Part 2: Garnering profit, legality debates and future bets

Did you imagine from the start with all of your experience and the software and marketing that you employed that the site would be this great success?
I had no idea what to expect in our first year. I was confident that over time we would establish ourselves as an extremely popular and profitable company, but I was unsure of the time frame. We were prepared to operate for one to two years without really showing a profit, but rather building up our client base and establishing our name.

However, things have been going absolutely fantastic for Wagerstreet.com. I have been pleasantly surprised at the number of new accounts we are creating each day, and in addition our customer retention levels are higher than I have ever experienced in all my years doing consulting work.

Much of this is due to the reliability of our software and site, as well as the intuitive nature of our wagering engine. I would be remiss, however, if I did not account for the fantastic staff that we have assembled who deal with our customers on a day-to-day basis.

There are a lot of fly-by-night gambling sites out there that are less than honest. In the beginning, how did you go about building an honest, ethical reputation in the online gambling community?
To begin with we located ourselves at Kahnawake, which is one of, if not the most, exclusive gaming jurisdiction there is. Most of the sites out there are operating from Costa Rica, where the Sportsbooks are not licensed or regulated. When a customer inquires about the legitimacy of our Sportsbook he/she can feel comfortable knowing that we have an actual license, one that took six months to receive. This is simply not the case for a number of Sportsbooks operating offshore.

In addition, because operating from Kahnawake is fairly expensive, it becomes apparent that if we were looking to operate "below board" we wouldn't choose one of the most expensive and highly regulated jurisdictions in the world to run our business.

We clearly post all of our rules and regulations on our website, so that everything is clearly outlined to any player. Then we handle all inquiries in a timely manner. By doing this, it establishes a pattern of support that makes the customer feel safe depositing funds with our Sportsbook.

What about the debate over the legality of Internet wagering and does it affect your operations?
The legality of Internet wagering, especially in the US, has been hotly contested. No one from our company has ties to the United States, who seem to be the only country actively attempting to prevent its citizens from operating offshore gaming sites. Our corporate structure is setup in a gaming friendly jurisdiction, so the debate doesn't really affect us.

The bulk of our customer base, however, is derived from North America, so it is somewhat of a concern of ours. Ultimately, I feel that the Internet is very difficult to regulate, and I just don't see Internet gaming disappearing anytime soon.

So what do you see, as far as the growth of gambling on the Internet?
I see continued growth and acceptance. As more and more of our customers and the customers of other reputable sites have positive experiences more people will be comfortable with wagering online.

In addition, the advent of broadband allows casinos and Sportsbooks to deliver a better wagering experience to the end user. As the realism and efficiency improve so will the overall growth of the industry. Gaming sites, if managed effectively, can be extremely profitable.

However, only a small number of the sites are managed effectively or understand the business adequately enough to derive a profit. I am excited about the future of online wagering, especially in the Sportsbook segment of the industry. I believe that we are poised to capitalize on this burgeoning industry and will continue to be an industry leader.

We're betting your odds are good for success!