Global Gaming Awards EMEA 2026 winners announced at ICE Barcelona

The Global Gaming Awards EMEA 2026 were announced in Barcelona during ICE. The winners were named on the first day of the show. The ceremony took place at Fira Barcelona Gran Via. It was a closed event and not open to the general public. Most of those present were senior managers and executives from gambling companies working across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

The awards are linked to Global Gaming Insider. Voting is not handled internally. For the 2026 edition, KPMG checked the process and verified the results. The votes were submitted by industry representatives. According to the organizers, more than 50 senior executives took part. The final rankings were based on these votes rather than sponsorship activity or promotion.

This year’s edition showed how competitive the EMEA gambling market has become. Several categories included companies with very different business models and geographic focus. Both online and land-based businesses were represented. Major international names took many of the top positions, although several newer and smaller companies were also ranked among the three best in their categories.

The awards were handed out in 15 separate categories. The full breakdown of winners and runners-up follows below.

• Sports Betting Operator of the Year — bet365
  Second place: Betano
  Third place: Betsson

• Sports Betting Services Supplier of the Year — Sportradar
  Second place: Kambi
  Third place: Altenar

• Casino of the Year — The Hippodrome Casino
  Second place: Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer
  Third place: Regency Casino Thessaloniki

• Casino Supplier of the Year — Aristocrat Gaming
  Second place: Light & Wonder
  Third place: Novomatic

• Online Casino of the Year — BetMGM
  Second place: bet365
  Third place: Betano

• Online Casino Supplier of the Year — Pragmatic Play
  Second place: Evolution
  Third place: Bragg Gaming

• Online Slot of the Year — Pragmatic Play, Gates of Hades
  Second place: BGaming, Snoop Dogg Dollars
  Third place: ELK Studios, Pirots 4

• Affiliate Program of the Year — bet365 Partners
  Second place: Betsson Group Affiliates
  Third place: 1xPartners

• Platform Provider of the Year — Soft2Bet
  Second place: EveryMatrix
  Third place: SoftSwiss

• Service Provider of the Year — Fast Track
  Second place: Gaming Laboratories International
  Third place: Continent 8 Technologies

• Game of the Year — Spribe, Aviator
  Second place: Pragmatic Play, High Flyer
  Third place: BGaming, Aviamasters

• Product Launch of the Year — Aristocrat Gaming, The Baron Upright
  Second place: Yggdrasil Gaming, Game in a Box™
  Third place: Fast Track, Fast Track AI

• Social Responsibility of the Year — Betsson Group
  Second place: Flutter Entertainment
  Third place: Paf

• Breakthrough Company of the Year — BETBY
  Second place: Elantil
  Third place: First

• Executive of the Year — Jesper Svensson, CEO, Betsson Group
  Second place: George Daskalakis, Co-Founder and CEO, Kaizen Gaming
  Third place: Axel Hefer, CEO, Tipico

Industry awards are a common part of the gambling business. They are held in different regions and under different brands. Rules and judging systems vary. The results usually reflect how companies performed over a short period of time. Such events make it easier to compare operators and suppliers working in the same market. They also put specific products and teams on record. Earlier, we reported on the SiGMA Awards South Asia 2025 and listed the winners from that event as well.