The Global Gaming Awards are now in their fifth year. They have become the most trusted awards in the gambling industry, recognising excellence in both the land based and online sectors. These awards are powered by leading B2B-gaming publication Gambling Insider in association with G2E and are independently adjudicated by KPMG Isle of Man. The 2018 awards were announced at a glittering ceremony on October 8 at the Sands Expo in Las Vegas. Two of the awards will be of special interest to online casino players.

The first is the Product Innovation of the Year Award. The judging panel said, “The gaming industry would come to a standstill if it were not for the companies that continue to take great strides in terms of innovation, giving the customers what they want before they even know themselves.” What makes this award extremely special is that it commonly covers both land-based and digital sectors. Those companies whose products have been truly innovative over the last twelve months have been short listed for the award. These include Gaming Innovation Group for its sports betting platform, IGT for Virtual Zone and Play 'n Go for OMNY. The winner in the category was Evolution Gaming a leading supplier of live dealer games to online casinos. The product was Lightning Roulette. This visually stunning game combines RNG action with live casino action, which is the innovative feature. The winning number is decided by the spinning of a roulette wheel at a live casino. But, with each spin a random number generator reveals payout multipliers on lucky numbers. These are applied if you bet and win on any of the lucky numbers.

The second award is for the Digital Operator of the Year. This award recognises those companies which are driving forward the dynamic and rapidly-evolving online gaming industry. The short list in this crowded and very competitive marketplace included 888 Holdings, Paddy Power Betfair, PartyGaming, The Stars Group and World Series of Poker. The winner was Bet365. Bet365 entered the online arena with a digital sports betting platform in 2000. Today it offers the complete range of online gaming verticals that include casino, poker bingo and others. It has 35 million customers globally and offers services in 25 currencies. The employee strength is over 3500 and the latest revenue reported is £2.3 billion for 2017. Bet365 has received a number of awards over the years. The founder Denise Coates received a CBE in 2012.