eGaming Review January 2015 | Page 35

/ I TA LY / E G R AWA R D S W illiam Hill took the top honours at the eGR Operator Awards. Over 700 of egaming’s leading figures flocked to the Camden Roundhouse for the spectacular 10th annual ceremony hosted by top comedian Ed Byrne. The operator took home the coveted Operator of the Year award, fighting off strong competition from bet365, Unibet, Gala Coral and Paddy Power. William Hill also claimed the Marketing Campaign of the Year for its multichannel World Cup effort, and Casino and Slots Operator of the Year due to the impressive growth of its in-house Vegas product and a strong performance on the mobile channels. It was closely matched on the night by Sky Betting & Gaming, which won three awards in no small part due to its strong showing on mobile taking home the Mobile Operator, Mobile Sportsbook Product and Affiliate Programme trophies. Other big winners included PokerStars, which took home the Poker Operator of the Year and Mobile Poker Product awards, and bet365 which maintained its stranglehold on the In-play Sports Betting and Sports Betting Operators awards. Colossus Bets made it a year to remember, walking away with the Rising Star award a little more than a year after first launching. The night also included a special award for Paddy Power’s outgoing CEO Patrick Kennedy, who leaves the firm in 2015 after a decade in charge. He was recognised for his impressive career with eGR’s Outstanding Contribution award, which met with one of the biggest rounds of applause of the night. By players, for players W W W. E G R M A G A Z I N E . C O M 33