The best of Malta at the Global Gaming Awards
The eighth Global Gaming Awards EMEA are set to take place on 20 January 2025. The coming ceremony will be the first away from The Hippodrome Casino and, indeed, the UK, following ICE to Barcelona. This time, the event will be held at The Market Restaurant at Fira Barcelona Gran Via, on Day 1 of ICE 2025 – a new environment for the Awards that is sure to make for a memorable experience.
But, with all this change on the horizon, we took some time to reflect on Awards past, specifically looking at a few notable names and faces that have scooped an Award (or two) over the years from the iGaming hub of Malta. Since 2018, wins by Maltese businesses have slowly grown, from two wins in 2018 by the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) and NetEnt to five wins in 2024 by Pragmatic Play (winning in both the Online Casino Supplier of the Year and Product Launch of the Year), Relax Gaming, Continent8 Technologies and Betsson.
Let’s take a look at a few of the highlights…
MGA: Corporate Services Provider of the Year 2018
The MGA has been at the forefront of iGaming regulation for over 20 years, forming in 2001. As one of the oldest iGaming regulators in the industry, the MGA has played a significant role in shaping how compliance is administered both in and outside of Europe, while also allowing Malta’s iGaming market to be one of the market’s strongest. There is a reason why gaining an MGA licence and a Malta location is so important, after all.
Continent 8 Technologies: Corporate Services Provider of the Year 2019, 2020 & 2024
While renamed to simply ‘Services Provider of the Year’ from the 2021 awards onwards, the categorisation remains much the same, with Continent 8 being the most frequent winner of this category over the past seven ceremonies. Other winners included the MGA in 2018, Sportradar in 2021, Internet Vikings in 2022 and Enteractive in 2023 (three of which are also strongly associated with Malta).
Continent 8 Technologies offers four main services. These include connect8, offering transit, MLPS and cloud exchange services, manage8, offering co-location, private and public cloud, IAAS and live dealer and streaming services, secure8, offering DDOS, WAAP and EDR & MDR services, and AWS Marketplace, which offers managed and professional services via Amazon’s AWS Marketplace.
On its 2024 win, CEO Michael Tobin commented: “It’s ironic that it’s been 25 years since Continent 8 Technologies has been participating in the industry and it’s our first trip to London. I never anticipated what 25 years would do for our business.”
Maltese representation among winners of the Awards has steadily increased since 2018, with both 2023 and 2024 seeing five winners from the island nation. If this trend is anything to go by, there is a good chance we will see similar triumphs next year
Pragmatic Play: Double winners, 2023 and 2024
While consistency deserves merit, so too does making a splash. This was something Pragmatic Play achieved in 2023 and 2024, scooping two Awards in each of these years.
In 2023, Pragmatic Play won the title of Online Casino Supplier of the Year, and also won the Online Slot of the Year title for its game Sugar Rush. The game, which utilises a 7×7 grid and an art style reminiscent of Candy Crush, is now available via a range of operators including Paddy Power, Admiral, Betfred and others.
Meanwhile, 2024 saw a win, once again, as Online Casino Supplier of the Year, but also in the Product Launch of the Year category, for its Treasure Island game. The live casino game takes on an Indiana Jones-like aesthetic, with players spinning a wheel of gems, bonus games and instant bonuses with a chance to win prizes. At the 2024 Awards, Pragmatic Play representatives commented: “We’re very proud to win two Awards here. One for slots and one for live casino. Both are big focuses for us.”
Betsson Group: Social Responsibility of the Year 2024
After being won twice in a row by Kindred Group, Betsson Group took home the title of Social Responsibility of the Year at the 2024 Awards. The category took the ethos of ‘the betterment of society is not a job to be left to a few. It’s a responsibility to be shared by all,’ as we wrote in our 2022 GGA EMEA Shortlist issue. Indeed, social responsibility in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic was certainly a hot topic, but three years on, the importance of this issue should not be overlooked. On the win at the 2024 Awards, CEO Jesper Svensson said: “It feels amazing. It’s a great Award to be recognised for. It’s something we care dearly about so I’m really glad.”
Global Gaming Awards Barcelona: What can we expect?
Aside from the new location (which, hopefully, will provide slightly nicer weather than a typical British February), guests should expect the same level of occasion and celebration from the Global Gaming Awards. But, can trends from the past few years give any indication of what to expect? As previously mentioned, Maltese representation among winners of the Awards has steadily increased since 2018, with both 2023 and 2024 seeing five winners from the island nation. If this trend is anything to go by, there is a good chance we will see similar triumphs next year.
Maltese businesses such as Continent 8 and Pragmatic Play have shown a capacity to earn multi-year wins (and multi-category wins), meaning there is a good chance a previous Maltese category winner will be in with a chance of winning this year too.
Either way, the contribution of the Malta to the global iGaming scene is only increasing each year. We look forward to seeing you all in January. Buena suerte!
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