It’s that time of the year again when we take a moment to reflect on the past 12 months while also looking forward to what’s to come in the New Year.
2024 marked yet another period of growth for the gaming industry across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. This growth has been fueled by technological innovations and advancements, and rising consumer demand for both online and offline experiences.
In Europe, the past 12 months were marked by evolving regulations in key markets. The UK introduced stake limits for online slots and a statutory levy to fund research, education, and treatment of gambling-related harms.
Finland proposed changes to its online gambling legislation, shifting towards a multi-licensing approach, while France is assessing the opportunity that regulating online casinos may bring.
In Africa, the sector demonstrated immense growth (gross gambling revenue in South Africa alone hit a record ZAR59.3bn / €3.07bn/) in the 2023-24 financial year.
One of the biggest and most exciting developments we saw, however, was in the Middle East. The United Arab Emirates granted its first commercial gaming licence to Wynn Resorts. Shortly after, Aristocrat received the country’s first vendor licence and in October, the UAE’s first lottery launched, paving the way for a potentially huge gaming market.
What better way to kick off 2025 than by celebrating our industry and the amazing achievements of suppliers and operators at the Global Gaming Awards. This edition of the Awards is particularly exciting for our team, as the presentation ceremony will be held in Barcelona, following an incredible seven-year run at London’s fabulous Hippodrome Casino.
As per usual, every company and individual that has made it to this year’s Shortlist is included for a reason, which you can read in the following pages. Congratulations to all of this year’s nominees – you are all worthy winners, and your efforts push forward not just your companies, but our entire industry.
The winners are once again chosen by 50 senior executives from the industry – all with vast knowledge and years of experience in the EMEA region. I would like to personally thank every single one of them. It is the fact that the winners are chosen by industry leaders that makes the Global Gaming Awards so greatly desired and respected.
I would also like to thank Micky Swindale and KPMG in the Crown Dependencies for adjudicating the voting process, the event’s Lead Partner, BetConstruct, for its continued support, and to Clarion Gaming for giving the Global Gaming Awards Europe, Middle East & Africa a home at ICE 2025. We look forward to celebrating with everyone on 20 January!
¡Nos vemos en España!
Gary Roudette, CEO, Players Publishing
