Beyond game launches: What operators expect from suppliers
The iGaming supplier market has become increasingly competitive as new studios continue to enter the sector and operators expand their game portfolios. With hundreds of suppliers competing for visibility and thousands of new game releases each year, simply adding more content is no longer enough to stand out. Operators are placing greater emphasis on player retention, commercial performance and long-term value, while suppliers face growing pressure to demonstrate how their products contribute to measurable business outcomes rather than simply increasing the size of a casino lobby.
Against this backdrop, SiGMA News spoke exclusively with Ivan Kalashniuk, Co-founder and CEO of Dominator Play, about how supplier priorities are changing. Drawing on his experience across both the supplier and aggregator sides of the industry, Kalashniuk shared his views on retention, commercial partnerships, product differentiation and what suppliers need to do to remain competitive in an increasingly crowded market.
More games do not necessarily create better results
The number of game releases has continued to rise, yet player retention remains one of the industry’s biggest challenges. For Kalashniuk, the problem is not the volume of content entering the market but the experience those games create.
“The problem isn’t the quantity of games entering the ecosystem. It’s the quality of emotional engagement with players that those titles provide.”
He believes many studios continue to produce games with similar mechanics despite different themes, creating variety in appearance rather than player experience. According to him, retention depends less on visuals or sound design and more on how games keep players emotionally engaged through progression, rewarding interactions and a sense of discovery.
He said this is why games built on similar mathematical models can deliver very different commercial outcomes, as players are more likely to return when they remain emotionally engaged rather than simply completing another session.
Kalashniuk also believes operators are changing how they evaluate suppliers. Instead of judging providers by the number of new releases, operators are increasingly measuring performance through retention, session duration and long-term revenue.
Suppliers and operators are chasing different goals
While many suppliers continue to focus on expanding their portfolios, Kalashniuk believes operators have become far more commercially focused.
“Many game studios design for industry recognition, while operators make decisions based on sustainable revenue and player retention.”
According to him, suppliers have traditionally competed by adding more slots and instant and crash games to their catalogues, while operators are focused on whether content encourages repeat deposits, improves retention, and supports sustainable revenue. Promotional support, tournament mechanics and bonus strategies have also become increasingly important when selecting content partners.
One of the biggest disconnects, he said, is that suppliers often celebrate the size of their portfolios while operators are looking for content that delivers measurable business value.
“No operator wakes up excited because a provider has released its 48th fruit-themed slot.”
Although classic slot games continue to attract players, Kalashniuk said operators are increasingly looking for fresh experiences that can influence player behaviour and justify acquisition costs.
The same shift is reflected in discussions around return on investment. He believes the industry has moved beyond the idea that a larger game library automatically leads to greater success. Instead, operators expect suppliers to demonstrate what differentiates their products and how those products can contribute to stronger commercial performance.
Rather than waiting until integration begins, suppliers should understand an operator’s commercial objectives from the outset and identify ways to solve business challenges before a partnership is finalised. Compared with previous years, he said, casinos have become far more selective about onboarding new providers and increasingly expect practical value alongside content.
Differentiation in a crowded market
As more suppliers enter the industry, standing out has become increasingly difficult. While Kalashniuk believes the market has already reached saturation, he does not view growing competition as a negative development.
“The iGaming industry has already reached saturation.”
Instead, he believes new entrants encourage innovation by introducing different gameplay concepts and approaches. However, releasing more games alone is no longer enough to build a sustainable position in the market.
According to Kalashniuk, many suppliers are attempting to solve the same problems with similar products. As a result, differentiation increasingly depends on how well providers understand operator requirements and adapt their products to different commercial and market needs.
Visibility has also become a growing challenge. In an industry where operators already have access to hundreds of providers, suppliers are competing not only on content quality but also on their ability to demonstrate flexibility, respond to commercial requirements and support operator objectives.
He said this reflects a change in what operators prioritise, with less focus on the number of titles a supplier releases and more on whether those games deliver measurable value for operators and meaningful experiences for players.
Beyond industry buzzwords
As operators become more selective, suppliers are also under pressure to demonstrate that industry buzzwords translate into meaningful results. Terms such as gamification, data-driven development and personalisation have become commonplace, but Kalashniuk believes they are often used without a clear purpose.
He argues that many gamification features, including quests, missions and bonus mechanics, are designed to generate short-term spikes in engagement rather than lasting player loyalty.
“Short-term engagement and long-term retention aren’t the same thing.”
According to Kalashniuk, meaningful gamification should create a sense of progression and give players greater control over their experience rather than constantly pushing them towards the next reward. He argued that players should feel they are progressing naturally, rather than feeling that the system is directing their behaviour.
He believes the same principle applies to personalisation, with suppliers increasingly moving towards gameplay experiences that better reflect different player behaviours instead of relying solely on promotional campaigns.
Kalashniuk also sees a significant shift in how operators and suppliers use data. Compared with five years ago, he said access to analytics tools has made data central to identifying market demand, measuring game performance and refining products after launch.
“The real shift is about ubiquity. Operators and providers are flooded with metrics.”
While this has accelerated product development and created real-time feedback loops, he warned that relying too heavily on optimisation carries its own risks. Analytics, he said, should support better product decisions rather than replace them.
Reducing friction beyond game development
Despite advances in aggregation platforms and so-called “plug-and-play” technology, integration delays and technical friction continue to affect operators. Kalashniuk said these issues persist for several reasons.
According to him, aggregators simplify many processes but can also introduce another layer of complexity. Differences in platform capabilities, promotional tools and game mechanics can still slow deployment, leaving operators and suppliers working through partially integrated systems.
He believes communication is often the biggest cause of delays.
Operators typically manage integration requests from multiple providers at the same time, meaning priorities can change as commercial requirements evolve. Even straightforward integrations, he said, can take longer than expected if communication between both sides is not aligned.
For that reason, Kalashniuk believes suppliers should prepare for integration well before commercial agreements are finalised by understanding operator requirements and technical environments in advance. This can reduce delays and help shorten the time taken to bring games to market.
Balancing personalisation with responsible engagement
As operators increasingly rely on personalisation and behavioural insights, Kalashniuk said suppliers have a responsibility to use these tools to enhance the player experience. “With great data power comes a very real responsibility,” he said.
Kalashniuk said personalisation is most effective when it helps players find relevant content, shapes the journey for different player types and simplifies the user experience, rather than encouraging excessive engagement.
Kalashniuk said, “Engagement should elevate the player experience, not coerce extra minutes out of them at any cost.”
According to Kalashniuk, retention should be built around entertainment rather than dependency. Players who return because they enjoy the experience represent stronger product design than those responding only to pressure-based engagement techniques.
He believes suppliers that focus on sustainable player relationships rather than short-term engagement metrics will be better positioned as expectations around responsible gaming continue to evolve.
What will define the next generation of suppliers?
Looking to the future, Kalashniuk believes success will depend as much on distribution as game development. Among the trends attracting the greatest attention, he pointed to prediction markets. While he believes much of their current visibility comes from the major companies investing in the space, he also sees them as a positive development that is encouraging innovation and creating opportunities for new B2B products.
At the same time, he believes player-versus-player and multiplier games remain underestimated despite their long history within the industry.
“PvP games appeared early in the industry’s development but never reached their maximum potential.”
According to Kalashniuk, many early concepts eventually evolved into crash games, while other competitive formats failed to develop further.
He believes the industry still lacks broader product frameworks that support different forms of competition, limiting the commercial potential of the segment.
Beyond emerging game formats, he argues that distribution has become one of the biggest challenges facing suppliers entering an already crowded market.
“Designing games is only the starting point. It’s never the finish line.”
Kalashniuk said new studios must earn the trust of aggregators, platforms and operators before their games can reach players. With online casino lobbies offering thousands of titles, visibility has become just as important as development.
Looking ahead, he expects suppliers to place greater emphasis on building direct player appeal rather than relying solely on operator placement. Distinctive products, stronger visibility and effective distribution, he believes, will become increasingly important as competition continues to intensify.
Throughout the interview, Kalashniuk returned to a consistent message. As operators become more selective, suppliers will increasingly be judged by the value they deliver rather than the size of their portfolios. Whether through stronger player retention, meaningful engagement, smoother integration or better commercial alignment, he believes long-term success will depend on solving practical challenges for operators while creating experiences that keep players coming back.
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