A white label sportsbook is a complete betting product that a provider builds and runs, which you launch under your own brand. In the real-money world, that usually means the provider also supplies the license, payments and risk management, while you bring the brand and the players. Turnkey, API and embedded models split those jobs differently, and an embedded play-for-fun sportsbook, where players bet free tokens and never real money, removes the money side entirely.
Key takeaways
- White label: the provider runs almost everything, often under its own license. You bring the brand and the marketing.
- Turnkey: you get the full platform but hold your own license and run the business.
- API or module: you build the front end and plug the provider's engine in behind it.
- Embedded play-for-fun: the sportsbook appears inside your site, players bet your free tokens, and no money moves.
- Launch claims from vendors range from one week for an iframe integration to several months for a module, before licensing.
On this page7 sections
White label sportsbook, turnkey, API and embedded in one table
The terms get used loosely, even by vendors. Here is how they usually break down.
| Model | What you get | What you build | Typical buyer |
|---|---|---|---|
| White label | A branded betting site on the provider's platform, often with its license, payments and risk management | Brand, marketing, customer acquisition | A new brand that wants to launch fast without its own license |
| Turnkey | The full platform (front end, back office, risk tools) to run under your own license | Licensing, payments, operations, marketing | An operator with a license, or one getting one |
| API / sportsbook module | The betting engine and odds, delivered through an API | Your own front end and player experience | An existing platform adding sports betting |
| Embedded play-for-fun | A hosted sportsbook you place inside your site with an iframe and SDK, with free tokens | A server call to open player sessions, and your token rules | Communities, media sites, streamers, apps with their own points |
Many vendors offer several of these. Altenar (opens in a new tab), for example, lists a white label, a turnkey solution, a sportsbook module "through flexible APIs" and a retail product. SOFTSWISS (opens in a new tab) offers integration "via API (full frontend control and custom UX) or iFrame" and a turnkey sportsbook, but states on its turnkey page: "Currently, SOFTSWISS does not offer White Label setup."
Who holds the license, the brand, the players and the payments
The real difference between these models is who is responsible for what. For real-money products, this is what vendors say on their own pages (checked 2026-09-28).
White label. SOFTSWISS describes the model this way: "White Label setups operate under the B2B provider's licence, with the provider fully responsible for compliance." Altenar's white label page (opens in a new tab) calls its version a "fully-managed platform" that includes "betting software, odds and trading services, risk management, player account functionality, payment integrations, reporting tools, customer support plus ongoing platform maintenance". On licensing, it says requirements "depend on the jurisdictions where you plan to operate and the structure of your business, so it is best to seek professional legal advice", and that some providers "can support the licensing process".
Turnkey. On SOFTSWISS's turnkey page (opens in a new tab), "the operator handles the business side, including obtaining and maintaining their own licence and meeting regulatory requirements", while the provider runs the technical side.
API or module. You own the player experience and usually the player accounts. The provider supplies the engine and prices behind your front end.
Side by side:
| White label | Turnkey | API / module | Embedded play-for-fun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| License | usually the provider's | yours | yours | none of ours to hold; you check local rules for a free game |
| Brand | yours | yours | yours | yours |
| Player accounts | often on the provider's platform | yours or the provider's | yours | yours: your site's login |
| Player funds and payments | provider-run | yours | yours | none: tokens have no value |
| Odds and settlement | provider | provider | provider | included |
| Front end | provider's, branded | provider's, configurable | yours | provider's, branded, inside your page |
How long each model takes to launch
Launch time is one of the loudest claims in this market. These are the vendors' own words, as published.
| Source | Model | Claim |
|---|---|---|
| GR8 Tech (opens in a new tab) | iFrame sportsbook | "Integrate in 1 week" |
| SOFTSWISS sportsbook page (opens in a new tab) | API or iFrame integration | "Most operators go live in 14 days. Complex integrations or custom setups may take up to a month." |
| SOFTSWISS turnkey page (opens in a new tab) | Turnkey | "A typical turnkey launch takes 2–4 weeks from contract signing to go-live" |
| Altenar blog (opens in a new tab) | White label / turnkey / module / self-build | 2–6 weeks / 6–16 weeks / 3–9 months / 12–24 months to market |
Two cautions. These clocks usually start at contract signature, after the sales process. And for a real-money launch, the software is rarely the slowest part: licenses, payment providers and marketing take their own time. GR8 Tech's sportsbook page says its product targets "experienced operators with a proven track record in iGaming", which tells you who these timelines are written for.
For an embedded play-for-fun sportsbook, the clock is your own: sign up, get an API key, add a server call and two lines of HTML. There's no sales process to go through, and nobody on our side has to approve it.
What a play-for-fun white label changes
"White label" means the same thing in both worlds: the product carries your brand, not ours. What changes is everything connected to money.
What stays the same:
- Real odds on real matches, pre-match and (on paid plans) live.
- Singles and accumulators, settled automatically. Most bets settle minutes after the final whistle; a few wait for official results or a check by our team. If a result is corrected later, the bet is re-settled.
- A back office: stake limits, player history, blocking, maintenance mode, reports.
What goes away:
- Player funds, payment processing and reserves. Tokens are free and have no value.
- Revenue share. Our paid plans are a flat price per month or per year; we don't take a share of tokens or of what players stake.
- A data contract. Odds, results and settlement come with the platform.
What you take on instead: the play-for-fun rules in our Acceptable Use and Play-for-Fun Policy. Tokens only come from free sources (a starting balance, a daily refill, points for taking part), nothing of value comes out, players are 18 or older, and you tell them all this before they play. You're responsible for running your community and its tokens lawfully wherever your players are.
What "white label" means on The Sportsbook
In our case, white label covers the look and the name:
- Your brand: your logo, favicon and token label (such as Coins, Points or your community's own word; currency symbols aren't allowed).
- Your colors: six presets to start from and every color editable, checked against WCAG AA contrast before you save.
- Your layout, on every plan: navigation as a sidebar or a top bar, match cards as a list or a grid, and a floating or docked betslip.
- Your fonts, on paid plans: 18 Google Fonts or your own uploaded font files, a separate heading font, density and odds-button style.
- The "Powered by" badge shows on Free only; it's off by default on Custom and Full.
What it doesn't cover today: a custom domain. The sportsbook loads from play.thesportsbook.app inside your own page, so players stay on your site, but the iframe's address is ours. There's no custom CSS either: every branding value is validated, which keeps the embed readable and safe. Our branding walkthrough covers the Studio in detail.
Three common mix-ups
A white label sportsbook isn't an odds widget. Odds widgets display prices from bookmakers, usually to send visitors elsewhere through affiliate links. A white label sportsbook takes bets, keeps balances, settles results and has a back office. If a product has no betslip and no settlement, it's a different category. (Our play-for-fun policy also bans bookmaker links and promo codes around the embed, so the two can't be combined on our side.)
Turnkey isn't automatically slower or more expensive. It depends on what you already have. An operator with a license, payment providers and a team may launch a turnkey product faster than a newcomer can get through a white label's onboarding. The published ranges in our cost guide show turnkey setup costing more up front, while revenue shares tend to be lighter.
Embedded doesn't mean stripped down. An embedded sportsbook is a full product rendered inside your page: live matches, accumulators, bet history and settlement all happen in the iframe. What's different is where it lives and how players sign in. Your site keeps the login, and your server opens each player's session with a single-use launch token that expires after 60 seconds, so the sportsbook never handles your passwords.
A white label doesn't mean you own the software. You license a product that the provider keeps running, updating and hosting. That is the point: you get new sports, markets and fixes without a team of your own. It also means your roadmap is partly theirs, and leaving means moving players, history and balances somewhere else. Ask any provider what an export looks like before you sign. On our side, bets and players can be exported to CSV from the console on paid plans, and the rounds API returns each player's bets.
How to choose
Start with what's at stake for your players, then work backwards.
- Will players stake money? If yes, you're choosing among real-money providers, and your first conversation is with a lawyer about licensing. White label if you want the provider to carry most of the operation; turnkey if you hold your own license; API if you already run a platform and want your own front end. Our comparison of Kambi, Sportradar, Altenar and SOFTSWISS alternatives profiles the main vendors.
- Is the betting there for engagement, with nothing of value in or out? Then a play-for-fun sportsbook fits, and embedding one involves far fewer moving parts than the models above. It suits fan sites, streamers' communities, Discord servers with a website, and apps with their own points.
- What can you afford to run? Real-money budgets start in the tens of thousands and often reach seven figures. Our white label sportsbook cost guide compares the published ranges with our own prices.
- Do you want to build it yourself? Read what building a sportsbook from scratch takes before you decide.
A useful test for any provider: ask to see the product working before the sales call. Ours is public. The playground (opens in a new tab) runs the real embed with free demo tokens and no sign-up, and lets you change colors, fonts and layout to see what your white label sportsbook would look like. When you're ready, the home page explains how to set up your own.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a white label and a turnkey sportsbook?
With a white label, the provider runs the platform and usually operates under its own license, while you supply the brand and marketing. With turnkey, you get the full platform but hold your own license and run the business. SOFTSWISS, for example, describes its turnkey product as running under the operator's license.
How long does it take to launch a white label sportsbook?
Vendor claims vary. Altenar's blog estimates two to six weeks to market for a white label and six to 16 weeks for turnkey. SOFTSWISS says a typical turnkey launch takes two to four weeks from contract. Licensing, payments and marketing usually take longer than the software.
Do I need a license for a white label sportsbook?
For a real-money white label, licensing depends on where you operate and how the deal is structured; Altenar's own page advises seeking professional legal advice. For a play-for-fun sportsbook with free tokens, check the rules where your players are with a lawyer in your jurisdiction.
Can a white label sportsbook run on my own domain?
Real-money white labels usually give you a full site on your domain. The Sportsbook is embedded instead: it appears inside your own page, loaded from play.thesportsbook.app in an iframe. Custom domains for the embed aren't available today.
Written by
The Sportsbook team
The people who build The Sportsbook. We have spent seven years building sportsbook software, and we write these guides from that work.
Last updated .