Beyond the Numbers: CT Interactive’s Approach to Aggregation

Dimitar, how do you select content for the aggregation portfolio?
From a product perspective, our priority is to build a portfolio that is diversified, relevant and complementary. We are not looking at aggregation simply as an opportunity to increase the number of titles available. We are looking at the product mix as a whole and asking what each addition brings to the portfolio.

Our objective is to cover multiple product verticals and give operators access to different types of player experiences. This means looking beyond individual titles and considering how different products, mechanics and formats work together within a broader offering.

For me, a strong aggregation portfolio is one where every product has a clear role. It should add variety, address a particular market or player need, or complement something that is already available.

How do you balance proprietary and third-party content?
I see proprietary and third-party content as two parts of the same product strategy. CT Interactive has its own established portfolio, but aggregation allows us to expand the overall proposition with content that brings different concepts, mechanics and experiences to the table. From a CPO perspective, the question is not whether a product is developed internally or comes from another studio.

The question is what value it adds to the portfolio.

Our proprietary content gives us a strong foundation and reflects our own product development expertise. Third-party content can then broaden that foundation and help us introduce additional formats and experiences. The combination gives operators a more comprehensive product proposition.

How do you identify portfolio gaps and decide which complementary products to add?
We look at the portfolio across product verticals and identify where additional content can create meaningful variety. Our ambition is to have a broad product mix that can include lottery games, scratch cards, slots, live casino, PvP and instant games. This is important because player preferences are not uniform. Different audiences and markets can have very different expectations from gaming content.
So, when we identify a gap, we are not simply looking for another product that fits the same category. We are looking for content that can bring a different type of experience, mechanic or format and make the overall portfolio more complete.

How do performance, mechanics and market relevance influence your product decisions?
All three are important from a product perspective. We look at the mechanics and the player experience a product offers, but we also consider where that product can be relevant and how it fits the needs of different markets.

One of the advantages of developing a broad aggregation network is that it gives us more flexibility. We do not have to build one uniform portfolio and expect it to work in exactly the same way everywhere. Different markets can require different product mixes.

This is where aggregation becomes particularly interesting from a product strategy perspective. It allows us to combine different types of content and match them more effectively with different market requirements and player preferences.

How do you maintain quality while expanding the portfolio?
Quality is the starting point for every product decision we make. As a CPO, I would always prefer to add a product because it genuinely improves the portfolio rather than because it increases the number of titles. The size of a studio is not the deciding factor for us. What matters is the quality of its content, the experience it provides, the strength of its mechanics and the value it can bring to operators and players.

As we expand the aggregation offering, we therefore want to maintain a clear product standard. A broader catalogue only creates value if the individual products within it are strong.

Ultimately, our goal is not to build the biggest catalogue possible. It is to build the right catalogue — one where proprietary and third-party content complement each other and where every addition has a clear product rationale.