How white label and turnkey casino platforms work

Launching an online casino isn't just about "putting on games." You need legal treatment, payment infrastructure, content, marketing, compliance and operations 24/7. Two common paths are white label and turnkey. Lower - how they differ, what you really get and how to choose a model for the budget, speed and control.

1) Definitions and key differences

White label

The supplier gives you a ready-made platform on its license and infrastructure. You receive a branded site/application, payments, games, support (partially/fully), reporting. Most of the compliance and relations with providers/payments are on the supplier's side.

Key: Get off to a fast start, less capex but less control and margin.

Turnkey (turnkey platform)

The supplier gives you his own installation/tenant of the platform, helps to issue your license, connect merchants, content aggregation, KYC/AML. Then you are an independent operator (or close to it).

The key: more control/customization/margin, but higher responsibility, costs and timing.

Criterion	White label	Turnkey
License	Vendor License	Your license (or provider approval)
Launch speed	2-8 weeks	3-6 + months (jurisdiction influences)
CAPEX/OPEX	Low CAPEX, high WALNUT/commission	Above CAPEX, below the share of commissions
Control (ACC/Payments/Content)	Low-medium	High
Risk/Liability	Below (supplier divides)	Above (you are the operator)
Business valuation	Harder (provider dependency)	Easier (assets/license you own)

2) What comes out of the box in both models

1. Game content

Connection to aggregators (slots, live-casino, crash/instant, virtual sports).

Market builds matrix: languages, RTP profiles, warnings, rate limits.

2. Payment bus

PSP/merchants, cards/wallets/crypto, anti-fraud, 3DS/dusting, payments.

Limits, deferred payments, holds, risk rules.

3. KYC/AML/Risk

Verification of documents, sankscreen, POP/addresses, sources of funds (where required).

Triggers of suspicious transactions, SAR/STR reporting (by market), deposit/loss limits.

4. CRM/Bonus Tools

Freespins, deposit/non-deposit bonuses, cashback, loyalty/levels, promotional campaigns.

Segmentation, triggers, journey-constructor, anti-bonus-hunt.

5. Affiliates and Marketing

Platform for partners (reflinks, postbacks, hold/app, payments).

UTM tracking, BI dashboards by source.

6. CMS/UX & Mobile

Templates, page/banner constructor, multilingualism, A/B tests.

Native containers/web view, fluff, deeplink.

7. Reporting and Billing

GGR/NetWin, deductions (taxes/jackpots/bonuses/PSP), royalties, ETR.

Export events to the spin level, API for DWH/BI.

8. 24/7 & SRE support

SLA by uptime (≥99. 9%), latency/error monitoring, incident processes.

Anti-tamper client, WAF/CDN, replay of controversial spins.

3) Licensing and jurisdictions (choice logic)

White label: you fall under the provider's license frame. It's faster, but imposes geo-constraints and storefront/ad rules.

Turnkey: choose jurisdiction for target markets (e.g. MGA/Ontario/National). The terms and cost are higher, but the asset is yours.

Selection criteria: target countries, taxes (on GGR/turnover), PSP coverage, RG/advertising requirements, license reputation for partners and banks.

4) Money: fee models and "waterfall" deductions

Casino revenue base:

'GGR = bets − wins', 'NetWin = GGR − taxes/jackpots/PSP/bonus-cost (under contract)'.

White label

Platform commission with NetWin (or mix% of turnover + flat board), sometimes setup fee + monthly fix.

Royalties to game providers - inside the supplier's waterfall.

Support/KYC/PSP - enabled or charged separately.

Turnkey

License/lawyers/audits - your expenses.

Platform fees are lower (SaaS/rev-cher), but you pay directly to content aggregators and PSPs.

More margin with volume, but we need a financial and compliance circuit.

5) Operational responsibility

Process	White label	Turnkey
KYC/AML	Often on supplier side	On your side (or shared)
PSP/disbursements	Provider/its merchants	Your merchants and anti-fraud
Compliance/Reporting	The provider prepares the basis, you provide the data	Full responsibility: reports, logs, RG
Support	Partially/completely outsource WL	Yours/hybrid
Content/Listing	WL directory, brand/provider limits	Your contracts + aggregation flexibility

6) Pros and cons

White label - pros: speed, less risk, less Jurassic/those loads, predictable OPEX.

Cons: lower margin, dependence on the provider (lock-in), restrictions on PSP/markets/content, it is more difficult to "capitalize" the business.

Turnkey - pros: control, flexibility of PSP and content, higher margin, easier business valuation.

Cons: above САРЕХ/deadlines/compliance load, a strong operating team is needed.

7) Technical architecture (from top to bottom)

Front/CMS: brand, themes, A/B, locales.

Game Layer: aggregation, routing, market builds, replay, logs.

Wallet/Payments: debit/credit, merchants, limits, chargeback processes.

KYC/AML/Risk: verification providers, scoring, limits, reports.

CRM/Promo: segmentation, bonuses, tournaments/missions, anti-abuse.

Affiliates: clicks/reg/dep, postbacks, payouts.

BI/Reporting: spin events, GGR/NetWin vaults, cohort, LTV, ETR.

SRE/Security: monitoring, WAF/CDN, anti-tamper, backups, DR.

8) How to plan for marketing and growth

Start: focus on 2-3 sources (SEO/content, affiliates, paid UA in admitting networks).

Activators: freespins/tournaments/jackpots, local holidays, cross-promo.

Traffic quality control: post-backs, fraud/bot filters, negative lists.

Juridics: advertising rules by market, age tags, prohibitions on introducing wording.

9) Typical errors

1. Underestimating compliance. - Even WL requires compliance with RG/advertising rules.

2. One PSP to all markets. - Make a portfolio of payment providers + backup channels.

3. Weak anti-fraud bonuses. - Segmentation, limits, velocity rules, behavioral scoring.

4. No data ownership. - Check who owns DWH/raw events and how to export them.

5. Lock-in without migration options. - Record content/data export and output conditions.

10) Contract checklists

White label

List of markets/jurisdictions and restrictions.
Commission model and "waterfall" deductions, true-up/FX.
SLA (uptime/latency/support), penalties.
Data ownership rules and event exports.
Showcase KPIs (placements, promotional pools).
Anti-fraud/bonus policies and RG requirements.

Turnkey

Code/Config/Theme Rights; access to APIs/webhooks.
Licensing roadmap and timeline.
Cost of content provider/PSP integrations.
Safety: mTLS, pen tests, DR plan.
DPA/GDPR, log retention, DPIA.
Migration conditions and buy-out options.

11) 30-60-90: Launch Roadmap

0-30 days

Selection of model (WL/Turnkey), target markets and budgets.

Requirements collection: content, PSP, languages, CRM/bonuses, affiliates.

Contract and high-level integration, design/brand guide.

Compliance card (RG/advertising/taxes) and glossary.

31-60 days

Technical settings: domains, CMS, payment flows, bonus rules, affiliates.

Content catalog and showcase, market builds/locales.

QA: wallet, bonuses, anti-fraud, KYC/AML, load tests.

Promotional release plan: freespins/tournament, affiliate partners.

61-90 days

Go-live in pilot geo, monitoring SLA/payments/bonus abuse.

Reporting/true-up, adjustment of commission rates and limits.

Traffic scaling, adding PSP/content, A/B CRM.

12) FAQ

Can I start on the WL and switch to Turnkey?

Yes, if the conditions for data/user/affiliate migration and content compatibility are spelled out.

What is the minimum team?

WL: 5-10 FTE (CRM/Affiliates/Content/Analytics/Support L2). Turnkey: 10-25 FTE (added compliance/finance/PSP/DevOps).

How many games do you need to start?

1500-2500 slots + live-casino and several niche verticals (crash/lotteries) are a good basis.

What's on margin?

WL - lower (fees higher), but faster turnover. Turnkey - higher with volume, but higher fixed costs.

Is it possible to work without affiliates?

It is possible, but in iGaming affiliates are the main stable channel. Lay the platform and budget.

13) The bottom line

White label is a "quick entry" with less risk and less control. Turnkey is "your home": longer and more expensive, but with greater margins, flexibility and asset value. Choose a model from goals for geo, risk and payback horizon. Whatever you choose, success will be determined by three things:

1. Compliance and payments, 2. Strong CRM/partner circuit, 3. Event-level data and observability.

By adhering to these principles, you turn the platform from a technical detail into a competitive advantage.