The first ever Global Gaming Awards was held this year on Monday September 29th in the Titian Ballroom, at the Venetian Palazzo Congress Center in Las Vegas. This new awards ceremony brought together some of the biggest names in the online and offline gaming industry and these companies were nominated based on their achievements over the past 12 months.
A panel of 50 industry leaders all voted to find winners for 12 individual categories. Microgaming fended off Net Entertainment to win the Digital Product of the Year award. Also nominated in this category were Akamon Entertainment, Amaya Gaming, BetConstruct, Continent 8 Technologies, Greentube, JT Global, Optimal Payments and Skrill.
“It's an honour to take home the award for Digital Product of the Year. What makes the award so special is that it was voted for by a panel of judges which comprised some of the biggest names in the gaming industry. We've been recognised by our peers,” said the Microgaming CEO, Roger Raatgever.
Microgaming was recognised for its digital prowess and ground-breaking titles such as Terminator 2 which only arrived in online casinos as recently as June 2014. “We've had a busy year releasing some epic games to the industry, including our Terminator 2™ online slot in June, followed by our Jurassic Park™ online slot in August. I take this opportunity to say a big well done to everyone involved in our game development – this is an award for you all,” added Raatgever. These comments came from the official Microgaming website.
The Land-Based Operator award went to MGM Resorts International and the Runner Up was Wynn Resorts. The Digital Operator of the Year award went to 888 and the Runner Up was PokerStars. Other nominees in this category included William Hill, Paddy Power, 32Red, JackpotJoy, bet365 and three other companies.
The Casino Product of the Year award went to Aristocrat and the Runner Up was Bally Technologies. WMS Gaming was also nominated on this category. IGT won the Land-Based Industry Supplier award while Bally Technologies were also Runner’s Up in this category. GTECH won the Digital Industry Supplier of the Year award while Playtech were the Runner’s Up in this category.
GTECH also won the Land-Based Gaming Innovation of the Year award and the Runner Up was Aristocrat. Net Entertainment won the Digital Gaming Innovation of the Year award and for this category the Runner Up was WMS Gaming. Some of the other big names that were also nominated for certain categories included Ladbrokes, Coral, NextGen Gaming, Ukash, NYX Gaming Group, Evolution Gaming and Genting Group.
