The presence and influence of aggregation services on the industry has undoubtedly swelled to never-before-seen heights across recent times, with the speed and efficiency often hailed by studios as opposed to the contrasting direct integration avenue.

One such organisation making consistent waves within the space is Relax Gaming, whose Aggregation Business Director, Nicholas Hammon, recently celebrated a five-year anniversary leading the group’s aggregation commercial strategy and implementation.

In conversation with CasinoBeats, Hammon delves into the reasons behind an explosion in the demand of aggregators, the importance of truly meeting the wants and desires of players, how Relax Gaming truly stands out from an increasingly competitive space and much more.

CasinoBeats: Relax Gaming has long marketed itself as a leading force within the world of aggregation, what would you say is the most impressive element of your overall offering?

Nicholas Hammon: Relax Gaming has now amassed over 15 years of experience within aggregation, which is hugely impressive for any standalone aggregator, let alone a company that creates games and focuses on multiple verticals like we do. 

We pride ourselves on the fact that we have become the aggregator of choice for both operators and studios because of our dedication to responsibility and ensuring we are a reliable technical partner first and foremost. We have shown that we can connect them in the most efficient and effective way possible.

CB: Why do you think the popularity of game aggregators has skyrocketed in recent years, and what have you done to ensure you’re amongst those aggregators growing in stature?

NH: Operators and studios often face internal resource bandwidth challenges. An aggregation partnership such as ourselves can provide convenient solutions, which enables continued revenue growth for both parties. What might take years can be accomplished within months by working with the right aggregator.

Relax Gaming’s aggregation network provides studios with instant access to more than 300 operators across multiple markets. Equally, operators can gain access to more than 100 studios, ensuring they have an entertaining and varied game library at all times. 

Our ecosystem excels due to the synergy between our internal departments working together to optimise service delivery across all areas. We are a trusted source of knowledge providing invaluable insights, guidance and support for our partners.

CB: Just how important is it that aggregators focus on growing a deep understanding of player preferences, ensuring that they are offering a personalised experience on a market-by-market basis?

NH: Player preferences have always been an important consideration, but one that is increasingly in sharper focus due to the expansion of regulated market opportunities. It’s rare for one game or genre type to appeal to all players across all markets. 

I would consider a game that appeals to all audiences to be the holy grail of game production. Beyond this hole-in-one phenomenon, it is important for an aggregator to understand the common denominators across all markets and at the same time their unique qualities.

Market analysis and trend identification markers are therefore quintessential for success.

CB: Relax’s aggregation partners range from small up-and-coming studios to huge household names. Is there a one-size fits all approach to aggregation, or are there processes for each and every customer that comes through the door?

NH: The harnessing of mutual revenue growth is a shared characteristic across all Relax aggregation partnerships. What separates each and every relationship though is how we achieve this goal.

It is essential to tailor a commercial strategy accordingly in order to implement the correct plan of action. Commercial success can only be built upon by employing a strong foundation of technical excellence. This key principle is always at the forefront of our minds.

CB: You recently announced the launch of Relax Vantage, can you give us an insight into how its been received and what the future holds for it?

NH: Relax aggregation provides an environment for success with Relax Vantage being a continuation of this philosophy. This year marked the launch of this special product which is fast establishing itself as a game changer within the aggregation arena.

2025 will further establish Relax Vantage as the go to tool for both operators and studios to maximise revenue growth. If recent feedback is to be acknowledged, then Relax Vantage is sure to be the winning advantage in solidifying Relax as the aggregator of choice. 

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The world of aggregation is becoming an increasingly complex and competitive environment. As the space becomes steadily more saturated, the expectations and demands stemming from supplier and operator partners soar to ever increasing heights.

As a result, the role of an aggregator has naturally evolved to one that is noticeably more all-encompassing. At the recent SBC Summit in Lisbon, the term ‘delivery partners’ was utilised to refer to such businesses, with tasks such as rapid content delivery, retention tools and regulatory, compliance and advisory services each referenced as necessary traits.

For Jessica Inglott, Hub88 Head of Supplier Relations, the path to ultimate success centres around correctly managing and appeasing connections. A term which became a popular reference point as the conversation progressed on a bustling showfloor during the event’s opening day.

The coastal capital city became the setting for the launch of the aptly named HubConnect. Comprising both supplier and operator zones, each of these aim to offer more data and create better reporting for partners on the group’s platform.

“Usually when we talk of client areas, it’s always operator facing. But now we have launched an area which is supplier facing,” Inglott begins.

“The service needs to be excellent. We have to make all partners happy.”

“This is the first step. No aggregator is doing this. We have listened to our suppliers. I have met a lot of my supplier partners today, and one of the first things I asked them is what do you want  from Hub88? They listed so many things, and I said ’Ah! Here you go. You can find it all in the supplier zone.’ 

“This just brings it back to value and connections. We want everything to be excellent. The service needs to be excellent. We have to make all partners happy.”  

Adding: “It’ll be the same for operators. We already have a back office where operators can get all the information that they need, but we are upping that, we’re improving it.

“We’re going above and beyond for our operators again. This is the next step.”

Hailed as a “first-of-its-kind”, Inglott continued by adopting a strictly supplier based focus on proceedings, and the potential benefits that will come hand-in-hand with HubConnect. Data, the quantity of which aggregators possess is incredibly vast, quickly became a central focus.

“They will have visibility on all the operators that they are live with,” she says. “They will see four metrics of turnover, GGR, and actives and average bet per operator with their games for the last 12 months.

“…there’s going to be so much for them to grow, and that’s what we all want. We want to grow.”

“The insights that they are going to get, such as trend analysis, gap analysis and opportunities, there’s going to be so much for them to grow, and that’s what we all want. We want to grow.

“However, that’s just the first part. The second part is benchmarking. They’re going to be able to see where they rank versus other suppliers. And again, where the opportunities are, where they can improve and what they can do better.”

However, this goes beyond simply bearing fruit for partners on either side of the fence. Hub88 itself is sure to reap the rewards of such an introduction, and it all comes down to connectivity.

“Again, it’s all connected,” Inglott states. “We’re all in the same boat. We will benefit because suppliers will have more insights into who our clients are, so they’ll be able to better drive, better plan strategically and better promote. We all benefit.”

With there being so many providers and studios it would be unreasonable to think that you can follow up with everything. The entire industry is well aware of the sheer volume of content that is released week on week, as well as the never ending quantity versus quality debate that seems to constantly surround the topic of aggregation.

“Hub88 is entering the sweepstakes vertical, so if the supplier can offer that, that’s an added bonus.”

When it comes to the potential of agreements being set in stone, Inglott continues by offering up some insights on the discussions that ensue when adding new suppliers to Hub88. This, she says, primarily centres a number of key questions.

These include what makes a specific supplier stand out, why should certain titles be launched when contrasted to others that are proven revenue generators, markets that games have witnessed success and the range of verticals on offer.

“First and foremost, what does the supplier offer,” she comments. “Are they offering live games, crash games, slots, or sweepstakes, because that’s something which we’re pushing for at Hub88. 

“Hub88 is entering the sweepstakes vertical, so if the supplier can offer that, that’s an added bonus.” 

She continues: “Obviously, it is better that they correlate with Hub88’s top markets. And last but not least, what value will they bring? 

“The things that I look for are connections. What connections can they give us? Is there an investment opportunity?

“We want both supplier and operator to share information. It’s just all connected.”

“Because Hub88 is part of Yolo Group it is also very big in investments. We need suppliers that bring value.”  

Subsequently, this drew the conversation towards its conclusion and the topic of challenges encountered. Confronting obstacles is commonplace across all aspects of life, with aggregation certainly not immune.

When pressed on the primary difficulties faced by Hub88, and, perhaps more importantly, how these are best overcome, Inglott brought things to a close by reiterating the importance of the headline expression.

“An aggregator is working both sides of the fence,” she concludes. “We are working with operators and suppliers, so it’s all connected. It’s two sided and they’re all partners.

“I’m responsible directly for suppliers who are integrated into Hub88, but indirectly for operators. We want to make all our connections happy, but how do we do that?

“We listen to our customers. We let our partners connect with each other. We want both supplier and operator to share information. It’s just all connected.”  

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As a result of the expansion, operators will be able to create mixed tournaments featuring all types of games or organise tournaments focusing on a single game type.

Tatyana Kaminskaya, Head of SOFTSWISS Game Aggregator, commented on the deal: “We have integrated crash games into tournaments, aligning with gamification and social interaction trends. Previously, crash games attracted users with their social elements. 

“Now, any game can become social and even more engaging as players can compete in tournaments across different game categories. The combination of tournaments with crash games, live games, and slots is truly winning – it enhances player experience and boosts casino performance.”

Furthermore, it builds on the continued growth of the game categories that are joining the tournament tool. 

SOFTSWISS also emphasised the continued surge of crash games in Latin American markets, suggesting their popularity has eclipsed that of the European market. 

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This will be the overarching question debated on day one of next month’s SBC Summit Barcelona, where an array of avenues will be ventured down in dissecting the current aggregation scene, assessing where we go from here and everything in between.

In the first of a two-part pre-event special, Irina Sazonova, Head of Account Management for Casino at EveryMatrix, and Nicola Longmuir, CEO of AvatarUX, examine the rise of rise of the aggregator, as well as how this space works as a driver for innovation.

CasinoBeats: Aggregation has witnessed a boom in recent times with those that boast operations in this area increasingly growing in influence. What are the major potential pitfalls to this?

Irina Sazonova: It’s an interesting time, however the market is arguably more complex than ever for several reasons. In recent years we have witnessed a boost in aggregation business from different verticals, and this has been made more complex with certain B2C brands also opening proprietary B2B arms that often have their own product development and that have also launched their own aggregation.

Nevertheless, the market is still rapidly growing with new studios, new vendors and new markets opening up presenting new opportunities and innovation for EveryMatrix, the industry’s fastest growing B2B business.

In a rapidly changing industry choosing the right trusted partner that has many years of expertise in helping boost business is more essential than ever, and certain aggregators provide that missing element both in terms of immediate and sustainable long-term growth.

“From experience, one of the potential pitfalls is putting your trust in legacy operations who favour quantity over quality”

Irina Sazonova, Head of Account Management for Casino at EveryMatrix

One of the most important elements when choosing a trusted aggregation platform is scalability and technical capacity, the ability to react quickly and effectively when regulatory changes occur, alongside growing technical demands. 

From experience, one of the potential pitfalls is putting your trust in legacy operations who favour quantity over quality and who simply can’t provide operators with enough resources and commitment when it comes to legal, compliance or on-time technical support. It’s vital to audit performance and increase capacity to ensure a platform remains flexible to any changing environment.

There are many aggregation models, from pure content to full platform and everything in between. As an operator, making the correct choice for your current and future plans is paramount otherwise you could find your growth stymied by a lack of support in new markets, a lack of competitive features or a lack of competitive content aggregation.

How quickly can your aggregation partner or partners support new regulatory requirements, integrate new content or new gamification features? Some legacy aggregation systems and platforms, while incredibly complex, have become so ossified, with monolithic architectures, long approval chains and slow delivery rates compared to either more advanced or new, up and coming challengers. 

This can also mean operators are unable to tailor their processes or build additional functionality within these rigid ecosystems.

The last pitfall to mention is operational support and speed to react to queries, as well as offering clear information without needing to contact support teams. Rarely are operational costs and ease of use taken into account when operators choose aggregators and platforms, yet in many cases these end up causing friction points between supplier and client.

Nicola Longmuir: There has been a real need in the industry for scalable aggregators who can offer solutions to the growing number of studios in the gaming market and to service global operators who want to offer new and innovative content to their players.

“The key from a supplier perspective is focus and attention on their games and the best aggregation partners work in this way.”

Nicola Longmuir, CEO of AvatarUX

Ideally studios would integrate direct to operators to cut out the middleman and of course reduce costs but it’s not feasible for 300+ studios to integrate directly to individual operators due to resource and cost.  The aggregation model is invaluable for suppliers striving to get games to market and also for operators who can take multiple studios through one aggregator or selected aggregators. 

If commercially it’s reasonable and fair, aggregators offering great distribution, technical support as well as promotional tools and features are very attractive to studios. The number of aggregators in the market is increasing at a rapid rate and inevitably there is cross over in terms of markets and operators serviced.

As a supplier of content  you need to weigh up the opportunity of adding a new aggregator. You have to determine if you will add volume and new players and receive ROI for the work required to integrate and support new platforms. 

The other pitfall from a supplier perspective is that the increase in distribution of high volumes of content via aggregators to operators can lead to overall reduction in revenues to the games studios. It makes the market very competitive from a pricing perspective with margins going to the studios and to aggregators ultimately decreasing. 

Support once live can also be an issue – as a studio AvatarUX want to work collaboratively with aggregators to ensure that we get maximum exposure of our content. Often studios feel they are not represented once live and that content doesn’t reach the full potential of the distribution offered.

Aggregators should play a very important role in introducing partners to operators to ensure that their players’ needs are met. As a supplier I feel this sometimes falls short and can often be the case if an aggregator takes on too many partners and struggles to support everyone, especially if the aggregator also has their own content, which inevitably is always their focus. The key from a supplier perspective is focus and attention on their games and the best aggregation partners work in this way.

“Aggregators expose game providers to new types of players and markets which means they can adapt portfolios and game roadmaps”

Nicola Longmuir, CEO of AvatarUX

CB: Due to working alongside numerous studios of ranging sizes, how can aggregators help drive fresh concepts, ideas and innovations?

NL: Aggregators expose game providers to new types of players and markets which means they can adapt portfolios and game roadmaps to meet their needs. This drives innovation and new game mechanics. Players increasingly want entertaining and thrilling content with great math models and exciting themes.

Via the operators, exposure to these players, player trends and data allows innovation in the products offered. This is where aggregator focus and attention on supplier content comes into play.

Collaboration when approaching operators with new game ideas, looking at opportunities for exclusive and bespoke content spawns innovation and creativity.

IS: Working with multiple vendors and partners, and especially new studios, is a huge motivation to making improvements to existing products and/or developing new services. This is where an aggregator can really make a difference.

For example, collecting feeds and providing a unified view to all providers offered on the operator side. Gathering insights on what players are missing, how and what operators can benefit from and how to boost the performance of numerous studios no matter what size they are. This is the expertise and knowledge an aggregator can bring.

Sazonova and Longmuir will participate in a panel entitled ‘Debate: are aggregator reaching market saturation’ on Wednesday 20 September at 15:00-15:40. They will be joined by fellow panellists Alexandre Tomic, Founder and CEO of Alea, and Niall Thomas, CEO of Spinbet, with Consultant Liam Mulvaney on moderating duties.

SBC Summit Barcelona, taking place from September 19-21 at Fira de Barcelona Montjuïc, will bring together 15,000 delegates, offering them a platform to delve into the cutting-edge via a dedicated ‘Casino & iGaming Zone.’

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As part of the link-up, Gamebeat is expecting to release an average of two games per month, adding to its catalogue of online gaming titles including Book of Elixir, Dangerous Monster, Throne of Camelot, Raging Lion, Buffalo Trail, Sea Secret and Lord of the Seas. 

Moreover, the company will be aiming to “maintain a high quality level” both visually and technically as it aims to prioritise low CPU load and fast performance on various platforms. 

Launched in 2012, Slotegrator’s main focus is software development and support for online casino platforms, along with integration of game content and payment systems. 

The company works with licensed game developers and offers a vast portfolio of casino content: slots, live casino games, poker, virtual sports, table games, lotteries, casual games, and data feeds for betting.

The collaboration between Slotegrator and Gamebeat follows on from the former’s recent deals earlier this month which saw it agree partnerships with Mplay and Cogg Studios. 

The agreements saw titles from both studios made available to Slotegrator’s online casino partners via its APIgrator solution.

Additionally, Slotegrator also secured a new distribution agreement with August Gaming which will see the studio’s slots made available via Slotegrator’s APIgrator.

The studio’s catalogue currently comprises 19 slots and will see the addition of tables and scratchcard games during 2022.

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But why does Pariplay stand out among a pool of like-minded game aggregators? From Fusion to Ignite, and with so many extra conversion and retention mechanics in between, managing director Adrian Bailey might just be overseeing a paradigm shift for the igaming industry.

CasinoBeats: In just a few sentences, why is the Pariplay game aggregator better equipped to service leading operators than the competition?

AB: We are a provider that focuses on offering the greatest return of investment and the highest value to all our partners. When we partner with operators, we adapt to their needs to ensure we deliver all the content and the services that are essential for them to reach their business goals. 

Unlike other aggregators, our partners have the freedom to choose the content they want and we do not interfere with their business as our role is to act as their technical enabler.

On top of that, we offer the fastest integrations in the market, the widest range of proven games from global studios, and a set of tools that operators can easily configure to maximise their players’ engagement. 

Our Fusion platform has been licensed or certified in over 15 markets in Europe, North America and South America, so we can support our partners in a high number of regulated jurisdictions. 

CB: Can you just explain how the process works for onboarding a new client? How do you knit together the single approach to integration through ‘Fusion’, the extra conversion and retention mechanics available, the ‘Ignite’ distribution framework and your-in house games portfolio?

AB: All our operator partners have access to 12,000+ games from a wide variety of the world’s most sought-after studios. The content we offer on the Fusion platform consists of premium titles from the industry’s top suppliers and major vendors, as well as a portfolio of over 120 of our own in-house casino slots that we keep adding to every month. 

As mentioned, we have also launched player engagement tools which offer extra conversion and retention mechanics that are available for operators and studios to easily configure tournaments, free bets and other engaging rewards tools such as Spin that Wheel. 

A crucial need expressed by so many operators is the ability to set up tournaments and not be limited to a single vendor or game. Fusion Tournaments is an ‘out of the box’ solution that works with all vendors and games, with no extra development required. 

Then, from a tech standpoint we are unique: all operators have the ability to operate with Pariplay from a single endpoint covering multiple jurisdictions and jurisdiction settings placing all the heavy lifting onto us. This means that with each new regulated jurisdiction added, most game providers will assign an additional end point, which means further work to implement and maintain. 

Pariplay handles this internally and the operator has nothing to do. With that in mind, it’s important to say that this philosophy applies to all our products. No extra implementation is required at all to have access to our entire suite of engagement tools and everything works seamlessly out of the box.

CB: And what does the feedback you get from operators tell you about the most desired components of those above? What have you learned as you’ve gone along about tweaking the set-up or service made available to clients?

AB: In this ever-changing environment of fierce and increasing competition, it’s important for operators to be a first mover and to establish a presence in a new market as early as possible. To achieve that, they face a set of major challenges that we help them successfully tackle. 

The first one is the need to localise their product offer. This is becoming increasingly important to make a mark in any market. It is no longer enough to throw large amounts of content at players, it needs to be targeted to their preferences. 

To succeed when entering a new jurisdiction, operators therefore need access to the local studios, deep knowledge about the market and to also ensure that all their games are certified there. We offer all this via our unique solution, which enables operators to hit the ground running but also to thrive in the long run. 

Uniqueness is another big challenge and we can help operators separate themselves from the competition by facilitating relations with vendors, developing exclusive content and helping set up tailored gamification campaigns, for example. 

Operational challenges also occur where operators must figure out how to launch 50 to 100 games a month in a smooth and streamlined way. We take care of this so that operators can fully focus on attracting and building the relationship with their customers. 

CB: Is there still a place for individual casino content integration? Or is this now unrealistic both in terms of price and development time?

AB: Direct integrations are becoming rarer as large operators are getting bigger and the challenges for smaller studios to grow and distribute content increase. Aggregators are the answer for new studios, and they offer major benefits over direct integration. What platform providers do is streamline the whole process – the integration, the commercials, the legal, and compliance aspects. 

We’re making everything smoother and easier and you’re saving time and costs and your access to market is very quick. While direct integrations can make sense in some cases, we think aggregation is the way forward as it offers everything under one roof for both suppliers and operators and solves a lot of headaches. 

CB: What is the future for the Pariplay aggregator? If your service is creating a paradigm shift in the igaming industry, what comes next?

AB: We will continue to put our clients first and ensure we offer the targeted content they demand to help them flourish and to propel their own business strategies across the globe. We are known for our fast and flexible service, and this will remain our focus to ensure we are regarded as a leading supplier to the global igaming industry. 

At Pariplay, we are fully data driven so every game or product we launch is researched and analysed thoroughly via our data and BI system to understand how it performs and what we can learn to improve our offering in the future. We never rest till the client is satisfied!

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CB: Why are game/content aggregator components becoming so popular for online gambling operators? 

YM: “The aggregator has become more popular because we offer to the operators the possibility to choose the best for their online casinos, creating that necessary diversity of content for their final customers.

“When we talk about wealth of content we are taking the business to another level, we are taking it into stronger clients, those clients that make a successful business. Having said that, is also important to note that the fact the aggregator is delivering a high number of games doesn’t mean that every operator will integrate the same content, but will have a better chance of choosing the right games for the right audience.

“Another great feature is the speed of integration and the opportunity to keep the portfolios of the clients growing a lower cost and avoiding different back-ends, bonus systems and wallets.”

“An aggregator collects the best of the industry…to give a complete service. that’s what Groove Gaming has been doing”

What can an aggregator offer that traditional platforms do not?

“An aggregator collects the best of the industry and put it all together to give a certain complete service. And that’s what Groove Gaming has been doing, we have the greatest service game providers of the industry and every day our team works hard to keep making business alliances to provide a complete solution.

“An aggregator gives to its clients and partners a unique win-win solution.”

Where do you see a gap in the market for Groove Gaming’s aggregator services?

“Many other aggregators in the industry offer different kinds of services but Groove Gaming focuses its effort on providing time and cost savings, and this is due to the highly trained staff that each of our departments has.

“Also, Groove is a family not just a business, where our main mission is to provide a quality service to make every partner and client wins. Last but not least, Groove Gaming has a big and stable B2C offer that gives us the chance to ensure our partners turn a good profit.”

How should game aggregators be structured to maintain a strong relationship between multiple stakeholders? 

“As you mention, we are always in the middle of getting or giving a service to a third party, and at the end of the day the best way to do this is when a complete internal plan has been defined according to the needs and requirements of our partners and clients.

“Besides, Groove Gaming has been careful to hire the right staff for each position resulting in an emphasis on committing to the mission, vision and goals of the company in order to succeed in an operational level.”

Groove Gaming offers thousands of titles. How do you work with operators to ensure they are selecting and promoting the right titles for their respective audiences?

“As an aggregator our main objective is to have a wide range of options in our games portfolio, but when it comes to the selection of the games the operators are completely in control since they know better their own markets and where exactly they are focusing.

“However, according to the characteristics and features of our game providers and their games we can offer a view in line with the needs of our clients’ markets – sometimes what appears to be a boom is not, and something ordinary could be a boom.”

Looking to the future, is aggregation the leading trend for all gambling/betting engagements? Can aggregation functions be transferred to further verticals such as betting, bingo and poker?

“Absolutely. There is so much more still to develop in the gaming industry with an aggregation function, this is just the beginning there is much more to come, and we at Groove hope it will in the near future.”

“Groove has all the tools to become the market leader… This is our main mission.”

Finally, how do you see Groove Gaming services developing in 2018 and beyond?

“Even though Groove Gaming is a young company, its development and market position has been impressive and we are always working on various ways to upgrade our services since we know the gaming market is evolving continually.

“We are working to meet the demands and expectations of the new tools of today – like achievements and rewards – that will help operators retain and convert, while at the same time we look at social gaming and other gaming markets to see what the next thing will be.

“Groove Gaming has all the necessary tools to become the market leader, placing itself at the forefront of the industry and this is our main mission. We work every day with that idea in our heads and we will make it come true in a near future.”

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