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GVC, PartyPoker Win Big at EGR Awards

Written by Jennifer Newell
Last updated on
Jennifer Newell

For years, PokerStars has dominated awards for online poker operator of the year. No matter the nature of the award, whether it was global or nation-based, and regardless of the number of nominees, PokerStars tended to win in online poker categories.

However, an old nemesis is back. The original online poker giant was PartyPoker in the early 2000s, though PokerStars took over when Chris Moneymaker won the WSOP Main Event in 2003 from a PokerStars satellite, but PartyPoker is back and ready to rumble. And since it was acquired by GVC Holdings in 2016 as part of the bwin.party deal, the company has been putting more resources into PartyPoker. And it shows.

The GVC earnings report for the first half of 2018 showed much overall growth, but significantly, PartyPoker’s net gaming revenue was up 36%. Not only had GVC invested in brand ambassadors and more personal relationships with players, software updates and game improvements were showing players that PartyPoker valued their business and wanted more of it.

All of the efforts put into improving and growing PartyPoker to become PokerStars’ primary competitor in the global online poker space seems to have paid off. And GVC/PartyPoker now has several awards to prove it.

EGR Operator Awards 2018

EGR, which stands for eGaming Review, is considered to be one of the online gaming industry’s foremost sources of news and analysis. The business also serves as a networking group, market researcher, and publisher, complete with sister brands of EGR Technology, EGR Compliance, EGR Marketing, and EGR North America to go with its EGR Global and EGR Intel staple companies.

Needless to say, EGR is – and has been – a leader in the gaming world.

As happens each year, EGR just held its annual Operator Awards near its headquarters in London. The festivities took place on October 25, serving once again as the “Oscars of the egaming sector.” Hundreds of industry professionals attended, and numerous companies were honored with awards.

Any company can be nominated – this year’s process began in June 2017 and ran through June 2018. All operators were then judged on products and services offered, levels of customer focus, and standards of commercial success. And the EGR Operator Awards have become so popular that this year’s voting process was officiated by Deloitte to ensure the most transparency possible.

PartyPoker Wins Big

The most significant online poker award in the mix is always the Poker Operator award, obviously. And for the second year in a row, that honor went to GVC’s PartyPoker. This signaled a serious turn for the poker industry, as PokerStars had held the title from 2014 through 2016.

The Top Operator award, which is the most coveted honor across the entire gaming spectrum, was GVC Holdings this year.

And GVC also won for the Casino Operator award, giving the company a total of three prestigious honors at the ceremony held at the Grosvenor House in London last week.

PartyPoker Managing Director Tom Waters commented, “I’m absolutely delighted that the efforts of the team have been recognized for the second year running. Everyone in the team has worked so hard to get PartyPoker to where it is now, and we are excited about how we can now take it to the next level.”

And as for EGR, the company wrote that PartyPoker “provided many examples of their growth and improving returns from their customers, and showed a real mixture of improving the product and customer interaction, stitched together into an overall strategy.”

Other Online Poker-Pertinent Awards

One of the interesting awards was Employer of the Year, which went to Sky Betting & Gaming, the company that was recently acquired by PokerStar’ parent company, The Stars Group. The nomination was likely submitted before the deal was completed. Sky also won for the most Socially Responsible Operator, another positive nod for a company that is likely wondering about its future.

The Mobile Operator award went to William Hill for its overall mobile offerings. The Game of the Year was Lightning Roulette from Evolution Gaming. The Rising Star award was given to Supr Nation, a technology company in the online casino business that focuses on unique mobile products, clean coding, and innovative gaming technology. The Best Marketing Campaign nod was given to Tombola, with Betsson Group taking the award for Customer Services Operator.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=6&v=ZYs2ZPq2NUs

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