The eighth annual eGaming Review Operator Awards were handed out Monday night at the Roundhouse in Camden, London. The Euro-centric affair contained little in the way of surprises, and given the lack of acceptance speeches afforded to those operators fortunate enough to have won their respective categories, little in the way of unscripted hijinx. Suffice it to say, this wasn’t the Brit Awards, where Liam Gallagher might threaten to ‘chin’ one of the Spice Girls. We were half hoping that Bwin.party Digital Entertainment’s failure to win any of the categories in which it was nominated might have pushed an already tense Norbert Teufelberger over the edge, leading to him leap up onto the stage, whip out ‘Norbert Jr.’ and spray his contempt over the first row of tables, but sadly, no.
Comedian/emcee Jimmy Carr did his best to liven up the proceedings, pointing out the Winamax men all returning from the loo simultaneously and suggesting people draw their own conclusions as to whether the Continental Operator of the Year winners had South America next on their list of continents to conquer. Paddy Power and Gamesys/JackpotJoy each collected three trophies – Mr. Power used one trip to the podium to flash his green undies à la Nicklas Bendtner, which had some wondering if eGR will fine him like UEFA did to Bendtner – while William Hill and Akamon Entertainment each accounted for two awards. The full list of winners reads as follows:
HEADLINE CATEGORIES
(Nominees in these marquee categories were required to make a formal pitch to eGR’s cognoscenti after 18 holes at Wentworth Golf Club):
Bingo Operator of the Year: Tombola
Casino Operator of the Year: Betsson Group
Innovation in Gaming: Betdash
Operator of the Year: Skybet
Poker Operator of the Year: 888poker.com
Rising Star: Akamon Entertainment
Socially Responsible Operator of the Year: Mr. Green
Sports Betting Operator of the Year: William Hill
OTHER OPERATOR AWARD CATEGORIES
Affiliate Program of the Year: Jackpot Joy
Continental Operator of the Year: Winamax
Customer Services Operator of the Year Gamesys (JackpotJoy)
Financial Betting Product of the Year: GoldenBoys Bet
Innovation in Mobile: Paddy Power
In-Play Sports Operator of the Year: Bet365
Marketing Campaign of the Year: Paddy Power
Mobile Product of the Year: mFortune
Slots Operator of the Year: William Hill
Social Bingo Product of the Year: Akamon Entertainment
Social Casino Product of the Year: JackpotJoy
Social Marketing Campaign of the Year: Paddy Power
Social Operator of the Year: Diwip
Spread Betting product of the Year: Sporting Index
AFFILIATE CATEGORIES
Gaming Community Site of the Year: WhichBingo UK
Gaming Comparison Site of the Year: Oddschecker
Innovative Gaming Site of the Year: LiveStreamingSport.com
