Industry Awards
Casino Guru announces shortlisted companies for the prestigious 2025 Casino Guru Awards

Casino Guru is proud to announce the shortlisted companies for the highly anticipated 2025 Casino Guru Awards. This year’s event, marking the third edition of the awards, will introduce a prestigious live ceremony at the Hilton Hotel in St. Julian’s, Malta, on June 6, 2025. The event will honor the most influential and responsible contributors to the iGaming industry, reinforcing Casino Guru’s commitment to transparency, social responsibility, innovation and fairness.
After receiving a record-breaking number of nominations, the selection process has resulted in a strong and diverse lineup of industry leaders, innovators, and pioneers. With so many high-caliber nominees, the competition is fiercer than ever, making it an extremely challenging decision for the judges. This year, as in previous years, the panel of esteemed judges will conduct 30-60 minute interviews with all shortlisted candidates before casting their anonymous votes, ensuring a fair and in-depth evaluation process.
Regardless of the final outcome, simply reaching the shortlist is a remarkable achievement, and all nominees will be celebrated and recognized for their outstanding contributions to the industry. The awards are not just about selecting winners—they serve as a platform to honor excellence and innovation across iGaming.
Shortlisted candidates for select categories
iGaming Changemaker of the Year
Maris Catania, Safer Gaming Consultant at SG:certified
Vladimir Malakchi, CEO & Managing Director at Xanada Investments
Ebbe Groes, CEO, EveryMatrix
David Natroshvili, CEO & Co-founder, SPRIBE
Anastasios Ioannidis, Head of Affiliates, ARRISE powering Pragmatic Play
Uri Poliavich, Founder & CEO, Soft2Bet
Ihor Zarechnyi, Chief Commercial Officer, Evoplay
The Best Implementation of Responsible Gambling Tools – Developers
ClearStake
Rdentify
Mindway AI
The Best Implementation of Responsible Gambling Tools – Operators
Betinia
OnlyWin Casino
Spinline Casino
DraftKings
L&L Europe LTD
The Most Impactful Social Responsibility Initiative
EveryMatrix
Mindway AI
BGaming
The Most Ethical Approach to Marketing
1win Charity
Winspirit Casino
Zoome Casino
SOFTSWISS
LalaStars
Boomerang Partners
The Fairest Bonus Policy
Immerion
iWild Casino
OnlyWin Casino
Wazbee Casino
Wazamba
Rabona
Winspirit Casino
Hugo Casino
Zoome Casino
Boomerang Partners
The Most Transparent Casino
OnlyWin Casino
Trino Casino
Oshi.io
Wazamba
Gamblezen Casino
Trip2VIP Casino
Hugo Casino
N1 Casino
Slot Hunter
The Fairest General Terms & Conditions
BETANDYOU
bets.io
OnlyWin Casino
Zoome Casino
Trip2VIP
The Most Effective Handling of Complaints
RocketPlay Casino
Mega Casino UK
Richard Casino
Vulkan Vegas
BetBeast
bets.io
RoySpins Casino
Trino Casino
Gamblezen Casino
Zoome Casino
Players’ Choice – Best Game Provider
Pragmatic Play
Habanero
Hacksaw Gaming
Play’n GO
Push Gaming
Nolimit City
NetEnt
BGaming
Evoplay
Betsoft Gaming
TaDa Gaming
Red Tiger Gaming
ELK Studios
Winfinity
Playtech
Yggdrasil Gaming
Popiplay
Relax Gaming
Amusnet (EGT)
Peter & Sons
A grand celebration of iGaming excellence
For the first time in Casino Guru Awards history, the winners will be revealed in an exclusive, invite-only gala on June 6, 2025, at the Hilton Hotel in St. Julian’s, Malta.
Daniela Sliva, PR & Creative Project Director at Casino Guru and the leader of the Casino Guru Awards project, shared her excitement: “The overwhelming number of nominations and the exceptional quality of submissions this year truly highlight the growing commitment to transparency, responsibility, and innovation in iGaming. The strength of our shortlist speaks volumes—it will be incredibly difficult for our judges to select just one winner in each category. With in-depth evaluation calls and anonymous voting, we are ensuring a fair and rigorous selection process. But beyond winning, being shortlisted is an achievement worth celebrating—every nominee has demonstrated excellence, and we look forward to recognizing their contributions at our grand ceremony in Malta.”
With the shortlisting process completed, voting for the Players’ Choice and Voice of the People categories will soon open, giving the public a direct role in selecting the winners. The final winners across all categories will be revealed at the grand ceremony in Malta.
The post Casino Guru announces shortlisted companies for the prestigious 2025 Casino Guru Awards appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Industry Awards
Soft2Bet’s brand recognised for “Innovation in Casino” at EGR Marketing & Innovation Awards 2025

Soft2Bet is delighted to announce that its flagship brand, Betinia, has received the “Innovation in Casino” award at the EGR Marketing & Innovation Awards 2025, recognising the brand’s outstanding use of gamification to elevate user engagement within online casino entertainment.
The award highlights how Soft2Bet’s brand Betinia, has successfully integrated its proprietary gamification engine, MEGA (Motivational Engineering Gaming Application), positioning it as a transformative force redefining the casino experience. In saturated and highly competitive markets, Betinia stands out by embedding MEGA as a core strategic framework, enhancing player motivation through personalised experience, progression-based mechanics, and engaging, content-rich interactions.
In 2024, Betinia achieved a high performance results and became the #1 app in local app stores, highlighting the effectiveness of Soft2Bet’s localisation, customization, and retention approaches. Moving beyond conventional bonuses, MEGA creates a player journey focused on achievement, narrative progression, and sustained engagement, leading to a 176% increase in player retention. By introducing virtual stadium-building, and collectable rewards, Betinia transformed gameplay into an engaging and continuously evolving digital adventure.
With more than 75% of users engaging through native apps, Betinia has showcased MEGA’s effectiveness in enhancing mobile retention while maintaining compliance in highly regulated markets, including Sweden and Denmark. The engine’s platform-agnostic architecture has further enabled smooth deployment across multiple jurisdictions, reinforcing Betinia’s reputation as one of the select few brands successfully delivering large-scale gamification in a compliant and sustainable way.
“We know how to create performing brands, and this win acts as a proof of concept for our B2B activities, as the whole industry acknowledges the full spectrum of our innovations in casino. All our brands demonstrate Soft2Bet’s commitment to excellence in customer experience, innovative design, and robust regulatory compliance,” stated Oksana Tsyhankova, Chief Marketing Officer at Soft2Bet.
Soft2Bet and its brands were shortlisted for 12 nominations, with Betinia securing five of these. By transforming traditional approaches to customer experience through the introduction of gamification, localisation, and customisation across all services, Soft2Bet is creating new standards for the industry to follow.
The post Soft2Bet’s brand recognised for “Innovation in Casino” at EGR Marketing & Innovation Awards 2025 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Industry Awards
Kaizen Gaming’s Betano Recognised as Brand of the Year at the EGR Marketing & Innovation Awards 2025

Kaizen Gaming secured a total of three awards, including Innovation in Sports Betting and Best Native App for the second consecutive year.
Kaizen Gaming, one of the world’s biggest GameTech companies and owner of the Betano online sports betting and gaming brand, has been honoured with three awards at the prestigious EGR Marketing and Innovation Awards 2025, held in London on June 19th. Kaizen Gaming was awarded with “Brand of the Year – B2C” for its premium brand, Betano, “Innovation in Sports Betting” and “Best Native App”.
The past year has been especially significant for Betano which unveiled a new brand identity, brought to life globally through sponsorships of major international football tournaments, such as the UEFA EURO 2024™, the CONMEBOL Copa America™️ 2024, the UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Conference League, alongside prominent local competitions, like Brasileirão Betano (Campeonato Brasileiro Série A) and Torneo Betano (the Argentine Primera División).
Furthermore, the award victories in the “Innovation in Sports Betting” and “Best Native App” categories highlight Kaizen Gaming’s ongoing commitment to customer-centric innovation, delivering highly engaging gameplay and mobile-first experiences that continue to set new industry standards. Notably, this is the second consecutive year that Kaizen Gaming has been distinguished for developing the “Best Native App”, a testament to the excellence of its in-house technology, product, and innovation teams.
Pablo Puertas, Marketing Director of Kaizen Gaming said: “The past year has been a defining one for Betano. We didn’t just refresh our visual identity; we reinforced Betano as a modern, premium and trusted brand, radiating confidence, playfulness, and artistic flair. Through bold 360° campaigns and landmark sponsorships we connected with millions of people in meaningful, localized ways.
But this is more than branding. It reflects our broader commitment to delivering the best, most innovative, and most responsible gaming experiences possible. Winning ‘Best Native App’ once again, as well as ‘Innovation in Sports Betting’ shows that we are pretty successful at it. We are now at a stage where we can confidently say that Betano is a truly premium global player, able to compete for leadership in any given market. A big thank you to the award organizers, but more importantly to the ‘Kaizeners’, who are the driving force behind our success”.
Building on last year’s momentum, the first half of 2025 has been a remarkable period for Kaizen Gaming and Betano, highlighted by multiple high-profile global sponsorships – including the most recent partnership with FIFA for the FIFA Club World Cup 2025™ for South America and the long-term principal and front-of-shirt partnership with Club Atlético River Plate.
The EGR Marketing & Innovation Awards reward the most innovative and creative companies in the online gaming industry, celebrating commercial success, game-changing innovation, leading customer service and marketing prowess over the past 12 months. This year’s ceremony took place at The Mermaid, London, on 19th June 2025, and was hosted by Greek comedian George Zach.
The post Kaizen Gaming’s Betano Recognised as Brand of the Year at the EGR Marketing & Innovation Awards 2025 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Industry Awards
More awards for ProgressPlay

In the high-stakes world of iGaming, where innovation is the currency of success, ProgressPlay has once again proven its mastery, not once, but twice. The news has rippled through the industry like an electric current: ProgressPlay has been shortlisted for the prestigious EGR Awards 2025 in not one, but two fiercely competitive categories; Bingo Supplier of the Year and White Label Partner of the Year.
This double honour isn’t just a nod to outstanding technology; it’s a resounding endorsement of their core philosophy; that the future of iGaming belongs to those who empower operators, delight players, and push boundaries without compromise. These nominations follow hot-on-the-heels of a shortlist spot for “Industry Innovation of the Year” at the SBC Awards Europe 2025.
The journey to this moment began with a bold vision: to reinvent bingo for the modern era, having already established a significant position in the international white-label market with over a decade of success.
While others treated it as a legacy vertical, ProgressPlay saw untapped potential in bingo, a game steeped in community, ripe for innovation. The new bingo platform wasn’t just built; it was engineered to breathe new life into the category.
With data-driven player engagement tools, dynamic jackpot mechanics, and seamless mobile-first design, ProgressPlay transformed bingo from a nostalgic pastime into a growth engine for operators. The EGR shortlist is validation that the dynamic company didn’t just evolve bingo; it redefined it.
In a matter of weeks, ProgressPlay launched over 130 new bingo sites for operators in the UK market alone, showing that immaculate product development and rapid deployment go hand-in-hand.
But the story doesn’t end there. ProgressPlay’s White Label Partner nomination is where strategy meets scale. In an industry crowded with cookie-cutter solutions, ProgressPlay chose a different path, a partnership model that puts operators in the driver’s seat. From customisable loyalty programs to real-time revenue analytics, their white-label standalone platform became the launchpad for ambitious brands to carve their niche.
Marina Nahhas, Head of B2B Sales and Marketing, says: “Our team is delighted that the EGR Awards have recognised that at the heart of ProgressPlay’s standalone technology is its unparalleled flexibility. Unlike traditional white-label offerings, this standalone platform is a true turnkey solution, allowing operators to craft their own brand identity, select their preferred gaming content, and integrate the most effective payment methods suited to their target audience.”
Behind these accolades lies something deeper, a culture of relentless iteration. Where others see awards, the team at ProgressPlay see milestones in an ongoing mission. Every line of code, every partner success story, every late-night breakthrough has led here.
This ability to fine-tune every aspect of the standalone platform ensures that businesses remain ahead of the curve, delivering experiences that resonate deeply with local players while maintaining a globally competitive edge.
ProgressPlay CEO Itai Lowenstein said: “To our team, partners, and players, this latest double-shortlist is your triumph. But this isn’t a finale; it’s a catalyst. As we prepare for the EGR Awards ceremony, we’re already blueprinting the next leap forward, because in iGaming, standing still is the only true failure. Let’s make it just the beginning.”
The post More awards for ProgressPlay appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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