Betsson, Soft2Bet, and Novibet were among the standout winners at last night’s inaugural SBC Awards Europe ceremony.
The prestigious ceremony took place on the evening of Thursday, 12th June at the Hilton Malta in Saint Julian’s. The evening brought the industry together to recognise the people and companies driving progress and setting new standards in sports betting and gaming across Europe.
The evening was hosted by globally recognised sports broadcaster and football presenter, Alison Bender, who presented 34 distinct awards honouring the industry’s leading operators, affiliates, and suppliers, in front of an audience of 400 industry stakeholders.
Rasmus Sojmark, Founder and CEO of SBC, said: “We launched SBC Summit Malta to better reflect the innovations and achievements shaping Europe’s entire gaming ecosystem. SBC Awards Europe builds on that mission, offering a platform to spotlight the industry’s best across all verticals.
“While casino operators and game studios continue to be recognised for their outstanding achievements, the introduction of new categories—covering key sectors such as sportsbook and payments—has enabled us to honour the full spectrum of talent driving progress across the industry.”
It was a standout night for Novibet, which secured two awards: ‘Operator Innovation in Gaming’ and ‘Sportsbook Operator of the Year’. Meanwhile, Betsson Group was named ‘Casino Operator of the Year’, Betsson Group Affiliates won ‘Best Affiliate Program’, and 1xBet took home the ‘Marketing Campaign and Sponsorship of the Year’ award.
In the Operator & Supplier categories, Bragg Gaming was recognised for its commitment to safer gambling with the ‘Socially Responsible Initiative of the Year’ award. Additionally, BGaming picked up the ‘Best Exclusive Game Partnership’ award, and Alea took home the prestigious ‘Employer of the Year’ award.
Exceptional leadership across the industry was recognised through the coveted ‘Leader of the Year’ award, which was jointly awarded to Bilyan Balinoff (Co-Founder, Vegas Legends) and Jovana Popovic Canaki (CEO, iGP). The ‘Manager of the Year’ accolade was presented to Pierre Pulis (Head of Marketing, BETBY).
In the supplier categories, Soft2Bet walked away with two awards on the night: ‘Acquisition & Retention Partner’ and ‘Industry Innovation of the Year’. Games Global was named ‘Casino Supplier of the Year’ while OpenBet secured the title of ‘Sportsbook Supplier of the Year’.
Other winners in the supplier categories included Oddin.gg, which won the ‘Live Betting Product’ award; Sportradar, which was awarded ‘Sports Data Product’; and BetConstruct, whichwas named ‘Platform Provider of the Year’
The evening also featured a number of ‘Rising Star’ categories, highlighting the achievements of emerging European operators and suppliers. In the operator categories, Casumo Services Limited secured the ‘Rising Star in Casino’ award, whilst BETANDYOU was named ‘Rising Star in Sports Betting’.In the supplier categories, Octoplay was honoured with the ‘Rising Star in Casino’ and BETER won ‘Rising Star in Sports Betting’.
In the affiliate categories, Casino Guru was recognised as ‘Casino Affiliate of the Year’, while Flashscore was awarded ‘Sports Affiliate of the Year’.
Mindway AI and Payhound were celebrated for innovations in payments and compliance, taking home the ‘Compliance & KYC Partner of the Year’ and ‘Payment Solution of the Year’, respectively.
Continuing its predecessor’s commitment to celebrating advancements in gaming, the night also featured a number of ‘Game Developer’ categories. Relax Gaming was honoured with the ‘Game Aggregator of the Year’ award, and Evoplay took home the ‘Game Design & Art Direction’ award. Meanwhile, Omnigame was awarded ‘Game Mechanic/Feature of the Year’, and Mascot Gaming won ‘Game Music / Soundtrack’.
The coveted ‘Game of the Year’ award was claimed by Relax Gaming for their title ‘Ancient Tumble’, in a category newly opened to public voting for the 2025 edition.
Highlighting the outstanding work of European game studios were the ‘SlotCatalog’ awards. Pragmatic Play won the ‘Game Studio of the Year – Large’, Hacksaw Gaming took home the ‘Game Studio of the Year – Medium’ and Reel Studio was named‘Game Studio of the Year – Small’. The ‘Rookie of the Year’ award went to Backseat Gaming.
“I would like to take the chance to thank our platinum headline sponsor, BetConstruct, along with all our premium and supporting sponsors, whose generous support allowed us to celebrate the industry’s accomplishments in a truly meaningful way,” said Sojmark.
The awards ceremony concluded the final night of SBC Summit Malta, which saw 6,000 industry stakeholders convene at the InterContinental Hotel, Malta, from June 10-12.