I suspect it’s a sign of old age but I really can’t believe that the Global Gaming Awards has existed for over a decade now! My very first trip to G2E in Vegas was in 2014 to attend the very first ceremony of the Awards. I was there to deliver in person the final element of KPMG’s engagement to act as independent adjudicator to the then newly established Awards – the final ‘on the ground’ check against our own record of category winners - and to attend the awards ceremony to ensure that the right recipient is announced and presented with each award.
I distinctly remember my rendezvous with Julian Perry & Gary Roudette in the lobby of the Venetian the day before the Awards, to check the winners list and plan for the ceremony. We were all pretty nervous and excited about what was to come, and my nerves increased several-fold when they said that they wanted me to actually come on stage and announce the winners in person.
But as soon as the show got underway, and we heard and saw the delight and celebrations as each winner was announced, those nerves melted away – and so began a beautiful relationship and, I can easily say, my favourite client job. With the expansion of the Awards to London and now Asia, I have had the privilege of being the bearer of very good news to lots of industry legends over the years.
What remains unchanged since day 1 is KPMG’s approach to the voting and adjudication process - we review the GGA’s system and tools for collecting votes (and ensuring judges cannot vote in categories where they have a conflict), check that the winner & runner-up in each category has been determined correctly based on votes cast, and select a random sample of judges whom we contact to check that the votes recorded for them in the system are a complete and accurate reflection of their voting.
KPMG’s commitment to and involvement with this sector is, I believe, unparalleled and that is why we have so welcomed the opportunity to support the Global Gaming Awards for the past decade plus – the combination of a thorough selection process, a highly distinguished panel of judges, and the organisers’ commitment to independent verification of the judges’ decisions, means that any company or individual that makes it to the final shortlist should be extremely proud.
- Micky Swindale, Partner, KPMG Global Gaming Team
