Turning aggregators into revenue optimisation tools

1. 2025 has been a year where we’ve seen Hub88 mature from an aggregator to a business enabler. Can you talk a little about where you’ve been, but more importantly where are you heading?

It's been a defining year for us so far and there’s still more of 2025 yet to go. We’ve carefully pivoted from traditional content aggregator into a true enablement platform for the entire iGaming ecosystem. While aggregation remains at the core of what we do, the past twelve months have been characterised by a shift in mindset: from simply connecting operators with content to actively empowering them with tools that unlock measurable commercial growth.

That shift is visible across multiple product advancements. Our latest Promotions engine, for example, has undergone controlled testing, allowing selected partners to trial new promotional capabilities directly through Hub88. Their feedback has been implemented with this month seeing a full public rollout! It’s a prime example of how we’re building features not in isolation, but through real-world validation and continuous iteration.

Similarly, the launch of our Generic Games SDK marks a major milestone. By bundling the Turbogames SDK into a single unified Hub88 SDK, we’re dramatically simplifying the integration experience. Operators can now connect to multiple supplier technologies through one toolkit, making onboarding faster, more reliable and far less resource-intensive.

I think though the most transformative development is the new Operator Zone dashboard. What was once a basic support portal is evolving into a strategic command centre, surfacing high-value insights such as top-performing, yet-to-be-integrated games and active promotions. It’s designed to help operators identify revenue opportunities proactively not reactively. Where we’re heading is clear: continuous, meaningful quality-of-life improvements.

2. If you look at the aggregator market in iGaming, is it fair to say that the industry has been heavily focussed on the ‘tactics’ and less concerned about ‘Long term strategies’ for success?

It’s somewhat fair. It’s unfair for us to comment on how others conduct business, but it does feel there’s an industry wide belief that aggregation has been dominated by short-term tactics: onboarding as many suppliers as possible, expanding game catalogues at speed; competing primarily on volume rather than value. These approaches served an early-stage market well, but they also created a landscape where many aggregators became largely interchangeable: offering similar libraries, similar integrations and similar models. Tactical wins such as rapid content access or marginal price improvements were prioritised over authentic long-term differentiation.

The challenge with a tactic-led mindset is that it doesn’t solve the deeper operational, analytical and scalability issues operators face today. As markets mature, regulation tightens and player tastes evolve, operators need more than just LOTS of games. They need data transparency, promotional tools, simplified tech ops and performance insights that help them optimise their performance over time with marginal gains. There’s more of a need now to think beyond simply the next release cycle.

This is where the shift toward enablement becomes essential. Long-term strategy in aggregation means building ecosystems rather than catalogues; ecosystems that improve our partners’ efficiency, reduce tech overhead and surface opportunities for growth. Doing what we’re now doing is to help partners build sustainable success, not just short-term momentum and ensuring the aggregation layer becomes a driver of innovation rather than a passive motor for content.

3.Can you speak specifically about some of the business support tools that you’ve released this year? (e.g. HubAI, expanded product catalogues and promotions databases etc)

We’ve focused heavily on building tools that remove operational friction and increase self-service capability for both operators and suppliers. One of the most impactful additions has been HubAI, our intelligent support assistant designed to dramatically reduce reliance on traditional ticketing workflows. With HubAI, partners can access instant answers, receive direct doc links, generate code examples and much more. It’s a genuine quality-of-life upgrade that empowers teams to resolve issues faster and stay productive without waiting on manual support.

On the tech front, we expanded our SDK portfolio with the ThrillTech Jackpots SDK, a TypeScript library that simplifies how operators connect their casino frontend to the ThrillTech Jackpot Platform. It handles real-time jackpot events, updates and UI display logic out of the box, removing complex backend requirements. For development teams, it’s a huge time saver; a modular, bug-reducing toolkit that lets them integrate jackpot functionality quickly and reliably.

Perhaps the most transformative release is the Promotions Marketplace, now officially live. What was once managed through emails and ad-hoc documents has evolved into a full self-service ecosystem. Operators can instantly browse and opt-in to a promotions catalogue, while suppliers gain centralised tools to create, manage and track promotional campaigns at scale. It streamlines operations for everyone involved and positions promotions as a strategic growth lever rather than an administrative burden.

4. How does Hub88 see the role of AI in the iGaming industry? Is it there to replace or augment human processes?

We definitely see our own Hub AI tool as an enabler rather than a replacement. It augments human capability by removing friction, accelerating workflows and giving teams instant access to the information they need. The industry has historically relied on manual processes, ticket-based support, siloed knowledge bases, all of which slow down integrations and decisions. AI allows us to streamline these pain points without removing the human expertise that remains essential in regulated, high-trust environments like ours.

HubAI really carries the torch of this philosophy. Built directly into HubConnect, it provides partners with instant, accurate answers drawn from our official docs, eliminating the need to hunt through portals or wait hours for support replies. Developers, compliance teams, and casino managers can resolve questions in seconds, significantly accelerating integration timelines and daily ops. Nevertheless, when HubAI reaches the limits of its knowledge, it seamlessly hands the query to the appropriate Hub88 team, ensuring no loss of context or service quality.

So, no, AI won’t replace the human relationships that drive this industry; instead, it enhances them. By automating the repetitive and time-consuming tasks, AI frees people to focus on strategic decisions, creative problem-solving, and delivering value on a human level, which is, well, exactly where we excel over machine learning.

5. Turning our attention to fraud, we’ve seen you made improvements to Flagged Activity through thresholds and auto-investigations. What role can, and should, aggregators like Hub88 play in managing such threats?

Fraud prevention is a critical responsibility for aggregators, particularly as our industry continues to grow in both complexity and scale. Operators face constantly evolving threats from bonus abuse and collusion to identity fraud and chargebacks. Aggregators like Hub88 are uniquely positioned to act as the first line of defence by providing centralized monitoring, risk scoring and automated alerts across multiple suppliers and operator systems.

This year, we’ve enhanced Flagged Activity by introducing customisable thresholds and automated investigations. These improvements mean suspicious activity can be detected, prioritized and escalated for review when necessary, all reported in real-time. By combining automated processes with in-context highlights, we’re making damn sure that operators can respond quickly without overburdening their teams with false positives or manual reviews.

Beyond detection, aggregators play a proactive role in preventing fraud before it happens. By enforcing consistent standards across integrated content and transactions, providing actionable reporting and facilitating operator-oriented controls, we help create a safer system. Essentially, we act as both a filter and a guide; we’re reducing operational risk while empowering operators to make informed decisions that work for their business.

The wider trend is taking a clear shape. Fraud management is no longer an isolated function at the operator level. Aggregators that provide intelligent, integrated tools to detect, prevent and respond to threats are now an essential part of a resilient and scalable infrastructure.

6. With plug-and-play APIs and the increasing opportunities for automation, a lot of suppliers and operators are interested in when they might see time savings or new revenue landing. Is there a typical timeframe for this process?

It really varies depending on the complexity of an operator’s BO and the products being integrated, but plug-and-play APIs and automation can deliver measurable benefits very quickly, often within days or weeks rather than months. One of the key advantages of modern aggregator platforms like ours is that we reduce traditional integration friction, whether that’s onboarding a new supplier, connecting promotional campaigns or integrating jackpot systems through our SDKs.

For efficiency, many partners see time savings almost immediately. For example, features like automated promo marketplaces, HubAI support and generic SDKs reduce the back-and-forth, cut down on manual processes and eliminate repeated, mind-numbing dev work. This frees internal teams to focus on strategic initiatives rather than routine, repetitive tasks.

When it comes to the all-important financial impact and benefit, the timeframe is slightly longer because it depends on the adoption and usage of newly integrated products. Typically, operators start noticing incremental gains within one to three months, as new games, jackpots, or promotions reach players and operational improvements allow teams to optimise campaigns more effectively.

The unified theme or point here is that by combining fast, reliable APIs with automation and actionable insights, aggregators can deliver both efficiency and commercial impact in a matter of weeks, creating a continuous cycle of improvement and growth for operators and suppliers alike.

7. As a market-leading aggregator, you are well placed to see thousands of new games and titles throughout the year. What trends are you seeing in terms of game design and consumer appetites?

True, we get a unique view of the constantly evolving trends in game design and player preferences. One clear pattern is the continued rise of immersive, interactive content. Players are increasingly drawn to games that offer dynamic features, narrative depth and, probably most obviously, integrated jackpot or bonus mechanics. This trend isn’t just about graphics or animation, it’s about delivering a compelling experience that keeps players engaged session after session.

Another notable trend is personalisation and choice. Gamers now expect tailored content, whether through adaptive bonuses, multi-variant gameplay or recommendations based on play history. This aligns closely with our mission to provide operators with tools like our Promotions Marketplace and Operator Zone dashboards: giving insights that allow them to match the right games to the right audience.

Social and community-driven features are also gaining traction. Collaborative or competitive elements like leaderboards, tournaments, challenges and so on, are increasingly woven into titles, reflecting a shift from passive play to shared experiences.

From a tech POV, we’re seeing a strong push toward cross-platform and mobile-first design. Games that scale seamlessly across devices, load quickly, and maintain consistent performance are now table stakes.

So, staying ahead of these trends and integrating the right mix of content is what with keep operators better positioned to retain players, maximise engagement and continue to drive sustainable growth.

8. You’ve had success in removing fiddly admin tasks from your customers to let them focus on the bigger picture. Are there more opportunities to do that? And what should the successful aggregators of tomorrow be focusing on?

Opportunities to tighten up are far from exhausted. What we’ve seen with Hub88 is that when repetitive, time-consuming tasks are automated or simplified, operators and suppliers can redirect energy toward growth, engagement and innovation. Tools like HubAI, Promotions Marketplace and generic SDKs are just the beginning. There are still numerous areas where administrative burdens can be reduced: automated reconciliation across suppliers, smarter reporting and analytics, proactive fraud detection and integrated compliance checks all offer potential to save time and reduce risk.

Looking now to 2026 and beyond, tomorrow’s aggregators will be those who go beyond simple content distribution. They will focus on enablement: providing actionable insights, tools for rapid experimentation and platforms that unify multiple services into a single ecosystem. Operators want more than access to thousands of games. They want a partner who helps them identify revenue opportunities, optimise player experiences and scale ops efficiently.

Additionally, aggregators will need to anticipate emerging trends in player behaviour, regs and tech. AI-driven personalisation, predictive analytics and seamless integrations will be table stakes, while platforms that prioritise transparency, trust, and measurable impact will stand out. Ultimately, the aggregators who succeed will be those who empower their partners to work smarter, respond faster and focus on the long-term vision rather than day-to-day admin.