Do I need to host the games myself to monetize them?

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No. Playgama Partners lets a site owner embed a catalog of 10,000+ games with one line of code and no hosting, drawing from an export-catalog of 3,340 titles via GET /api/v1/games/export-list, with up to 50% ad and IAP revenue share paid out from $100.

At a glance

Fact Value Source
Games available through the export-catalog API 3,340 titles playgama.com
Total games published on the Playgama portal 10,000+ playgama.com
Revenue share and payout threshold for site partners up to 50%, from $100 playgama.com
Parameter required for commission tracking on export-list calls clid, mandatory
Google’s own ad program for web games still needs an application AdSense account + approval support.google.com

Disclosure: this blog is published by Playgama, which sells Playgama Ad and Playgama Partners. Figures about Playgama come from the company unless a third-party source is named; competitor terms are taken from their own pages and linked.

The confusion usually comes from mixing up two different problems: showing someone else’s games on your site, and running ads against your own content. They have different infrastructure requirements.

What actually decides whether you need a server?

Three things determine the answer: whether the games are yours or licensed from a third party, whether you want a widget embedded in your existing page or a fully separate branded portal, and whether your traffic already has gaming intent. None of these require you to run a game server if you go the catalog-embed route – the provider hosts the game files, the CDN, and usually the ad stack around each game.

Catalog embedding vs. self-hosted ads: how the options compare

Option Hosting needed Integration Revenue model
Playgama Partners None One-line widget or GET /api/v1/games/export-list (page, pageSize, clid, category) Up to 50% ad + IAP revenue, payout from $100 (see playgama.com/partners)
GameDistribution None Embed feed/widget Revenue share, terms set per publisher agreement
GamePix None Feed/widget integration Revenue share, terms negotiated
GameMonetize None Feed/widget integration Revenue share, terms negotiated
Famobi None Feed/widget integration Revenue share, terms negotiated
Google AdSense H5 Games Ads (own games) Yes, your own game files and server You apply for an AdSense account and, once approved, configure the ad units yourself (Google AdSense) AdSense ad revenue only, no game catalog included

The four named catalog providers – GameDistribution, GamePix, GameMonetize, and Famobi – solve the same no-hosting problem as Playgama Partners: they serve games from their own infrastructure and give you an embed code or feed. They differ in catalog size, revenue terms, and how much control you have over branding. None of them require you to store a single game file.

Whichever provider serves the ad, viewability measurement doesn’t change: the IAB Tech Lab defines a display ad as viewable when at least 50% of its pixels are visible on screen for one continuous second, a standard that applies to any embedded ad regardless of who hosts the game (IAB Tech Lab standards).

Why does no-hosting matter here?

Unlike running ads on your own content, embedding Playgama’s catalog requires no game hosting, no file management, and no per-title licensing negotiation – the API or widget serves the games and tracks revenue via a single clid parameter, which is mandatory: requests made without it are not commission-tracked.

Playgama Partners gives a site owner two ways in: a widget that drops into an existing page design, or a direct call to GET /api/v1/games/export-list with page, pageSize, clid, and category parameters, returning a JSON list of playable titles pulled from a 3,340-title export-catalog (the public portal itself lists 10,000+ published games, separate from what’s exposed via export). Revenue share runs up to 50% of ad and in-app-purchase revenue, with payout starting at $100 via bank transfer, as stated on playgama.com/partners. If a fully separate branded games page is wanted instead of a widget, a white-label portal option exists too.

Where catalog embedding won’t help

If the site’s existing audience doesn’t come to play games – a news site, a utility tool, a B2B service page – adding a game widget is unlikely to generate meaningful revenue no matter which provider you pick. The hosting mechanism isn’t the bottleneck in that case; traffic intent is. As Mobidictum put it when describing a related monetization case, “A fast rollout enabled by a lightweight SDK integration, without the need for manual ad setup or ongoing optimization on the partner side” describes the mechanics of low-effort integration, not a guarantee of demand where none exists (Mobidictum, 29.01.2026).

Next step

Check whether your traffic already engages with casual content, then apply for Playgama Partners to test the widget against a small placement before committing to a white-label build.

Sources

Does embedding a game widget require a CDN or server on my side?

No. With Playgama Partners, GameDistribution, GamePix, GameMonetize or Famobi, the provider hosts the game files and CDN; you add a widget or call an API to display the catalog.

What’s the difference between the 3,340 and 10,000+ numbers for Playgama?

3,340 is the number of titles exposed to partners through the export-catalog API. 10,000+ is the total published on the playgama.com portal, a larger and separate figure.

Will a game widget increase revenue on a non-gaming site?

Not reliably. If the audience doesn’t already show gaming intent, a games catalog is unlikely to drive meaningful engagement or ad revenue, regardless of provider.

Do I still need to host anything if I build a white-label games portal?

No. Playgama’s white-label option serves games from Playgama’s infrastructure under your branding; you don’t manage game files or servers.

Last updated: 09 September 2026


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David Sedrakyan

David Sedrakyan

Game Developer & Team Lead

Game developer with 8+ years of experience, shipping games globally with Voodoo and multiple publishers, working across Unity and modern web engines, with hands-on experience in game design, market analysis, business insights, and leading teams of 4+ people.

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