The term “casino game provider” in its classic meaning is an outdated category. It’s hard to imagine an operator who scrolls through 100s of game studios in a dedicated list to choose that elite one.
Ivan Kalashniuk, the Dominator Play CEO, says potential partners get one question: how do you differ from other game providers? In this interview, he explains why simply supplying games to online casinos is no longer enough in provider-operator partnerships.
How would you define the value behind Dominator Play? What unique offerings does it create for operators?
Answering this question, I’ll provide a recent example.
On a call with a potential partner, they asked me: “Why Dominator Play and not a big-name provider like X?” It might sound harsh for less mature providers, but for mature ones, it’s a fair and rational question. Maturity here isn’t defined by portfolio size or years of operation. It’s about how well you understand and address an online casino’s pain points.
The thing is, in the current iGaming market, which is oversaturated with content, operators want to see real value. That value is defined by hitting clear revenue goals. That’s only possible with a product that plugs the gaps in specific performance metrics.
Dominator Play has a straight answer to this. First, we’re flexible in commercial alignment. We build around operator metrics with our short yet true “You earn. We earn.” slogan in mind. And it’s a so-called “win-win” situation. Second, together with our CPO, Constantin Molodtov, we focus on product quality grounded in proven mobile gamedev practices.
The third point is that iGaming promo is a part of Dominator Play’s business model. Because game distribution is only half the work done. A title needs visibility, and we provide it via co-promos with partners from day one. It can be UGC, streamers, affiliates, or any promo tools that both sides agree are conversion-driving.
I’ll also mention custom RTP and volatility settings. It gives operators the ability to fine-tune our games to their audience behavior. And, finally, games branding, where our partners can customize every single detail, including UI, visuals, sound, you name it.
What exactly is the difference between a game provider and a revenue partner?
I can illustrate this from an iGaming business development perspective. A game provider walks into the room saying: “Here’s a slot. It has 96% RTP, 20 paylines, and a pretty nice bonus round.” Translation: we built the car, good luck with the race. A revenue partner walks in and asks: “Cool. But what did it do to GGR, Bet Count, etc.?”
Nobody in 2026 is impressed if you say that a title has a math model like this or that. You, as an iGaming game provider, should translate it into real metrics.
A revenue iGaming partner operates on a different wavelength. In operator partnerships, it provides a solution to meet an online casino’s KPIs “wish list.” This means it handles everything before and after a game launch, so an operator can generate revenue. I’d emphasize that product flexibility and readiness to invest in co-promotions are key factors here.
Which operator metrics should a provider actually influence?
A provider should influence the metrics directly connected to player behavior once the game enters the lobby.
The first metric operators watch is NGR contribution. Not just GGR. Any game can inflate betting volume with aggressive bonuses or short-term hype. Operators care about what’s left after promo costs, retention spend, and player value leakage. A slot that generates huge traffic but destroys margin is basically a very expensive fireworks show.
Second, retention signals tied to content quality: D1/D7/D30 return to the game, and how often players come back to that provider’s portfolio. This is where you see whether the content actually creates engagement.
Third, revenue contribution metrics: game-level GGR, ARPU per active player, LTV, and bet volume per session. Not in isolation, but in comparison to other content in the lobby, because operators don’t care about “good performance,” they care about relative performance.
Another critical metric is conversion into deposits and wagering activity. A lot of games generate traffic. Far fewer motivate players to move from bonus behavior into further engagement.
What support from a game studio’s side increases revenue after launch?
As I’ve said above, co-promotions aren’t optional, they’re “must-do.” And the more I talk to operators (and I’ve been in this space long enough to hear the same pain in different accents), the clearer it gets. In the iGaming bizdev, everyone wants traffic, retention, and differentiation, but it’s impossible to achieve without co-investing.
It’s never enough just to accommodate a fast integration and a quick game launch. Even a title with great revenue potential and top mechanics can quietly die in a lobby next to 999 other “also interesting” games.
We treat every release like a real digital product launch because that’s what it is. You don’t drop a game into a casino lobby and hope it develops a personality on its own. It won’t. It needs context, attention, iGaming marketing efforts, and a reason to exist in the player’s mind.
That’s where co-promo actually earns its keep. UGC, streamers, and affiliate marketing act as the actual distribution layer. Our value here is that we don’t delay with this and start promoting a game from day one. Organic social is what actually turns a raw product into a working one. It drives visibility and traffic.
Do providers usually optimize for operator revenue or for their own portfolio metrics?
It isn’t a choice situation. It doesn’t work this way.
Casino game providers and operators are fully interdependent when they’re in a real partnership. Operator revenue impacts the provider’s revenue, and the provider’s performance directly feeds back into the operator’s results.
I’d even go further: only game studios that are genuinely invested in their partners’ revenue are the ones that actually drive it. There’s no way around that.
At Dominator Play, we build products based on real online casino metrics. It keeps things simple because we already know exactly which KPIs we’re optimizing for. It might sound obvious, but our partners’ success is literally our success as a casino game provider.
Where in the player journey does the provider actually create incremental revenue?
From a provider’s perspective, you have to be honest about one thing up front: we don’t “own” the player journey. The operator does. But we absolutely influence multiple points at which incremental revenue is generated.
First is the lobby discovery layer. This is where incremental revenue often starts. A provider creates uplift not by “bringing traffic,” but by increasing selection rate: game icon, theme, volatility indicator, feature clarity, and perceived novelty. If the game doesn’t earn the click, nothing downstream exists.
Second is the click-to-play conversion moment. This is underrated. Providers drive revenue here through how fast a player understands the game process. Strong onboarding, intuitive mechanics and UI, and early engagement features reduce drop-off.
Third is the session depth phase. Providers influence:
- volatility profile (how wins are distributed across time);
- feature cadence (jackpots, Hold‘n’Win, bonus triggers);
- and emotional pacing (near-misses, progress, anticipation build-up).
These elements directly affect bet count per session and session length – two of the strongest revenue drivers per player.
Fourth is the return metric (retention between sessions). Good game design creates memory connections: bonus structures, progression systems, Hold‘n’Win mechanic, jackpots, or narrative elements.
And finally, the promo ecosystem layer. When providers’ games integrate well with tournaments or segmented bonuses, they unlock additional monetization layers on top of the base RTP economy and iGaming strategy.
What red flags can a provider have?
It’s my favorite question, but I would rather rephrase it to what operators should pay attention to while choosing a game studio.
One of the biggest warning signs is when a studio talks only about releases and certifications, but never about performance. If a provider can’t clearly explain how they think about GGR contribution and its impact on retention, they’re not aligned with commercial reality.
Another point to highlight is post-launch ownership. If a studio considers a game “done” once it goes live, that’s a problem. In iGaming, launch is the beginning of the cycle, not the end of development.
I would personally avoid developers who don’t provide transparency about the mechanics or math models in iGaming partnerships. Operators don’t need the full source logic. But they do need clarity on volatility, hit frequency, bonus economics, and how the game is expected to behave across different player segments.
Can providers help casinos build “destination value” instead of disposable traffic?
Yes, but only if we stop thinking of games as isolated content drops.
Branded games are one of the strongest tools here. When a game is tied to a recognizable operator identity or a themed universe, it stops being just another slot in the lobby. Players remember it, search for it, and associate it with a specific experience.
But the key difference today is how quickly and flexibly it can be produced within a casino game development cycle.
At Dominator Play, for example, we can deliver branded games in under 2 weeks. It allows operators to react to trends, campaigns, or seasonal moments almost in real time.
They can customize visuals, sound design, UI elements, and even the game’s core presentation layers. That means the same underlying product can feel fully native to a specific casino brand, not just reskinned content.
But there’s an important boundary here: providers can enable destination value, but they can’t fully create it alone. If the operator treats games as disposable traffic units, rotating them aggressively without data-driven reasoning, even the best-designed content loses that effect.
For operators, the real advantage today is working with providers who can move fast, customize deeply, and think in terms of business results. If this way of thinking resonates, I’m always open to a direct conversation via email, Telegram, or WhatsApp.
Read More: The Network Effect: Lessons in Scalability and Player Retention from the WePlay Case Study