From Tenants to Owners: How Operators Are Shifting to Tech on Their Own Terms — No Revenue-Share Model Included

Something’s changing in how betting and gaming companies see their digital tools. For a long time, they were fine renting tech — using someone else’s platform, adapting to the rules. But lately, more operators are walking a different path. They’re asking: Why not build our own? Or at least own a piece of it.

For many, it’s the core of how they operate, earn, and compete. And when the heart of your business runs on someone else’s code, that starts to feel like a problem — or a risk.

What’s Driving the Need for Control

This push for independence isn’t about ego. It’s practical. When operators own or co-develop their tools, they gain space — creative, technical, financial. And in a market where timing and experience matter, that space can decide who survives and who fades.

The big reasons behind this shift:

• Costs add up fast: Commission-based models eat into margins.
• Rigid templates: Pre-built systems limit branding and unique features.
• Slow compliance updates: Regulators move fast — vendors, not always.
• No real data ownership: Operators can’t dig into the numbers deeply enough.

What Operators Gain by Owning the Stack

Taking back control changes more than just workflows. It gives teams more freedom, faster cycles, and better grip on their future.

Here’s what companies are reporting when they go semi-independent or full custom:

• Faster reaction time
  Internal teams can tweak odds, design, and flows without raising tickets and waiting weeks.
• More personality in the product
  Instead of every site looking the same, operators can actually stand out — even at a glance.
• Fewer long-term leaks
  You pay upfront, sure, but in the long run, owning the system often saves money.
• Stronger security posture
  Especially in regions with strict laws, it’s safer when you control the architecture.
• Access to full user data
  No more sampling or guessing — the insights come straight from the source.

Where the Change Is Already Happening

Plenty of mid-sized brands — especially outside Western Europe — are ditching legacy stacks. In Latin America, new platforms are being built with local payments and mobile-first UX. In Eastern Europe, operators are skipping templates and going modular instead. Even smaller outfits are asking their vendors for source code access or hybrid builds they can expand later.

One company leaning fully into this shift is  AI-powered BetSymphony, a provider offering complete code ownership of the sportsbook core, not just front-end customisation or limited modules. Their model removes revenue sharing entirely and hands full technical control to the operator. That means no hidden fees, no waiting for vendor-side updates, and no barriers to innovation. For ambitious or mid-sized brands, this is a major advantage: the ability to shape, scale, and fully own the very engine that drives their business.

It’s not just about building a better site — it’s about owning the critical infrastructure that determines margins, speed, and compliance. BetSymphony’s offer reflects a growing desire across the industry: to stop renting what defines you and start building it yourself.

There’s a trend here, and it echoes what’s happening in other sectors. Think fintech, logistics, even retail — all moving toward custom infrastructure that fits them, not the other way around.

Things to Think Through Before Switching

This kind of shift isn’t for every company. Building (or even partly owning) a platform means upfront investment, more hiring, more planning.

Before making the move, operators should ask themselves:

1. Do we have enough dev power?
2. Can we support this long-term — updates, security, bugs?
3. Do we really need full control or just better flexibility?
4. Are we solving a real problem or just chasing trends?

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer here. Some companies will still do just fine on leased tech. But for those with ambition, speed, and vision — owning the tools might just be the edge they’ve been missing.

Not a Trend — A Reset

Operators used to work around the tech they had. Now, they’re demanding tech that works around them. It’s a small shift in framing, but a huge one in practice. The move from tenants to owners is less about rebellion and more about growing up.

And as the space gets more competitive, the ones who own their stack — or at least shape it — will likely pull ahead. Not because they shouted louder, but because they built smarter.