Worth about $131 billion in 2020 and expected to surpass $140 billion by 2028, the global sports betting industry has a lot to be proud of. The market has been expanding over the years, especially its online sector that has brought the activity closer than ever before to users.

Mobile betting represents a vital vertical of online betting. The number of people betting on mobile is increasing, and about 70% of the online wagering activity comes from mobile bettors. This has pushed bookmakers to invest in top-quality betting apps that guarantee a smooth and glitch-free experience.

Sports betting app costs

Not all betting apps are the same. That’s why the price range for developing a sports wagering application can drastically vary. Typically, a basic app with just the necessary features can be between $5,000 and $8,000. Such solutions may not be great for serving numerous customers and will probably lack many features that bettors love these days.

Most quotes you’ll get will be between $20,000 and $60,000 if you want a top-quality product. Let’s see what an experienced Senior Designer shared on the topic. Investing in a betting app similar to the one of bet365, for example, should fall within the more expensive price range.

Again, whether you pay the minimum of $20,000 or the maximum of $60,000 depends on the number of basic and advanced features you want. We will explain those in a bit. So, you can get a better idea of what to expect price-wise.

  1. Development process and time

Regardless of whether you develop the app alone or someone else does it for you, expect the process to take several months. Creating the admin panel typically takes three or four weeks, while the design takes from three to six weeks.

The back-end development ranges from one to two months. Finally, the most expensive and time-consuming aspect is mobile development, which can take up about three months if overly complex.

Here are some approximates on each step of the development process and the minimum costs. These figures total to about $20,000 and would get you a decent sports betting app.

  1. Back-end development: $5K approx., 6 weeks min.
  2. Mobile development: $10K approx.,10 week min.
  3. Admin panel: $5K approx., 3 weeks min.
  4. Design: $1K approx., 3 weeks min.
  5. Varying hourly rates

Your betting app cost may be charged per project or per hour. Some developers have ready products that typically cost less. When it comes to developing from scratch, one essential factor is the hourly rate.

Naturally, working with US-based companies would cost more. The mobile app development rates in the US are typically between $40 and $53, with the average being $47. In Eastern European countries, you can find offers for $30 an hour.

The back-end app development takes about 125 hours, and the front-end development for Android and iOS is an additional 157 hours. That means that creating a sport betting app with basic features takes about 282 hours. With the average US mobile application development rate of $47, the final cost is about $13,254. However, with the Eastern European rate of $30, the cost for the app is much lower at $8,460.

Again, these are all approximates and include the basic features. If you want live streaming, for example, that could take an additional 280 hours total. This would naturally drastically increase the end cost.

Basic betting app features

If you are not willing to spend thousands of dollars, you can stick to basic features only and stay in the lower price range. Let’s see what those features are. Even here, some options can be removed. However, they will significantly limit the capabilities of the user.

  1. Account access and management
  2. Popup notifications
  3. Multiple sports
  4. Pre-match betting
  5. In-play betting
  6. Payment gateway integration
  7. Betting tips
  8. Game results and statistics

As you can see, each of these features is necessary for a bettor to be able to create and access their account. Also, they make it possible for users to make payments quickly and then bet with real money on different sports and leagues. Pre-match betting is mandatory, while live betting is highly desired.

As for betting tips, game results, and game statistics, these aren’t necessary for the operational part of the application. However, bettors these days are used to having these options. Your wagering app wouldn’t be as attractive to potential customers without them.

Advanced features

If you want your wagering application to compete with the best products on the market, you must include advanced features. These cost more and will push the final price to the upper price ranges of $50,000 or even $60,000.

One such feature is the live streaming of events. This is a popular option among bettors, but not all bookmakers offer it. It’s not that common to find live streaming on online sports books either. So, with this feature, your app will surely stand out.

Offering chat services, multiple languages, and easy access to the support team make everything easier for end-users. Take the extra step by enabling them to track their own betting performance by integrating user analytics. Depending on what consumers you’re targeting, you may need to provide easy access to problem gambling assistance alongside self-restriction tools too.

Final thoughts

Investing in a sports betting app isn’t cheap, especially not if you want an excellent final product. Bettors these days have access to numerous applications with many advanced features. They have been spoiled already. That’s why basic and cheap solutions usually won’t do the trick.

In any case, you can have an app developed for anything from $5,000 to $60,000. The final costs will depend on many factors, including who develops the application, what features you want in it, and what is your target audience.