What a hosted solution is
In a hosted setup, the platform vendor runs the underlying infrastructure: servers, databases, load balancers, monitoring, patching, and disaster-recovery. The operator consumes the platform as a service, with administrative access via the back-office and customer-facing access via the front-end. Compute, storage, and bandwidth costs are bundled into the vendor’s commercial terms.
This is the default deployment model for most turnkey and white-label iGaming platforms. The operator focuses on brand, acquisition, and commercial decisions; the vendor focuses on running the platform reliably.
Trade-offs versus on-premise
Hosted solutions deliver speed to market, predictable costs, and offloaded operational burden. The operator does not need an in-house infrastructure team or its own data-centre footprint. Updates and patches are managed by the vendor on a defined schedule.
The trade-off is control. Hosted operators depend on the vendor for performance, security, and uptime. Customisation depth is bounded by what the vendor allows. Data sovereignty requirements in some jurisdictions may complicate hosted deployments, requiring the vendor to operate region-specific infrastructure.
Why hosting model matters in B2B
For operators, the hosting model is one of the structural decisions at procurement. Hosted is the right answer for most operators below the tier-one scale, and for many tier-one operators in specific markets where vendor expertise matters more than custom control. On-premise or operator-cloud is the right answer when data sovereignty, custom integration depth, or specific regulatory constraints require it.
For platform vendors, hosted deployment is a higher-touch, higher-margin model. For affiliates and review publishers, hosting model is part of the operator-quality picture but rarely a customer-facing signal.
Frequently asked questions about What Is a Hosted Solution in iGaming?
They overlap but are not identical. Hosted means the vendor runs the infrastructure on the operator’s behalf, regardless of whether the underlying compute is cloud or dedicated hardware. Cloud refers specifically to the underlying compute model. Most modern hosted iGaming platforms run on cloud infrastructure.
Yes, but the migration is significant. Customer data, regulatory state, payment integrations, and game-provider connections all have to be transitioned. Most operators commit to a hosting model for several years before reassessing.
Security responsibility shifts toward the vendor. Reputable vendors hold certifications like ISO 27001 and SOC 2 and document the controls in place. Operators retain residual responsibility for the controls they configure, especially access management and integration security.