In terms of awards ceremonies, there’s plenty around in the world of iGaming and gaming in general, but the one which carries the most weight and can claim to be the Oscars of the iGaming world are the annual eGR awards, which this year take place at the HAC in London on November 30th.
Last year saw the red carpet rolled out at the plush surroundings of Old Billingsgate in London’s East End, arriving guests, as with many other events on the iGaming circuit, were treated to a champagne reception. After an hour of drinking champagne and schmoozing with the other guests, everyone took their seats as the awards themselves got underway.
The one everyone was waiting for was the most coveted award of the evening – think of it as the Oscar for best picture/actor/actress – Operator of the Year. Before this, however, there were a whole plethora of awards to be dished out by the hosts eGaming Review. Categories covered anything from the best in innovation and marketing to who is top dog in the various continents around the world. The winners were as follows:
Innovation of the Year – Gamesys for Monopoly Snap
Online Marketing Campaign of the Year – PKR
Affiliate Programme of the Year – Virgin Games
Offline Marketing Campaign of the Year – BetClic
Mobile Gaming Operator of the Year – Probability
Socially Responsible Operator of the Year – Betsson
Asian Operator of the Year – Celton Manx of SBOBet
LATAM Operator of the Year – Betboo
Bingo Operator of the Year – Cashcade (Foxy Bingo)
European Sports Betting Operator of the Year – Unibet
UK Sports Betting Operator of the Year – Betfair
Casino Operator of the Year – 888
Poker Operator of the Year – PartyPoker
Financial Betting Operator of the Year – BetOnMarkets
Rising Star of the Year – Gaming Media Group (Poker Channel Europe, Poker Heaven)
European Live Gaming – Unibet
Asian Live Gaming Operator of the Year – VCBetasia
Outstanding contribution – Andrew Black
Operator of the Year – Bwin
Then it was down to the final award of the night. The one that everyone had been waiting for, and the nominees were as follows: 888, Bet365, Betclic, Betfair, Bwin, PartyGaming, and William Hill, and the winner was *drum roll*
Bwin!
Their acceptance had everything you’d expect from an Oscar speech except no tears. Oh well there’s always this year! Following the awards there was a gala dinner, and the chance to get drunk and play poker in the basement below the venue.
This year’s proceedings are likely to take on much the same vein, and there have even been a number of new categories added including social networking operator, sports betting innovation, customer relations operator of the year, slots operator, Italian operator, lottery operator, skill gaming operator, and white label operator.
