Recognising Excellence Across the Baltics & Nordics

The spotlight is officially on!

HIPTHER has opened nominations for the Baltic & Nordics Gaming Awards 2026, the region’s defining celebration of innovation, leadership, and operational excellence across the gaming and technology ecosystem.

From pioneering operators and cutting-edge suppliers to infrastructure leaders and visionary individuals, the awards honour the companies and people shaping the future of regulated gaming across the Baltic and Nordic regions.

And this year, the journey culminates on a single stage.

Winners will be revealed on 2 June 2026 in Tallinn, during the prestigious Awards Ceremony & Closing Party of HIPTHER Baltic & Nordics: Tallinn — the grand finale of the HIPTHER Baltics 2026 conference series.

One region. One stage. One official awards night.

Key Dates to Remember

• Nomination period: 18 February – 12 April 2026
• Online voting session: 21 – 30 April 2026
• Shortlist announcement: 5 May 2026
• Final decision: 29 May 2026 – Secret Jury Vote
• Winners announced: 2 June 2026 – Tallinn Awards Ceremony

Part of the HIPTHER Baltics 2026 Journey

The Awards form the grand finale of HIPTHER BALTICS 2026 – Three Capitals, One Vision, a high-level regional conference series exploring regulation, fintech, compliance, and innovation across three Baltic capitals:

• Vilnius – 21 April 2026
  iGaming Regulation & Fintech Integration
• Riga – 11 May 2026
  Cross-Border Compliance & Player Protection
• Tallinn – 2 June 2026
  Digital Governance & Startup Innovation
  + Baltic & Nordics Gaming Awards Ceremony

Together, the series delivers HIPTHER’s signature blend of policy insight, technological vision, and meaningful networking — culminating in the region’s most anticipated awards night.

Award Categories Across Six Industry Pillars

The 2026 edition features a comprehensive structure recognising excellence across:

• Baltics – Operators
• Nordics – Operators
• Suppliers – Casino & Content
• Suppliers – Sports & Odds
• Connected & Infrastructure
• Individual Industry Awards

This multi-layered approach ensures recognition not only for market leaders, but also for rising innovators, technology disruptors, and influential personalities driving the sector forward.

Why These Awards Matter

The Baltic and Nordic regions continue to stand at the forefront of regulation, digital governance, fintech integration, and responsible innovation in global gaming.

The HIPTHER Baltic & Nordics Gaming Awards serve as:

• A benchmark of trust and excellence
• A platform for regional and international visibility
• A celebration of the people and technologies shaping tomorrow’s industry

In short — recognition here resonates far beyond the stage.

Submit Your Nomination

Industry stakeholders, partners, and community members are invited to nominate the companies and leaders defining excellence in 2026.

Nominations are open until 12 April 2026.

Submit your nominations here.

Join the journey toward Tallinn — and be part of the night where the region’s finest step into the spotlight!

The post Nominations Now Open for the HIPTHER Baltic & Nordics Gaming Awards 2026 appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

MightyTips was honored with the Affiliate of the Year award for the UK and Ireland at the 2026 EGR Europe Awards gala. The event took place on 18 February at the Hilton Malta in St. Julian’s, bringing together leading figures from the European iGaming sector.

This acknowledgment comes after a year of considerable expansion and product advancement for MightyTips. In 2025-2026, the brand underwent a significant website enhancement, improving its structure, navigation, and user experience.

Key updates included:

• launch of a new Tips section featuring short, expert-backed insights on betting opportunities;
• fully reworked sports predictions section with more structured, data-driven analysis;
• introduction of a new bonus section with a user-friendly, informative interface that clearly presents licensed operators’ offers.

MightyTips is an internet betting resource operated by SEOBROTHERS. In 2026, MightyTips was nominated for the EGR Affiliate of the Year award in Central and Eastern Europe.

Eugene Ravdin, Head of PR at SEOBROTHERS, commented: “The EGR Europe Awards are among the most established industry recognitions in the region. Winning it highlights the consistent work of the MightyTips team across multiple departments. This achievement reflects our long-term strategy and our commitment to sustainable product development.”

The EGR Europe Awards celebrate businesses that influence the iGaming sector throughout Europe. They acknowledge operators, affiliates, and suppliers establishing benchmarks in innovation, sustainability, customer experience, and product development. Regional categories highlight the advantages of particular markets, encompassing Central and Eastern Europe.

The accolade additionally acknowledges broader regional reach and enhanced collaborations with licensed operators in the UK and Ireland. MightyTips stays dedicated to delivering organized, data-oriented content for regional audiences, emphasizing compliance, transparency, and sustainable development.

The post MightyTips takes home EGR’s Affiliate of the Year title for the UK & Ireland appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

QTech Games, a leading game aggregator for emerging markets, has won the Best Innovator Award (Shining Savannah Award) at the 2026 BiG Africa Summit in Gaborone, Botswana. The award was presented during a gala ceremony at the Grand Palm Hotel Casino and Convention Resort, where QTech Games beat strong competitors, including BetConstruct, Skilrock, and GlobaLab.

The Shining Savannah Award celebrates “groundbreaking innovation and technological innovation,” recognising companies that have delivered tailored solutions for the African iGaming market while excelling in user engagement and sustained growth over the past 12 months.

QTech Hybrid: Bridging Retail and Digital Betting

QTech’s innovation highlighted at the awards is QTech Hybrid, which enables players to seamlessly switch between traditional retail and digital play. A successful rollout across Soccabet’s 200-outlet network in Ghana demonstrates how the platform combines an AI-powered casino lobby (QTech Play) with a retail management system and an integrated Agent Management System (AMS).

The system simplifies transactions for operators and players alike, enabling deposits, withdrawals, and gameplay from both in-store and personal devices, helping operators scale their brick-and-mortar networks online.

Celebrating Excellence in African iGaming

The BiG Africa Summit recognises outstanding contributions to the continent’s iGaming and sports betting industry, from operators and technology innovators to regulators and distributors. The event showcases those who ensure a rich, engaging, and locally relevant gaming experience across Africa, the world’s second-most populous continent.

QTech Games CEO Philip Doftvik said:

“We’re delighted to have bagged another notable award for the best overall innovation in Africa over the past 12 months. Being shortlisted in such good company was already a feather in our collective cap, but victory provides the ultimate coup, validating our huge and ongoing growth in Africa with innovations like QTech Hybrid and QTechLabs.

“This win is testimony to our diligent team at QTech, and to the ever-evolving group of innovative suppliers that our offering represents. It’s a real team effort. We’ve made our name as the go-to aggregator for emerging markets and we remain committed to rolling out top-class content and retail innovation that drives new revenues for our worldwide partners across Africa and beyond.

“Being recognised for our innovation, impact and bottom-line results – to name just a few of the key judging criteria – will only embolden our expansive African mission. It’s also indicative of QTech’s broader strategic direction across emerging markets, where we are setting the gold standard and defining the future of the online casino industry, with an established reach throughout and outside of Africa.”

The judging panel added:

“This year, the calibre of nominations was exceptional, making the selection process extremely competitive. Being recognised not only as a finalist but also the market leader in Africa for its relentless innovation in our prestigious Shining Savannah category, highlights the outstanding impact and achievements QTech Games has made within the industry.”

QTech’s Commitment to Emerging Markets

The award underscores QTech Games’ mission to expand retail and digital iGaming solutions across Africa and other emerging markets, providing operators with innovative tools that enhance player engagement, streamline operations, and support sustainable growth.

By combining AI-driven personalisation, seamless retail-to-digital integration, and advanced management systems, QTech is shaping the future of the online casino and sports betting industry across Africa.

The post QTech Games wins Best Innovation at the 2026 BiG Africa Summit Awards appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.