ensure his team is delivering desired results.
- In charge of not only selling but also maintaining and improving relationships with the client.
- In charge of keeping the necessary data and records for future reference.
Technical and infrastructural manager
- Responsible for all IT systems within a company, including hardware, software and security systems.
- Spend a lot of time meeting with employees from various departments to discuss how to make the company’s data more accessible and secure, and how to make business operations run more smoothly and efficiently.
- Other duties assigned by the president.
Internet Commerce Manager
- Develop an Online business strategy in collaboration with product and marketing managers.
- Work with designers, website developers and content providers, such as copywriters and photographers, to create or improve the site.
- Work with payment providers to develop payment mechanisms that are secure and that protect customers’ personal details when they pay by debit or credit card.
- Check site content and systems regularly to ensure that they are working properly.
- Monitor site metrics, such as time for Web pages to load, total numbers of site visitors, and visitors by product or page.
- Analyse the information and recommend changes to improve performance.
- Make sure that any stored customer data is secure against threats from cyber criminals.
- Helps to develop or recommend marketing programs to increase sales.
- Analyse metrics, such as the number of visitors who just browse, rather than place orders.
- Identify products that took increased revenue following a promotion, or products where sales declined following a price increase.
Company lawyer
- Ensures that our business transactions are in compliance with the law.
- Researches the law implicated by that transaction and advise on any negative effects it might create.
- Ensures that our legal decisions translate to a strong bottom line.
Security guard
- In charge of protecting the agency and it’s environs
- Controls traffic and organize parking
- Give security tips when necessary
- Patrols around the building on a 24 hours basis
- Presents security reports weekly
6. SWOT Analysis
Indeed the journey of a thousand miles start with a step and nothing good comes easy. We at FavourBet have made concrete decisions not to make mistakes right from the very foundation of our business. We also employed the services of a well known consultancy firm know for its marketing and business promotion ideas to aid us with our SWOT Analysis.
This consultancy firm during the time of their research were very thorough and straight. The Consultancy firm had to make use of our available workforce to really understand how eager and competent they are to the success of FavourBet. Properly summarized below is the result of their SWOT Analysis for FavourBet;
- Strength
According to the SWOT Analysis our strengths lies on our zeal, publicity budget and our workforce. It is believed that we have a standard A list team with excellent qualifications and experience in their various niche areas in the gambling, betting and computer programming industry. They believe that our workforce is made up of competent, result driven, eager and well educated individuals.
- Weakness
It was very easy to note in the SWOT Analysis that the sports betting industry is very competitive. Our SWOT Analysis also explained that our weakness include the time it might take us to development an identity and consumer brand acceptance, develop and execute effective marketing communications, identify and execute ongoing affiliate revenue generation, advertising, and ecommerce revenue stream. We believe all these are issues we can handle properly and very fast.
- Opportunities
It was also noted categorically that the opportunity available in the social media industry is so large. Sports is actually an act or a hobby that brings people of different race together and will forever remain relevant in our world. We understand how eager people are to gain more money or supplement their income.
- Threat
The SWOT Analysis conducted for us also pointed out the threats we might be facing in the industry. It pointed out clearly that we may encounter threats like acquiring strategic investment and consistent funding stream, enforcing a technological and strategic site development and content planning, developing of content/link generation, user functionality and programming development and execution, the vast nature of the industry, and the level of competition in the sports betting industry.
7. MARKET ANALYSIS
- Market Trend
In the world of betting, the use of a mobile phone or tablet to place a bet has made it a lot easier and accessible. But just as the global in-play markets have grown rapidly in recent years, the problems posed by illegal gambling and match-fixing are very real and growing ones. Below are the very important trends in the industry.
- Match fixing
There have been various cases of match fixing in most sports in the sports industry. Fixing the final outcome of a match is not considered the major threat to sport in the UK these days, but what is seen as the major threat to sports is fixing a part of a match or performance which may not affect the final result – what is known as “spot-fixing”.
In the UK, you can bet on an individual player being cautioned during a match, but gamblers are confined to small stakes for fear that such betting opportunities can be manipulated. And it is a known fact that bribed players can make a fortune from gambling from bets placed with illegal bookmakers around the globe such as South Asia where gambling occurs outside the control of UK sports authorities.
- Illegal betting
Quite close to match fixing, an alarming concern for bookmakers is the proliferation of illegal betting. It has been estimated that the industry could be worth as much as $500bn per year.
While it is vastly believed that most function in Asia, it is very hard to put a figure on the size and manner of illegal gambling because there are no official figures there. Also analysis holds it that Illegal betting syndicates often offer better odds for a sporting event by making sure that the pay out for a winning bet is more lucrative and attractive.
- The growth in technology
Technology has actually brought about the biggest change in this industry. Indeed betting companies continue to sell punters a conviction or feeling; punters can place their bet remotely. In the industry now, there is no longer need to make a trip to the betting shop or physically attend a horse race.
The global remote betting market alone was worth more than £18 billion in 2010. The widespread use of internet and mobile phones for placing a bet has also made the industry ever more lucrative as quick access to odds ensures betting is highly accessible.
8. Our Target Market
Our Target Market at FavourBet cuts across people of different walks of life. Different people have different instincts for different sports. We at FavourBet will work towards providing services, facilities and environment that will help us reach out to our target market. These are the category of people that we intend marketing;
- Working Class Adults/Corporate Executives
- Business People/Entrepreneurs
- Government Officials
- Celebrities
- Applicants/School Leavers
- Sports Men and Women
- College Students
- Tourists
Our competitive advantage
We at FavourBet understand that what attracts people to betting companies are the various games, business location and interesting odds that they offer. FavourBet is centrally located in the ever busy Regent Street in the happening hub of London; this is obviously going to give us an edge amongst our competitors.
FavourBet can also boast of having a team of highly qualified professionals who will work with all our clients and make it easy and comfortable for them in all the sports betting we offer and also our odds are the very best in the industry.
We at FavourBet will be open 24 hours in a day during weekends (Fridays to Sundays) and from 6:00 am to 12 midnight from Mondays to Thursdays in order for us to accommodate people with different time preference. We will also make sure that our employees will be well taken care of, and their welfare package will be among the best within our category.
9. SALES AND MARKETING STRATEGY
- Sources of Income
It is important to note that FavourBet is a business we believe will reach all continents of the world and we have plans of using our own funds. Our source of income is focused strictly on the business niche of the industry. We hope to get our income and maximize profits by offering the following services;
- Football bets
- Basketball bet
- Badminton bet
- Lawn tennis bet
- Horse racing
- Dog racing
- Boxing bet
- Wrestling bet
- All other bet liable sports
10. Sales Forecast
We at FavourBet have researched the industry extensively and a prototype site has been developed and is up and running in a privately hosted environment and prospective customer and partner lists have been developed and several have been contacted for establishing an emerging business relationship.
FavourBet has also built agreement with several vendor partners to offer ecommerce opportunities within the online community
FavourBet can also boast of a business management team consisting of business and technical professionals. Also, focus groups have been established and are currently providing ongoing insight and consumer end-user feedback into the online community development cycle.
Initial market acceptance tests have indicated a warm welcome of the concept. This to show that we are bent on making FavourBet the best. Below is the sales forecast of FavourBet within the next three years;
- First Year-: $980,000
- Second Year-: $2,087,000
- Third Year-: $5,400,000
Note: it is worthwhile to note that this sales forecast was done based on what is obtainable in the industry and with the assumption that all our threats will be a stepping stone for us.
- Marketing Strategy and Sales Strategy
We at FavourBet don’t have plans of leaving any stone unturned to become and remain the best in the industry. We have through extensive research understood how competitive the industry is and we hope to make it our hub and zone.
We at FavourBet hope to employ our sales and marketing team based on their vast experience in the industry and they will be trained on a regular basis so as to be well equipped to meet their target and the overall business goal of FavourBet. We hope to make use of the following strategies to become the king of the Betting industry;
- We plan to attract and leverage current outdoor industry leaders for content and co-brand association.
- We will leverage branding efforts in marketplaces across multiple media and technologies.
- Introduce our company by sending introductory letters alongside our brochure to individuals, corporate organizations, religious organizations and key stakeholders.
- Promptness in bidding for marketing contracts from the government and other corporate organizations.
- Advertise our business in relevant business magazines, newspapers, TV stations and radio station.
- List our business on yellow page ads (local directories).
- Attend relevant international and local expos, seminars and business fairs et al.
- Create different packages for different category of clients in order to work with their budgets and still deliver excellent design and services.
- Leverage on the internet to promote our business.
- Engage direct marketing approach.
- Make use of referrals.
11. Publicity and Advertising Strategy
We at FavourBet have created unique and well budgeted publicity strategies to boost our business. We have stated many times already in this business plan that our publicity budget gives us nothing less that a 70% chance of survival in this industry.
Our publicity and awareness strategies at FavourBet will rely on the power of targeted online messaging tools, strategies, and word-of-mouth references, followed up with directed traditional media promotional strategies, such as outdoor advertising, periodicals, and network and cable sponsorship.
Outlined below are the strategies we hope to adopt at FavourBet
- We plan to place adverts on both print (newspapers and magazines) and electronic media platforms.
- We hope to sponsor relevant community based events/programs.
- We will make use of the internet and social media platforms like; Instagram, Facebook , twitter, YouTube, Google + et al to promote our services.
- We all also install Billboards on strategic locations all around London.
- We will also make sure we engage in road show from time to time in targeted neighbourhoods.
- Distribute our fliers and handbills in target areas.
- Contact corporate organizations by calling them up and informing them of our business.
- List our web cum graphic design company in local directories/yellow pages.
- Advertise our company in our official website and employ strategies that will help us pull traffic to the site.
- Ensure that all our staff members wear our branded shirts and all our vehicles are well branded with our company logo et al.
12. Our Pricing Strategy
We at FavourBet hope to keep our odds for now above the average market rate to attract customers and clients. We will also inculcate promos in all our fees and payment for the main time. FavourBet we believe will grow to what we dream it to be and we hope to be part of the future of the Betting industry.
We at FavourBet understand the nook and crannies of the industry, and we believe in what we can do. We hope to provide distinctive services that will shake the sports betting industry from its roots.
- Payment Options
FavourBet is a business we hope would take over the world and as such, we have substantial payment options that will favour all our customers right from the south of Africa up to the Antarctica. We at FavourBet will be creating online payment options that will be very secured and easy to access. We have partnered with a well known bank in the United Kingdom to make sure we provide the following services;
- Payment via cards ( credit cards, debit cards, smart cards etc.)
- E-banking
- Mobile banking
- Other electronic payment procedures
13. Startup Expenditure (Budget)
In starting FavourBet, the price or cost depends explicitly on the approach and size, which we believe will be very large. We understand that finance is needed in any business venture; funds are needed for renting office space, buying equipment, advertising et al, and any startup can either be low or high depending on the goals, vision and aspirations for the business.
We believe we will earn back every cent we spend as start up capital. Listed below are the ways we expect to spend our start up capital;
- Business incorporating fees in the United Kingdom will cost – £600
- Our price for Liability insurance, permits and license will cost – £10,000
- Our budget for acquiring an office space or warehouse that will accommodate the number of employees for at least 6 months (Re – Construction of the facility inclusive) will cost – £100,000.
- Equipping the office (computers, printers, projectors, markers, servers/internet facility, furniture, telephones, filing cabinets, and electronics) will cost – £100,000
- Amount required to purchase the needed software applications – £3,500
- Launching an official website will cost – £4,000
- Our price needs to pay bills and staff members for at least 2 to 3 months – £70,000
- Additional Expenditure such as Business cards, Signage, Adverts and Promotions will cost – £5,000
- Our publicity and marketing budget – £1,000,000
- Miscellaneous – £10,000
From our detailed analysis above, we will needing £1,303,150 to start FavourBet. This business will be a world class business that will reach all the corners of the world.
Generating Funding / Start up Capital for FavourBet
FavourBet is the idea and sole business of two astounding business tycoons. The business being a huge business won’t be easy for just one man to fund, which is why we hope to attract more funds. These are the areas we intend generating our start–up capital;
- From personal savings
- From friends and other extended family members
- Attract angel investors and venture capitalists
- Raise a larger chunk of the start up capital from the bank (loan facility).
Note: We are hoping to raise $1 million – $1.5 million for the development, launch, and 5-year ongoing expense outlook of the company. Additional funding requirements will potentially be required for additional consumer brands and currently unseen partnership development opportunities.
14. Sustainability and Expansion Strategy
It is our sole plan to build is a global business that will surpass the territories of the United Kingdom; we will expand FavourBet to all the ends of the world. We at FavourBet plan to start it’s expansion by next three years when we must have built a first class corporate identity.
FavourBet will also ensure that we constantly engage in continuous capacity building for our workforce; we will not relent in training and retraining of all our employees. FavourBet also plans to create good incentives that will keep them with us and not just only that, but give their best to the business. We have made sure that our workforce will remain the best in the coupon industry.
Our tactical execution activities at FavourBet will continue as follows in support of what is obtainable in the industry. Our website will be launched no later than mid October.
FavourBet website will have an estimated 75 percent portion of initial “look and feel” issues resolved, 75-90 percent portion of content/links available, 70 percent of interactive functional issues resolved, and 80 percent of revenue-generating affiliate partner programs in activation.
Checklist/Milestone
- Business Name Availability Check: Completed
- Business Incorporation: Completed
- Opening of Corporate Bank Accounts in various banks in the United States: Completed
- Opening Online Payment Platforms: Completed
- Application and Obtaining Tax Payer’s ID: In Progress
- Application for business license and permit: Completed
- Purchase of All form of Insurance for the Business: Completed
- Conducting Feasibility Studies: Completed
- Leasing, renovating and equipping our facility: Completed
- Generating part of the start–up capital from the founder: Completed
- Applications for Loan from our Bankers: In Progress
- Writing of Business Plan: Completed
- Drafting of Employee’s Handbook: Completed
- Drafting of Contract Documents: In Progress
- Design of The Company’s Logo: Completed
- Graphic Designs and Printing of Marketing/Promotional Materials: Completed
- Recruitment of employees: In Progress
- Purchase of the Needed software applications, furniture, office equipment, electronic appliances and facility face lift: In progress
- Creating Official Website for the Company: In Progress
- Creating Awareness for the business (Business PR): In Progress
- Health and Safety and Fire Safety Arrangement: In Progress
- Establishing business relationship with banks, financial lending institutions, vendors and key players in the industry: In Progress