International operators like Betsson Group, LeoVegas and Kaizen Gaming lead the way in the race for the SBC Awards 2020, with multiple nominations on the shortlists unveiled today.
Also in the running for picking up an iconic SBC Awards trophy are key suppliers and affiliates such as Sportradar, SG Digital, Oddschecker, Golden Race, Catena Media, BetConstruct, and Gambling.com Group.
With a record 650 nominations this year, the winners of all 44 SBC Awards will be announced during a ceremony broadcast live to an international audience of sports betting and igaming industry professionals on Wednesday 9 December.
One of Betsson’s ten nominations comes in the marquee Sportsbook of the Year category, where they join LeoVegas, Kaizen Gaming, William Hill, FanDuel, STS, Danske Spil, Kindred Group, Parimatch, MansionBet and Pinnacle in a high-quality field attempting to defeat the six-time champion and 2019 winner bet365.
As well as eyeing the top sports betting prize LeoVegas, which has amassed seven nominations, will also be hoping to retain the prestigious Casino Operator of the Year title. It will again face competition from Betsson and Kaizen Gaming, with Casumo, Novibet, Hard Rock Casino, Mansion, Karamba, Wildz Casino and 2019’s Rising Star victor PlayOJO also in the running.
Andrew McCarron, Managing Director of SBC, said: “Given the difficulties faced this year, we have been blown away by the quality and quantity of nominations to this year’s SBC Awards.
“With a great mix of the biggest names in the industry and some of their fastest emerging competitors on the shortlists, the judges have a lot to think about and it’ll be fascinating to see which operators win the prizes.
“It’s a similar story in the supplier and affiliate categories, where the entries and shortlists tell the story of another year of exceptional progress for the industry.”
Among the suppliers, Sportradar has four nominations and its Betradar division makes a further six shortlists, while BetConstruct is in the running for seven awards. They go head-to-head for the Sportsbook Supplier of the Year honour, which is also contested by Altenar, IGT, Sporting Solutions, Singular, BtoBet, Betgenius, EveryMatrix, BETB2B, Scientific Games, Pronet Gaming, Digitain and FSB.
In the gaming suppliers categories, the shortlist for the hotly-contested Casino / Slots Developer of the Year title features Stakelogic, Greentube, Playson, Red Tiger, Kalamba Games, Push Gaming, Evoplay Entertainment, Relax Gaming, Yggdrasil, Pragmatic Play, Microgaming and Inspired Entertainment.
Meanwhile, in the headline affiliate categories, Catena Media, Gambling.com Group, Oddschecker Global Media, Gaming Innovation Group and Raketech Group, all make the shortlist for both the Casino and Sports prizes.
The winners of all 44 categories will be chosen by a panel of judges, consisting of industry leaders handpicked for their ability to identify exceptional operator performance and the potentially game-changing innovations among the entries.
McCarron added: “Given the large number and quality of submissions, we are planning on a shake-up of the awards for next year to better reflect the different markets in which sports betting and igaming are now flourishing.
“This means that next year will also see a dedicated SBC Awards USA (June 2021) and an SBC Awards Latinoamérica (October 2021) to coincide with our events in those markets.”
To view the shortlists for all of the awards, please click here.
For further information about sponsorship opportunities at the SBC Awards 2020 ceremony, please contact [email protected].