Following the successful first-ever in-person Global Gaming Awards Asia-Pacific last summer, the industry’s most prestigious awards return to Manila for the 2025 ceremony. This year’s Awards mark the Asia-Pacific Global Gaming Awards’ fourth outing and will bring together delegates from all corners of the industry on 3 June to celebrate the best and brightest the region has to offer in gaming. Now, with the shortlisting process currently underway, the industry will continue to hold its breath prior to the unveiling of the full Shortlist of nominees to the public in early May.
With over 10 years of memorable celebrations in Las Vegas, London, Manila and Barcelona, the Global Gaming Awards has garnered a reputation of excellence that – year in, year out – attracts the most influential members of the industry. This year will be no different, as the luncheon awards ceremony is set to be held during day 2 of the SiGMA Asia Summit at the SMX Convention Center in Manila, Philippines.
Indeed, the self-nomination process for this year’s event ran from 20 January to 7 March, with the Awards team undergoing a rigorous selection process via consultation with independent specialists prior to releasing the finalised Shortlist selection. Successfully nominated candidates will be contacted in April, prior to the official public release of the full Shortlist. Then, from 21 April, voting commences.
During the closing week of April, the Judging Panel will cast their votes for both a winner and runner-up across all categories. The Panel is made up of carefully selected industry experts who, of course, will be excluded from voting within any categories in which they have a conflict of interest. As always, the voting process will then be independently adjudicated by KPMG in the Crown Dependencies.
KPMG has been the Global Gaming Awards’ official voting adjudicator since the very first Las Vegas ceremony over 10 years ago. Commenting on the organisation’s relationship and commitment to the Awards ahead of this year’s Asia-Pacific ceremony, Micky Swindale, KPMG Global Gaming Team Partner, said: “We review the Global Gaming Awards’ system and tools for collecting votes, check that judges weren’t allowed to vote in categories where they have a conflict and confirm that the winner and runner-up in each category has been determined correctly based on votes cast. Finally, we select a random sample of judges whom we contact to verify the system has accurately recorded their votes.
“KPMG’s commitment to and involvement with the gaming sector is unparalleled and that is why we have so welcomed the opportunity to support the Global Gaming Awards events for the EMEA, Americas and as of 2022 – Asia-Pacific. The combination of a thorough Shortlisting process, a highly distinguished; panel of judges, and the organisers’ commitment to independent verification of the judges’ decisions, means any company or individual that makes it to the final Shortlist should be extremely proud.”
Of course, it has been a big year in Asian gaming since last year’s Global Gaming Awards Asia-Pacific. The Philippines has, itself, undergone a period of turbulence related to its illegal offshore gaming operator (POGO) crackdown during the second half of 2024. The nation has seemingly managed to weather the storm as, despite the intensified global press and dramatic sequence of police raids and manhunts, a recent PAGCOR report highlighted that the nation’s gambling industry saw 25% growth in 2024.
Elsewhere, there have been legislative movements that saw the opening up of new industries across the Asian continent. Indeed, the UAE’s newly launched national lottery programme, paired with the recent passing of casino legislation in Thailand and the continuous diversification of Macau, have reshaped the Asian landscape over the past 12 months.
In the Pacific region, New Zealand has initiated plans to fully regulate its gambling market during 2026, while Australia has continued to grapple with its own regulatory issues, in the strengthening of protection and observation laws across the nation. Naturally, this only offers the briefest of snapshots into the key events of Asian-Pacific gambling since last year’s Awards. However, it serves to highlight the significant changes that have been spurred on by the tireless efforts of some of the industry’s finest champions; individuals who, of course, deserve to be celebrated via the acknowledgement the Awards provide.
Also expressing excitement about this year’s Asia-Pacific ceremony in Manila, Mariya Savova, Event Manager of the Global Gaming Awards, said: “The Global Gaming Awards were launched to recognise and reward the dedication, hard work and continuous innovation made by our industry. These are the most prestigious in the gaming industry, and we ensure we maintain this reputation year after year. These are the only Awards that give a reason why each company and individual is nominated, and we release all those reasons in the public domain.
“To keep things fair, we ensure companies are only nominated once per category, meaning that, if a company has multiple brands, only one of them can be Shortlisted in a particular category. Moreover, we have a stellar panel of senior industry executives, all with vast experience and knowledge of the APAC gaming market, choosing the winners. Only one executive per company is allowed to participate and KPMG in the Crown Dependencies adjudicating the voting process to ensure transparency and fairness.”
In an industry as fast changing and diverse as gaming, moments of reflective celebration provide motivational fuel to the vital lifeblood of innovation. Herein lies the purpose of the Global Gaming Awards, which promises to provide another outstanding afternoon of celebration on its fourth Asia-Pacific outing.
