International casino operators shortlisted for top prize at SBC Awards

LeoVegas is hoping to retain its Casino Operator of the Year title when the winners of the SBC Awards 2019 are announced, but must see off competition from some of the sector’s most innovative companies to do it.

The victors in all 41 SBC Awards categories will be unveiled in front of an audience of more than 700 online casino and sports betting industry professionals at a lavish ceremony at Battersea Evolution, London on Tuesday 3 December 2019. LeoVegas took the inaugural Casino Operator of the Year honour in 2018 ahead of Betsson Group, which was highly commended for its efforts, and the pair will again contest the top award this year. Joining the Swedish duo on the shortlist for the prize are GVC, Karamba, The Stars Group and Videoslots, as well as two businesses that have also landed nominations in the Rising Star in Casino category, CampeonBet and PlayOJO. Stewart Darkin, Managing Director of CasinoBeats, said: “The standard of the Casino Operator of the Year shortlist is sensational and highlights the imagination, technical excellence and commitment to customer service of the sector leaders. “There are some incredible statistics in the entries. Videoslots offers more than 3,800 slots and table games, while LeoVegas has implemented a technical infrastructure that allows it to cope with 10,000 concurrent players and 115,000 transactions a minute, and PlayOJO has achieved a 79% increase in average monthly active players. “Away from the numbers, the nominations also include operators who demonstrate exceptional creativity in their product offerings, have developed outstanding customer loyalty and retention programmes, and who have invested in platform and payments innovations to improve player experience. “Our voters face a tough choice to decide whether LeoVegas retains its crown or one of the other worthy contenders walks away with the trophy.” The shortlist for the prestigious Leader of the Year award features strong representation from the casino sector, with Alexander Stevendahl (Videoslots) and Jesper Svensson (Betsson Group) both in contention. The five-strong shortlist is drawn from across the gambling industry and also features Khalid Ali (Secretary General, International Betting Integrity Association), Charles Gillespie (Gambling.com Group) and Martin Wachter (Golden Race). Meanwhile, there are plenty of big names on the Best Affiliate Programme (Sports & Casino) shortlist, which sees reigning champion bet365 take on 1xBet, Betsson Group Affiliates, Campeon Gaming Partners, Comeon! Connect, Kindred Affiliates, King Billy Casino, LeoVegas, Mr Green / William Hill International and Novibet. The winners of the Operator and Affiliate Awards will be chosen by the industry, with everyone who attended this year’s CasinoBeats Summit, Betting on Sports and Betting on Football conferences eligible to vote. However, the Supplier Awards will be decided by a panel of judges, who have been handpicked for their ability to identify the potentially industry-changing innovations among the entries.