Posted in Industry January 31, 2019
EGR Nordic Awards 2019 Nominees
Once more, the time has come to show appreciation for everything companies involved in the industry do and devote all their time and resources to throughout the year. The mutual respect between the companies and the customers is quite important. They award the players with generous rewards, bonus deals and interesting games. The ones that best do their job get the chance to win awards at events such as EGR Nordic Awards.
On January 24, 2019, hundreds of companies with their management and employees enjoyed the evening at Corinthia Hotel St George’s Bay in Malta. The tickets were quite expensive, as one table for 10 costs €4,275 for those who are members, while everyone else needed to pay €5,155. This included a three-course dinner, wine, drinks reception, watching the ceremony and networking after the awards. In the end, the bill can be split between ten people and there’s even more value if you want to pursue a career in the gambling industry.
2018 Winners
Thirteen categories and dozens of nominees are announced each year. These are the last year’s winners:
- Evolution Gaming — Casino Content Supplier
- NetEnt — Casino Platform Supplier
- SBTech — Sports Betting Supplier
- Cherry Affiliates — Affiliate programme
- Betsson Group — Customer Services Operator
- Spillehallen.dk — In-house Innovation
- Paf — Marketing Campaign
- LeoVegas — Casino Operator, Sports Betting Operator and Nordics Operator (3 separate awards)
- Casumo — Mobile Operator
- Kindred — Socially Responsible Operator
The competition is tough and winning any of the thirteen awards is not an easy task at all. It requires constant dedication and hard work throughout the year.
Categories and Nominees 2019
Although the new category — Affiliate programme — was announced last year, 2019 will go without any additional implementations. There are thirteen categories, without a fixed number of nominees for each one. More specific ones, such as the Sports Betting Operator, have only three nominees, while the Marketing Campaign Reward has 10 nominees, as every single company out there invests a lot of money and time in advertisements.
Each category is exclusive and has unique criteria, but if we had to point out the most valuable rewards this year, those would be Mobile Operators, Casino Operators, and Content Supplier. Those three are extremely hard to obtain and although that doesn’t mean others don’t have the same value, chances are the companies can benefit a lot from winning these.
Mobile Operator
Companies with the major improvement in and dedication to the tablet and mobile real-money gambling are nominated each year. Both traditional gambling companies with a mobile version of their software and mobile-only firms are eligible for the nomination. The judges look for the company that has provided the most overall value for the industry in terms of growth, innovation, and the product or service quality. Software that’s compatible with both iOS and Android devices is the key, but paying attention to all tablet and smartphone platforms and version also plays a huge role.
The main things judges look for in Mobile Operator candidates are:
- Player metrics
- Commercial success and growth of mobile products
- Functionality and overall quality of the product
- Differentiation and innovation
- Cross-platform implementations
Casumo took the reward last year, but they unfortunately didn’t get the chance to defend the title. Seven companies are nominated this year: LeoVegas, Mr Green, Global Gaming, Genesis Global Limited, Mobilebet, Betzest and Betsson Group.
Casino Operator
These are the EGR Nordic Awards, which is why the judges look for a casino operator with the most reach and domination throughout the Nordic region. Just like in any other category, the quality of products and services offered by the casino is extremely important. What judges pay special attention to is the originality of the product, brand strength and implemented innovations that allowed the company to stand out from the others.
The key elements are:
- Commercial growth and success
- Differentiation and innovation
- Quality of the brand, product and marketing
- Applied retention strategies and customer acquisition
One of the three rewards LeoVegas won last year was the Casino Operator reward. As we have already mentioned, this category has the most competition with 10 nominees: Videoslots, PlayOJO, Mr Green, Metal Casino, Global Gaming, Fairplay Casino, ComeOn!, Betsson Group, ALEA, and the current champion, LeoVegas. Wait until January 24 to find out whether LeoVegas managed to win the reward once again or we will see someone else on the podium.
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Casino Content Supplier
You are familiar with 10 to 15 products that were trending throughout the year. Companies that developed those products are the main candidates for the Casino Content Supplier reward. All the judges look for is the performance, quality, commercial success and customer service. Innovation is quite important as well.
Key criteria:
- Innovation
- User experience and user interface
- Development of the product
- Understanding of customers’ needs
Evolution Gaming took the reward last year, which seemed like an easy win considering how much they have done throughout 2017. Besides Evolution Gaming, the nominees for 2019 are: Yggdrasil, SG Digital, Red Tiger Gaming, Quickspin, Pragmatic Play, Playtech, Play’n GO, NetEnt, Microgaming and Booming Games.
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Other Rules
The list of companies includes only the finalists that made it through the initial judging phase. Companies were required to explain, in less than 1,000 words, why their business should get the chance to win a specific award. Besides that, unique entries and application forms were needed in case the company applies for more than one category.
The judges are the biggest experts from the industry who will give their unbiased opinion and decide which companies deserve the spot in the finals. All the information the judges share is strictly confidential and no one outside a small circle of people is aware of the winners until the official announcement on the January 24.
Judging all the companies that applied is not an easy task. Each judge thoroughly analyses every application and allocates a score to each one alongside a written comment explaining their decision. An automated judging platform collects all the scores and immediately compiles lists of nominees and winners. In case there are no clear immediate winners, Highly Commended might be rewarded for the category in case the conference call with the judges doesn’t solve the problem.
