In keeping with many aspects of the industry, aggregation has truly stepped up its game in recent times. As the influence of such operations ramps up, the importance of platforms and studios truly excelling has never been of such importance.
While complacency can creep in all too easily for some, for others enhanced competition can be the revitalising tonic required to shine and rise to the top.
In conversation with iGaming Expert, Naman Bajaj, Senior Sales Manager at Slotegrator, addresses the current state of play across this landscape, and just what is needed to take the aggregation space to the next level.
Time is money
The prime reasons for such a surge in aggregation is a simple one, Bajaj begins. This boils down to financial constraints, as well as the duration of finalising and integrating on a one-on-one basis.
Upon being quizzed on the role of aggregators within the modern gaming ecosystem, he comments: “First of all, for both the new and older operators, It’s going to be easier for them.
“It’s going to be cost and time saving for them to use an aggregator rather than them going via each provider’s integration systems.
“If they want 100 or maybe 150 providers, they need to integrate 150 APIs, and each API is gonna take approximately one to two weeks for the integrations.”
With time subsequently freed up for clients to turn their attention to other priorities, Bajaj shares a firm belief that Slotegrator’s overarching service represents “one of the most competitive” in the market.
However, the process of selecting potential partners can be a complex process that is tricky to navigate. Elaborating on the internal discussions that take place when partnerships are being formed, Bajaj points to a multi phase process.
In addition to noting the commercial aspects as well as core markets that are set to be decided, licensing, and the quality of those possessed, is also hailed as a critical component.
“It also depends if they have that local license or not,” Bajaj comments. “If they don’t have it, we will not be able to provide them games for those markets.
“If we come for the supplier side and we’re onboarding and a new game provider, we are checking their certifications. How good are they performing? Which bigger projects are they already working on? How popular are they? How good are marketing campaigns? How experienced with the industry are they?”
The more the merrier?
A key theme that emanates from the aggregation scene is often centred around the sheer number of titles possessed by any given platform. But is bigger necessarily always better?
With there being so many providers and studios it would be unreasonable to think that one can follow up with everything. Continuing the conversation, Bajaj looks at are the key factors that are considered when selecting a partner to onboard
“I would say: If they are well experienced, first of all, as well as what kind of license they have, how much experience they have in their team and the owners of the companies,” he explains.
“Apart from that, how much volume they’re generating, how popular they are, because recently we have seen that certain games are getting very popular suddenly.
“Sometimes what happens is that our operators demand some game providers from us, and when we see that the demand is coming very frequently from the other operators we start approaching them for integrations. “
Looking at things from the perspective of the studios themselves, Bajaj continues by noting the key factors that they should clarify before entering these partnerships.
“First of all, there should be RNG certified games and also have RTP adjustments, which are highly demanded by operators,” he says.
“Apart from that, what kind of license they have, what top projects they’re working for – the bigger projects in the industry, and what kind of marketing plans they have and how they’re going to perform.”
With such a vast array of options for all involved, the importance of going above and beyond can certainly not be overstated.
It is essential that aggregators step up not with just games, but with games that are feature-rich and bring extra elements to the table, as well as tools to help with player interaction and gamification elements etc.
“To stay in this industry you need to understand that players are always looking for something new, and are used to the same things from certain games,” he explains.
“That’s why Spribe got huge engagement in a short period of time. A crash game was not really a category at the time, and suddenly it got popular. And we know all about the numbers.
“I believe that game providers should think out of the box to get something new in the market, to get the engagement of the players and to retain them.”
Something old, something new
If you’re not moving forward, you’re falling behind. An idiom that perfectly encapsulates numerous global industries, our own included.
As the conversation draws to a close, attention quickly switches to look at the ongoing work that is being undertaken to ensure Slotegrator maintains a forward trajectory.
This includes the build-out of what is billed as a “special casino constructor”, which permits operators to make alternations, such as those concerning banners, colours, text and font, without involving the company itself.
However, it is a fresh deployment that is causing the most optimism. Bajaj concludes: “We’re planning to bring something new into our platform, which will bring something in the form of pool systems.
“Players will get more control over the gameplay, while operators get better access to comprehensive settings. They can set questions and correct answers themselves, such as who will win the next US election.
“There’s multiple options. This is something new that we’re planning to roll-out. In addition, this same structure will also allow a user to select a crypto coin, for example, and bet whether this will go up or down in value across a specific timeframe. That will be great.”
