Bet365 crowned EGR Operator of the Year 2017

Bet365 was crowned Operator of the Year at tonight’s EGR Operator Awards 2017, as Sky Betting & Gaming, GVC Holdings and tombola also scooped a number of headline prizes.

Stoke-headquartered bet365 took home the coveted Operator of the Year award after impressing judges with its “market-leading revenue and profit growth”, while the firm also won the prize for Mobile Sports Product.

Operator of the Year (sponsored by Playtech), bet365

It capped off a stellar week for bet365 after the company recently retained its number one position in EGR’s Power 50 rankings.

Meanwhile, Sky Betting & Gaming was the recipient of the most trophies at this year’s Operator Awards, winning a total of four prizes for Football Betting Operator, In-Play Sports Operator, Sports Betting Operator and Mobile Operator.

The company’s new DFS partner Dribble also won the award for Fantasy Sports Operator – a new category for 2017.

Other big winners on the night – attended by more than 700 industry professionals – included GVC Holdings (Casino Operator and Poker Operator) and tombola (Socially Responsible Operator and Bingo Operator).

The final headline categories were won by PlayOJO for Rising Star and Easyodds for Affiliate of the Year.

The prestigious #EGRAwards was held at the 5-star Grosvenor House Hotel in Mayfair and hosted by Irish-Iranian stand-up comedian Patrick Monahan.

All the photos from last night’s ceremony can be found here

See below for comments from our judges on the headline category winners. Please note, EGR plans to release comments for all categories in 2018. 

Rising Star, PlayOJO

Comments: “The company’s vision of customer fairness and social responsibility is totally on-message. PlayOJO has also showed double-digit growth in player acquisition, site visits and active visitors, while maintaining attractive marketing returns, which is a testament to its unique proposition.”

Poker Operator, GVC/partypoker

Comments: “Partypoker recorded phenomenal growth rates in absolute terms but it was even more impressive given the perceived structural decline of poker market. Management clearly focused on revamping product supported by live tours and strong brand push after a period of neglect.”

Bingo Operator, tombola

Comments: “Tombola loves bingo for bingo’s sake rather than as a means to another end and it continues to set its own rules for success rather than following the path most travelled. The company’s performance cross-jurisdiction and in its approach to social responsibility meant that the panel felt recognition was very much appropriate.”

Sports Betting Operator, Sky Betting & Gaming

Comments: “SB&G demonstrates highly impressive growth rates (stakes/customers) despite the challenging comps and without resorting to unregulated markets. It also has market-leading innovations, including RequestABet and crowd boosted accas (copied by other operators), as well as significant improvements in streaming offering for a fully-rounded product.”

Casino Operator, GVC Holdings

Comments: “An excellent performance in casino, GVC has had a year of continued success and offered a compelling case in what was one of the strongest fields in the awards. Following the bwin.party acquisition the group is ticking all the right boxes in this key vertical.”

Mobile Operator, Sky Betting & Gaming

Comments: “SB&G has a laser focus on the customer’s mobile experience – and this came through strongly in their awards submission. There is an energy about the company and a seemingly insatiable desire to push the mobile experience on. SB&GG were able to combine impressive metrics with a powerful offering, showing that they really see mobile as the critical channel for all their verticals.”

Affiliate of the Year, Easyodds

Comments: “Easyodds impressed the panel with their innovative approach to marketing through a social media, making the most of their personal brands. The Easyodds team also appeared passionate about sports. They have been pushing at the door for a while now and seem to be in breakthrough mode.”

Socially Responsible Operator, tombola

Comments: “A regular winner of this award, the judges were again impressed with tombola’s market-leading social responsibility innovation across the existing bingo product as well as this also being applied to the new casino vertical. The brand’s launch of tombola arcade saw the group maintaining its ethos of limiting the rates of spend per hour and week but still proving a commercial success. It also launched its own independent responsible gambling week, reinforcing its credentials as Socially Responsible Operator of the Year.”

Operator of the Year, bet365

Comments: “A truly phenomenal overall performance across all areas of the business, bet365 has outperformed on a truly impressive scale and was a clear winner this year. The Operator of the Year award reflects another 12 months of market-leading revenue and profit growth from the industry behemoth driven by innovation, differentiation and near-flawless execution. The group continues to evolve its product line-up and user experience to customers in over 150 countries.”

See below for the full list of winners: