Casino Guru will hold the Casino Guru Awards 2026 on May 25 at Xara Lodge in Malta, ahead of the NEXT Valletta conference. The organiser said the event will recognise companies, initiatives and individuals tied to fairness, player protection and ethical business practices in online gambling.

According to Casino Guru, the awards are positioned differently from typical industry programmes by prioritising “measurable impact and long-term commitment” rather than brand scale or marketing reach.

“The Casino Guru Awards are about recognizing the people and companies that genuinely prioritize players and contribute to a healthier industry,” said Daniela Sliva, PR & Creative Projects Director at Casino Guru. “As we approach the event, we’re excited to celebrate the efforts that often happen behind the scenes but have a real impact on the future of iGaming.”

Casino Guru said around 150 guests are expected to attend, with winners to be announced across multiple categories during an evening programme that also includes networking, dining and an afterparty.

The post Casino Guru Awards 2026 set for May 25 in Malta ahead of NEXT Valletta appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

The shortlists for the inaugural Esports Leaders Honours awards ceremony have been unveiled across categories including Esports Leader, Rising Star in Esports, Standout Esports Advertising Campaigns, Best Product Innovation in Esports, Access & Grassroots Champions in Esports and Industry Development of the Year.

The awards ceremony, where the winners will be revealed live on the night will take place at Cologne City Hall (Kölner Rathaus) on 19 June 2026, with the Lord Mayor Torsten Burmester in attendance. During the invitation-only evening event, winners will be revealed live on the night and receive their awards on stage at City Hall.

Esports Leaders Honours is a new awards programme and platform created by The Esports Radar to celebrate the people, organisations and projects that helped to define the year in esports and deserve recognition. This year the ceremony forms a part of Global Esports Industry Week (GEIW).

Winners will receive their awards on stage at the event at City Hall.

Access & Grassroots Champions in Esports

• Shortlist: Stefy Bau (CEO, Init Esports), Mags Byrne (Founder, EStars), Ole Martin Gjestad (Founder, KRED Norge), Désiré Koussawo (President, SAGES Africa), David Kosir (Founder, Friendly Fire), Elliot Mack (Co-Founder and CEO, DAIGON Esports), Jon Winkle (Founder, EPIC.LAN)

Esports Leader

• Shortlist: Akshat Rathee, Anna Rozwandowicz, Fabien ‘neo’ Devide, HRH Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan, Monica Dinsmore, Niccolo Maisto, Ralf Reichert, Robbie Douek

Rising Star in Esports

• Shortlist: Bilguunbat Enkhbayar (Co-Founder and CEO, The MongolZ), Emanuele Acerbis (CEO & Co-Founder, NOVO Esports), Heloisa Passos (Founder, trexx), Kalam Neale (Head of Education, British Esports), Liam Whitehead (Head of Partnerships, Method), Meg Cabaras (Senior Account Executive, Esports & Gaming, Octagon), Sheridan McGuire (Founder, College Esports News)

Standout Esports Advertising Campaigns

• Shortlist: DHL x EFG x Chew Productions – The Dispatch, G2 x Solo Leveling (Crunchyroll), HEROIC x Razed, Jameel Motorsport x Esports World Cup 2025, Team Liquid x Magnus Carlsen, Team Vitality x Nescafé Latte, Team Vitality x Stake

Best Product Innovation in Esports

• Shortlist: DPM LOL, EVA (Esports Virtual Arenas), Logitech G – the ProX2 Superstrike Mouse, Runestone, Shikenso, UNEVN – the BASE PC Solution, ZOWIE by BenQ

Industry Development of the Year

• Shortlist: BLAST and GamingMalta announce multi-year partnership, including permanent studio spanning over 1,000m², The launch of Esports Nations Cup, India drafts new rules to regulate esports and gaming, with esports formally recognised as sports under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, The sale of Moonton, creator of Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, to Saudi Arabia’s Savvy Games Group in a deal valued at approximately $6 billion, Qiddiya-owned RTS fully acquires Evo, Riot Games opening up for betting sponsors in EMEA and Americas, the PIF, Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners moving to purchase Electronic Arts (EA) for $55 billion

The “Local Hero” category will see the winner announced on the night too, but this one does not include a shortlist. This category recognises an individual who has made a significant contribution to the betterment of esports locally to wherever the ceremony is being hosted. Given this year’s ceremony is taking place in Germany, The Esports Radar has partnered with E-Sport-Bund Deutschland (ESBD), who will decide this edition’s winner.

Sam Cooke, CEO of The Insights Group (The Esports Radar), said: “As ever with this kind of exercise and selecting those who deserve recognition across these areas this was extremely difficult, but we’re really pleased with those we’ve chosen! They’ve all contributed something meaningful in different ways to esports over this past year in particular, and for many of them for much longer than that too.

“We’re excited to celebrate these people, organisations and the space in Cologne at City Hall in June, and even more excited to scale this Honours platform into the future; we want it to be more representative and do the sector worldwide justice; those developments and that process will follow soon after 19th June.”

The post Shortlists Revealed Across Categories for the Esports Leaders Honours Awards 2025-26 appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

The post N365 Shortlisted for Marketing and Services Provider of the Year at 2026 SBC Awards appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.