Industry professionals from aggregators and operators debated the role of aggregators in the modern ecosystem during this week’s SBC Summit Lisbon panel, Evolving Role of Gaming Aggregators, discussing the challenges facing aggregators and how aggregators can improve.
The panel was moderated by SBC Senior Media Manager Craig Davies, the long-standing editor of the company’s news portal CasinoBeats, which is set to host a summit in 2025 and SlotBeats.
Davies asked the panel to explain the role of gaming aggregators in the modern gaming industry.
“The role of the aggregators has changed, I think, significantly,” Matevest Mazij, the CEO of Bragg Gaming Group, said. “We’re seen as delivery partners. We’re seen as someone who can help operators deliver content quickly.” He explained aggregators’ additional roles, such as to “provide regulatory services and compliance services as an advisory service or as a form of tools built into these aggregators.”
Mazij founded Oryx Gaming in Slovenia in 2010, building the company into a leading full turnkey igaming technology provider, which Bragg Gaming Group acquired in 2018. Oryx has since continued to grow and works with big game developers, including a recent release with Games Global.
Founder and CEO of Alea Alexandre Tomic suggested that gaming aggregators have improved from the past, citing technological advances like “the cloud, and then we don’t have latency issues” as having a significant effect. He also pointed out another purpose and benefit of gaming aggregators.
“If you do your job correctly as an aggregator, you collect data,” he said. Operators looking to launch in new geos could benefit from using this data alongside more conventionally available data. “Let’s say you’re a global company, and you want to address a market. If you just look at the reports, you may miss something that works,” he said.
Tomic went on to use the Argentina market as an example. He suggested that RubyPlay games are popular there and that “very few people know that, but we know that because we have the data.”
Davies moved the conversation to the issues that gaming aggregators face. Tomic elaborated on how hackers use API exploits to allow people to place bets without using money. His advice for gaming aggregators was to develop an API and force game suppliers to work within this API to improve safety.
On a different point, Mazij explained, “You’re always sitting between two sides. Both of them have their own requirements,” which makes it challenging for aggregators to operate.
Another panelist was Nicole Kalcheva, Head of Casino at Pinnacle, a live and online gaming provider founded in 1998. She looked at the issues from an operator perspective, focusing on a lack of communication between aggregators, suppliers and operators.
“I expect the aggregator to show dedication, benchmark and give advice on what is coming from their roadmap and what is improving,” she said.
Adam Calleja Urry, Business Development Developer at Softconstruct, agreed. Softconstruct was founded in 2003 and is based in Armenia. It provides tech solutions for a range of industries, including gambling. The gambling industry in Armenia has been under question in recent years, with Parliament considering a ban on gambling.
“Everyone wants different kinds of reports,” Urry said. “Sometimes, the streamlined reporting tends to work. Accuracy and timing are key to reporting. Communication is key. If you have constant communication from our side, being a smaller studio, it really makes a big difference at the end of the day.”
Davies asked the panelists for keys to success as a gaming aggregator. Tomic suggested following game developers with a proven track record between companies, citing several examples from his experience where game developers have moved to new companies and had great successes. He summarized, “I always look at what type of content I would like.”
