Easy access to the best games: Choosing the right aggregator with Hub88

Online gambling continues to grow rapidly, with the market expected to reach $94.4bn by 2024. But as it grows, so too does the number of gaming providers, making it difficult for casinos to manage multiple platforms and offer a seamless gaming experience. It’s little wonder that interest in aggregation platforms is also on the rise – it’s a direct correlation to how operators’ needs have changed over the past few years. Mark Taffler, commercial director at Hub88, believes that aggregation platforms offer operators significant time and cost savings while also solving their biggest backend challenges.

Aggregators: A game-changer for operators

Aggregators act as an intermediary between software developers and operators, allowing casinos to integrate multiple gaming providers into a single platform. From game integration to payments, having an aggregator is a surefire way to provide both an efficient player journey and an easy backend experience for in-house teams.

Choosing the right aggregator for operators

The diversity and relevancy of the games, the reliability of the payment methods, and the platform’s UI and UX features are all important components when an operator is choosing an aggregator. Hub88 offers a one-stop shop approach for customers, giving them everything they need in one place.

“Over and above that, we offer a personalised approach whereby a customer can pick and choose the services they want from us”, Taffler explains.

“We are not in existence to actively upsell customers. We offer services that might help their businesses grow, be it from a market expansion perspective – we can advise on Latin America or other markets with content – or it might be that they need support with currency or banking and payments, which we also offer.”

At the forefront of the aggregation offering

In 2021 Yolo Group restructured Hub88, OneTouch and Bombay Group under one leadership. The partnership came with a commitment to invest additional capital to expedite the rapid growth of the Hub88 content aggregator platform. So it comes as no surprise that Hub88 has become operators’ go-to aggregation platform.

“Our strategy has developed to become more of a business enabler offering more third-party business propositions outside of the standard volume of content most aggregators offer,” says Taffler.

“We can be the industry aggregator of choice and what differentiates us from our ancillary propositions is that we have the best Application Programming Interface (API) and a quick integration.

“As well as this, our Hub supercharges growth with its network and recently introduced investment studios, Kaletta, Calamba and Avatar. Alongside this, we have our banking service which operates our customer support in crypto and payments.”

Quality over quantity: Hub88’s strategy for success

Many aggregator platforms follow the same method of choosing quantity over quality. But while volume is a factor, it’s the seamless integration that operators ultimately need for success.

Taffler believes a fundamental issue with other aggregators on the market is they all offer the same thing. “There is an obvious demand for such aggregators in order for them all to co-exist so successfully. However, our USP is the tech and the ancillary propositions as mentioned above. We offer transparency to both supplier and casino and act as a real enabler.”

“We also have the best back office in the industry, which is a real business growth tool for a lot of our partners, where reporting, transactions and game management are all under one roof. It utilises a super intuitive dashboard where clients can monitor games, players, suppliers and even country activity in real-time with laser point accuracy.”

What’s on offer with the Hub88 aggregation platform?

Hub88’s aggregation platform has three core offerings:

Casino

Access to thousands of games from leading suppliers via a single API. Hub88 has a catalogue of world-class content that is continually growing.

Sports

Operators can enhance their offering with seamless sports betting products, including virtual and daily fantasy sports, alongside horse, harness and greyhound racing.

Lottery

Access to the world’s most popular games of chance, including lottery, keno and bingo to reach different types of players.

Introducing HubWallet

These three core elements aren’t the only exciting elements of Hub88’s offering. In February it announced the launch of its in-house HubWallet with a focus on “automation, transparency and speed”. The innovative product reduces waiting times and eliminates the need for manual invoicing or processing fees. It also offers a low-cost currency exchange, increases automation and provides complete banking support to provide ease-of-mind for international and domestic payments. Taffler is understandably enthusiastic about what it can offer the company’s customers.

“HubWallet is a tremendous proposition which has already supported the requirements of many of our partners,” he says. “It is a new product but we’re very happy with the feedback so far.”

Taffler explains how Hub88 relied on extensive B2C and B2B experience to build an online wallet that significantly improves payment options for a large variety of operators. “Our state-of-the-art HubWallet has a firm focus on automation, transparency and speed. We’ve made it even easier for operators and suppliers to move their money around.”

It has multiple functions, including the exchange functionality, full 24/7 banking support, real time automation and the tech to keep up to date with the ever-growing crypto scene.

“We pay suppliers in the cryptocurrency of their choice with instant and low-fee exchange rates. Alongside this, increased automation systems save our clients time when making regular payments from HubWallet.

“We offer a mobile-first approach to make money as malleable and on the move as our clients are.”

“We built out our super intuitive dashboard where users can monitor money in real-time with smart settlement from a single wallet and it’s easy to download via the Hub88 Mobile App.”

Partnering up for success

Operators looking for an aggregator will be impressed to see Hub88’s recent partnership announcements. In March, it integrated with leading platform provider EveryMatrix. Through the partnership, Hub88 gained access to the entire content portfolio of SlotMatrix, EveryMatrix’s online casino aggregation platform, including exclusive titles from in-house developers, Armadillo Studios and Spearhead Studios, as well as a host of content from the industry’s leading independent games providers.

Other alliances have been agreed this year with Zillion, Platipus, 7777, Urgent Games and Lady Luck to name just a few. However, Taffler is keen to emphasise that Hub88 is discerning when it comes to partnerships – only the most exciting propositions are considered. Uniqueness is a big factor in the industry, which is why a successful aggregator doesn’t just partner with big established brands but also with new, up-and-coming studios that prioritise innovation.

“Adding new slot suppliers doesn’t change our portfolio, but we have a responsibility to the industry to bring new suppliers that meet our tech specifications to the market. By tech specifications I mean that by having all partners integrate into our API it means that we create safety for the casinos ensuring no bugs or issues.

“Our strategy does not change. Content is the baseline proposition, we will add suppliers that we see as unique or innovative and whom our customers wish to have.”

What’s next for Hub88? OneTouch and The Wrapper

Another exciting product for Hub88 is The Wrapper, which was built in collaboration with OneTouch. Taffler is enthused by the product, “Designed to support games creation and to accelerate speed to market, it provides companies with a set of tools to assemble content, with a built-in framework and range of features to enrich the player experience.”

In the press release, it’s described as a product that can help “remove the heavy lifting for studios when they are building games and is adaptable for all certification requirements while also offering access to comprehensive game reporting and full marketing support.”

The Wrapper offers over 100 operators access to a host of studio partners. “Hub88’s new release functions by supporting all of the generic features of a title, allowing developers to be creative and innovative without the need to devise basic features, making the process more efficient and enabling launch to market quicker.”

With a team and portfolio that is putting operator challenges at the core of their product offering, Hub88 is sure to continue making waves across the industry.