Glossary
What is a game aggregator in iGaming?
In iGaming, a game aggregator connects a site to many game studios through one integration and one contract. How it works, how it's paid, and the trade-offs.
Updated
Definition
In iGaming, a game aggregator is a B2B supplier that connects an operator's site to games from many studios through one technical integration (an API) and one contract. Instead of integrating each studio separately, the site connects once and gets the studios in the aggregator's catalogue.
Three parties are involved: the studio builds and hosts the game; the platform holds the player account and wallet; the aggregator routes game launches and bet/win messages between them. An aggregator cannot lend you its licence, and it does not set a game's RTP: the studio builds the game to a target RTP and an independent test laboratory certifies it before release. For games supplied to sites that operate under a UK Gambling Commission licence, the Commission's remote technical standards (RTS 7D) add that a game's rules, payouts and outcome probabilities may not be changed while it is available for gambling, except as the game's own rules provide.
Example
A new iGaming brand wants slots, live dealer and crash games from 40 studios on day one. Direct integration means 40 contracts, 40 integrations and 40 monthly reconciliations. Through one aggregator it is one integration, one contract and one invoice; adding a studio later is mostly a catalogue switch, not new engineering.
Formula
- Content cost = GGR from aggregated games × (studio share + aggregator margin)
- GGR = player bets − player wins (total amount wagered minus winnings paid to players).
- Example (sample numbers): 10,000 USDT GGR × (12% + 4%) = 1,600 USDT content cost for the month.
The aggregator's own margin is a share of the GGR its games generate; the aggregator then settles with the studios.
Comparison
| Game aggregator | Direct studio deals | White label | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you get | Games from many studios | Games from one studio per deal | Platform + games + payments + compliance |
| Integrations | One | One per studio | None (provider runs it) |
| Licence | Not included | Not included | Provider's licence |
| Best for | Operators with a platform | Large operators wanting lower per-studio cost | Brands without platform or licence |
Impact on the owner
- Speed: the size of your lobby on day one depends on the aggregator's catalogue, not your engineering team.
- Margin: content fees come out of GGR every month, so they reduce what is left as NGR. NGR = GGR − bonuses and promotions − gaming taxes and levies − other fees (exact deductions depend on the contract or the regulator).
- Control: the aggregator decides which studios and game versions are available, and in which markets.
How it works in practice
A player opens a game in the site's lobby. The platform asks the aggregator to launch it; the aggregator routes the request to the studio's server. Each bet and win is sent back as a message so the platform debits or credits the player's wallet. At month end the aggregator reports GGR per studio and invoices its share plus the studios' shares; the operator reconciles that invoice against its own records.
FAQ
- It connects an iGaming site to many studios through one integration and one contract, and routes game launches and bet/win events between studios and the site's wallet.
- No. An aggregator supplies games only; a white label supplies the whole operation under the provider's licence.
- Usually a share of the GGR their games generate, on top of the studio's share; some add setup fees or minimums.
- No. The studio sets a game's RTP and an independent test laboratory certifies it; the aggregator only delivers the game to your site. On sites licensed by the UK Gambling Commission, the remote technical standards (RTS 7D) also forbid changing a game's rules or payouts while it is available for play.
- You need games from somewhere: an aggregator, direct studio deals, or a platform that already includes games.
Related
- Aggregator vs White Label · GGR · RTP · NGR