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Recognising excellence in game development: Nominations open for CasinoBeats Game Developer Awards

Published

4 years ago

January 13, 2023

Reading Time: 2 minutes

SBC is excited to announce that nominations for the Game Creation and Game People categories of the prestigious Game Developer Awards, returning to Malta for their third edition in May, are now open. The nomination period will last until 24 February.

The awards ceremony, which is part of the CasinoBeats Summit conference and exhibition, will take place at the InterContinental Hotel on 25 May. The lavish event that recognises and celebrates the creative and innovative game development teams behind the industry’s most successful titles will be attended by 400 guests.

The CasinoBeats Game Developer Awards will feature 19 categories that honour the top game studios, individual casino games, streamers and game elements as well as innovation and the people who have contributed to the success of the best casino titles of the year. The categories are divided into five main groups:

Game Performance (Slot of the Year, Slot to Watch, Slot Debut, Slot Legacy Title, Slot Collaboration of the Year)
Game Creation (Game Mechanic of the Year, Game Feature of the Year, Game Licensed Content, Game Retro-style, Game Design & Art Direction, Game Music/Soundtrack)
Game Marketing (Streamer of the Year, Innovation in Marketing)
Game People (Product Manager, Game Designer, Game Composer).

SBC has also once again teamed up with SlotCatalog, a casino game ranking and insights platform, to create three data-driven categories for the CasinoBeats Game Developer Awards 2023.

These categories include Outperforming Game Studio of the Year, which will be presented to the three game studios (small, medium, large) whose slot rank has increased the most compared to their position a year ago; Game Studio of the Year, which will be given to three game studios with the highest slot rank over the last 12 months; and Rookie of the Year, which will be awarded to the new game studio that went from having no distribution last year to achieving the biggest impact over the past year

Rasmus Sojmark, CEO & Founder of the event organiser SBC, said: “The CasinoBeats Game Developer Awards are a truly special occasion in my eyes. This ceremony is an opportunity to honour the often overlooked elements of game development, such as the best soundtrack, innovative game mechanics, unexpected success, and the individuals who made it all happen. It’s an event that recognises and celebrates the creativity, fun, and entertainment that make our industry a great place to work.”

The shortlists for the Game Performance and Game Marketing categories of the CasinoBeats Game Developer Awards will be selected by SBC’s independent panel of judges, and the winners will be chosen through audience live voting at the CasinoBeats Summit conference and trade show.

The Game Creation and Game People categories will be open for nominations from 12 January to 24 February and the winners will be decided by the independent panel of judges. The Game People category is a new addition to the CasinoBeats Game Developer Awards that aims to recognise and celebrate individuals who have actively contributed to the success of a top casino product.

The SlotCatalog categories, which are purely data-driven, will not require nominations or go through a judging process.

Last year’s winners of the CasinoBeats Game Developer Awards included companies such as Blueprint Gaming, Habanero, Peter & Sons, Playtech, Pragmatic Play, Relax Gaming and Stakelogic.

This year’s ceremony at the luxurious InterContinental Hotel will feature a welcome drinks reception and a lavish three-course dinner with complimentary beer, wine, and spirits. Tables and individual tickets are available to purchase here.

The shortlists will be announced on 21 March. Nominate here.

Contributors Program

Gamblers Connect names Gali Hartuv as seventh 2026 Contributors Program voice

Published

7 hours ago

July 22, 2026

Wladimir P.

gamblers-connect-names-gali-hartuv-as-seventh-2026-contributors-program-voice

The Playa strategic advisor will publish on VIP operations, segmentation and retention, starting with an anonymous VIP Operations Survey 2026.

Gamblers Connect has confirmed Gali Hartuv, Strategic Advisor at The Playa, as the seventh voice to join its 2026 Contributors Program.

The independent B2B iGaming media platform said the programme will reveal one senior industry voice per month throughout 2026, with contributors publishing under the Gamblers Connect Contributor Editorial Code.

Gamblers Connect said Hartuv has more than 15 years’ experience in VIP management, including designing and optimising VIP programmes across more than 50 operator brands, and training “hundreds of professionals” now working in VIP roles across the industry.

Hartuv will publish across four areas: building VIP programmes that drive long-term value; AI-powered VIP identification and player segmentation; hyper-personalisation and retention strategy; and scaling VIP operations across different markets and cultures. His first contribution is a VIP Operations Survey 2026, an anonymous survey intended to benchmark how VIP teams work across iGaming operators, including portfolio sizing, tools, qualification thresholds, workflow standards and where time is spent during the week.

Partnerships and Operations Lead, Luka Dimitrijevic, said: “VIP management is where a great deal of an operator’s value is won or lost, and very few people can speak to it with Gali’s depth. He has spent his career turning high value player relationships into a discipline rather than guesswork, and he is refreshingly candid about what works and what does not. Through the Contributors Program he will share practical insight on VIP strategy, retention, and the smart use of AI, with content grounded in real results rather than recycled best practices.”

The post Gamblers Connect names Gali Hartuv as seventh 2026 Contributors Program voice appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

Alberta

St8 extends TonyBet partnership to Alberta after securing supplier registration

Published

8 hours ago

July 22, 2026

Wladimir P.

st8-extends-tonybet-partnership-to-alberta-after-securing-supplier-registration

St8 has extended its partnership with TonyBet into Alberta, expanding their Canada footprint following an earlier launch in Ontario this year.

Under the expanded agreement, TonyBet will use St8’s game aggregation platform through a single API integration. St8 said this provides access to its wider catalogue of casino content for players in Alberta.

St8 said the Alberta rollout follows its newly acquired registration to operate in the province as an iGaming Services Supplier, allowing it to provide aggregation services to licensed operators in the market. The company said its platform connects partners to more than 200 game providers via a single API.

David Fall, Business Development Manager at St8, said:

“Entering Alberta’s regulated market is a strong step for St8 that represents our continued efforts to bring our offerings to as many territories as possible, delivering top-tier results for partnerships at the local, national and international stage. We share this commitment with TonyBet, a company that we are very fortunate to be working with so collaboratively and closely as we continue to grow our presence across North America.”

Kiryl Liudvikevich, Head of Product at TonyBet, said:

“We’re proud that our work with St8 has enabled us to continue expanding across Canada. Through St8’s aggregation platform, we can seamlessly access games from the industry’s leading providers via a single integration, helping us scale efficiently while maintaining a strong focus on the player experience. St8 has cemented itself as our go-to partner for expansion into regulated markets, and we look forward to continuing our collaboration as we grow into new jurisdictions.”

The post St8 extends TonyBet partnership to Alberta after securing supplier registration appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

Alberta

St8 continues partnership with TonyBet with an expansion into Alberta

Published

8 hours ago

July 22, 2026

GamingAmericas.com

st8-continues-partnership-with-tonybet-with-an-expansion-into-alberta

Casino game aggregation platform and full-service technology provider St8 has extended its ongoing partnership with TonyBet into Alberta, furthering both companies’ expansion into Canada.

As part of the extended agreement, Tonybet will benefit from St8’s next-generation platform via a single API integration, unlocking seamless access to a wide portfolio of games from the industry’s leading providers and enhancing its casino offering for players in Alberta.

The move is the latest in St8’s successful relationship with TonyBet, having previously launched in Ontario earlier this year in a bid to continually grow in regulated markets worldwide.

This expansion was made possible thanks to St8’s newly acquired registration to operate in Alberta as an iGaming Services Supplier, enabling St8 to provide its next-generation game aggregation services to licensed operators in the region, giving partners access to more than 200 premium game providers through a single API integration.

Featuring over 3,000 games from more than 60 providers, TonyBet, meanwhile, has gone from strength to strength in its 17-year history, establishing itself as one of the industry’s leading game studios by delivering engaging titles that combine player appeal with premium gameplay.

Holding licenses in 10 different jurisdictions including Spain, the Netherlands, the UK, Ireland and Estonia, among others, Tonybet’s partnership with St8 has seen them now launch in two separate territories in Canada, with both companies working collaboratively to explore the opportunities available in exciting new markets. This latest agreement reinforces St8’s strategy of expanding its premium content portfolio while helping operators simplify integration, accelerate market entry, and deliver engaging gaming experiences across multiple regulated jurisdictions.

Speaking on the expansion, David Fall, Business Development Manager at St8, said: “Entering Alberta’s regulated market is a strong step for St8 that represents our continued efforts to bring our offerings to as many territories as possible, delivering top-tier results for partnerships at the local, national and international stage. We share this commitment with TonyBet, a company that we are very fortunate to be working with so collaboratively and closely as we continue to grow our presence across North America.”

Kiryl Liudvikevich, Head of Product at TonyBet, had this to say: “We’re proud that our work with St8 has enabled us to continue expanding across Canada. Through St8’s aggregation platform, we can seamlessly access games from the industry’s leading providers via a single integration, helping us scale efficiently while maintaining a strong focus on the player experience. St8 has cemented itself as our go-to partner for expansion into regulated markets, and we look forward to continuing our collaboration as we grow into new jurisdictions.”

The post St8 continues partnership with TonyBet with an expansion into Alberta appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.