Winners react to EGR Nordics Awards success
The region’s egaming heavyweights gathered in Malta on Tuesday night and here’s what the winners had to say
The big winners from this week’s EGR Nordics Awards have spoken of their pride at being recognised at the industry’s foremost awards ceremony.
Mr Green took home the Nordics Operator of the Year award, with the company’s CEO calling it a “very humbling title”.
“The Nordics is a very important area for us, it is where we started our business almost 10 years ago, and where we are listed on the Nasdaq Stockholm main market,” said Mr Green Ltd CEO Jesper Kärrbrink.
“Being awarded the ‘Nordic Operator of the Year’ is of course a very humbling title but it is also an indication that we are executing efficiently on our business strategy called Mr Green 2.0.”
The firm also picked up the Marketing Campaign of the Year gong, which Karrbrink described “as further recognition the industry is favouring marketing innovation and acting in a responsible manner.”
“We have moved away from offering campaigns in the classic sense,” he added.
“Our customer journey is based on a 1:1 player communication. We try to learn as much as possible about our players’ behaviours to be able to offer them only the most relevant rewards and help them keep a healthy gaming behaviour – we call this Green Gaming. The latest example was our Christmas calendar offering unique daily rewards in an innovative packaging. We are very happy to see this has fallen in grace with the jury.”
LeoVegas succesfully retained the Casino Operator prize, with CEO by Johan Styren adding: “We are delighted that for the second consecutive year LeoVegas has been awarded as the Casino Operator of the Year at the 2017 EGR Nordics Awards. During the past year we have continuously worked hard in improving our casino product and this award shows recognition that we’re best in class.”
Paf chief responsibility officer Daniela Johansson picked up the Responsible Gaming award for the Åland operator. “I’m both happy and proud,” Johansson said.
“We see responsible gaming as something that really makes us stand out amongst the competition. We also believe that many of our customers choose us because we are the safer alternative. And as we help our customers to play on reasonable levels, we are simultaneously building longer and more lasting relationships with them.”
Stefan Olsson, the CEO of Global Gaming, which won the prize for In-house Innovation, said: “It is an honour to have won such a competitive and prestigious category at the EGR Nordics Awards, an event which acknowledges the companies setting the standards in the region.
“We strive to achieve the highest levels of innovation so can take great pride in Ninja Casino being recognised as the leader in this field.
“This is just the start of what promises to be a breakthrough year for a product we believe will make a big impact in the industry.”
Elsewhere, SBTech triumphed in the Sports Betting Supplier category.
“We are absolutely delighted to have won this award two years in a row, confirming our status as a clear leader in the Nordic sports betting industry,” SBTech’s VP of Business Development, Tom Light, said.
“The strength of our established relationships with clients such as ComeOn! and Cherry, as well as exciting new partnerships with BetHard and HeroGaming which have launched with the most innovative sportsbook loyalty system were clearly pivotal to our success.”
NetEnt scooped the gong for Casino Content Supplier. The firm’s chief product officer Simon Hammon said: “We are thrilled to win Casino Content Supplier of the Year.
“NetEnt has had a fantastic year of releases to the market. They have proven to be highly successful from a commercial perspective and impressive in terms of their mix of mechanics, design, and features.
“This was also recognised with the recent success of Guns N’ Roses being named Game of the Year at the Operators Awards. We look forward to building on these achievements with an even bigger and better year in 2017.”
The Affiliate of the Year award was won by RakeTech, who director Johan Svensson commented: “This is a phenomenal achievement and I’m extremely proud of what the company has accomplished in the past year. We are ready to kick start our ambitious growth plans and have some exciting acquisitions planned for 2017 – watch this space!”