Bet365 retains Best Bookmaker title at SBC Awards

Bet365 came out on top of its industry peers last night to take the SBC Bookmaker of the Year Award for the third year running. The Stoke-based outfit beat Unibet, Sky Bet, Pinnacle and 10bet to take the award, sponsored by Oddslife, which was voted on by industry professionals.

Bet365 also picked up the gong for best Live Betting Product in a very successful night for the bookmaker.

Yorkshire -based Sky Bet also had a successful evening, winning the Best Football Bookmaker Awards, being highly commended in another two categories, and seeing sister brand Oddschecker retain the Affiliate of the Year Award.

400 industry professionals attended the awards at the exclusive Under The Bridge nightclub at Stamford Bridge and were given a Christmas welcome with snow, mulled wine and mince pies. Inside entertainment came in the form of a 138.com sponsored selfie competition – the entries of which can be seen here – and the Slots Million VR casino.

The evening was hosted by Sky Sports News presenter Hayley McQueen, thanks to sponsorship from BetOnBrazil, who announced the winners and highly commended entries in seven innovation award categories and seven overall award categories.

The innovation awards winners were chosen by a panel of 30 judges, most of whom are leading CEOs in the business, while the overall awards were voted for by people who attended SBC’s two conferences, Betting on Football and Betting on Sports, or who receive the daily Betting Bulletin from SBC News.

The evening also saw the launch of the SBC Sports Betting Hall of Fame, with Howard Chisholm of Chisholm Bookmakers, Carsten Koerl of Sportradar and FSB Technology chairman Mark Blandford inducted as inaugural members.

The night ended with a set from Kellie Acreman, voted one of the world’s sexiest DJs, sponsored by EnergyBet.

SBC managing director Andrew McCarron said: “Congratulations to Bet365 on winning Best Bookmaker again and all our winners. Thanks to everyone who made it to our Awards ceremony with a difference. And particular thanks to our sponsors OPTIMA, LeoVegas, Ganapati plc, Oddslife, InPlay Sports Data, BetBrain, Digital Fuel, SlotsMillion, Sportito, BetonBrazil, BetConstruct, Vermantia, 138.com, SBTech, Sportradar, Energybet, Mr Green and Golden Race.” 

Bookmaker of the Year  – Sponsored by Oddslife

• Bet365 – Winner
• Sky Bet – Highly Commended
• Unibet
• Pinnacle
• 10bet

Affiliate of the Year – Sponsored by 138.com

• Oddschecker – Winner
• Bettingexpert – Highly Commended
• The FlashScore Network
• At The Races
• Superscommesse

Rising Star in Sports Betting – Sponsored by Golden Race

• EnergyBet – Winner
• BetOnBrazil – Highly Commended
• LeoVegas Sports
• Mr Green
• Tipbet

Football Bookmaker of the Year – Sponsored by InPlay Sports Data

• SkyBet – Winner
• Pinnacle – Highly Commended
• Unibet
• 10Bet
• 138.com
• VBet

Football Affiliate of the Year – Sponsored by EnergyBet

• BetBrain – Winner
• Footballtips.com – Highly Commended
• Free Super Tips
• Bookmakers Review
• Weekend Football

Esports Bookmaker of the Year – Sponsored by Betradar

• Pinnacle – Winner
• SkyBet – Highly Commended
• Unikrn
• Danske Spil
• Vitalbet

Marketing Campaign of the Year  – Sponsored by Vermantia

• LeoVegas – LeoVegas Sports launch – Winner
• Marathonbet – Non-League Challenge – Highly Commended
• SkyBet – Making Betting Better
• Ladbrokes – Betstation rebranding
• Unibet – Unibet Affiliates

Innovation in Football Betting – Best Football Betting Product

• BetBright – Winner
• TXODDS – Highly Commended
• SBTech
• Betgenius
• BetBrain 4 Business
• Colossus Bets

Innovation in Sports Betting – Best Sports Betting Product  – Sponsored by Mr Green

• BetConstruct – Winner
• Metric Gaming – Highly Commended
• ArenaCube
• Openbet
• Betradar
• FSBTech

Innovation in Live Betting – Best Live Betting Product

• Bet365 – Winner
• SBTech – Highly Commended
• InPlay Sports Data
• Commologic
• Metric Gaming
• Optima

Innovation in Virtual Sports – Best New Virtual Sports Product

• Golden Race – Winner
• Vermantia – Highly Commended
• Inspired Gaming
• VSoftCo
• Betradar
• SIS

Innovation in Fantasy Sports – Best Fantasy Sports Product

• Oulala Games – Winner
• Premier Punt – Highly Commended
• Mondogoal.com
• Brazil’s Fantasy Football
• Sportito ASAP Italia
• RunLastMan

Innovation in Affiliation – Best New Affiliate Product – Sponsored by LeoVegas

• Better Collective – Winner
• Bet IT Best – Highly Commended
• Betcade
• Fresh8 Gaming
• At The Races
• WantMyBet

Innovation in Retail Betting – Best Retail Betting Product

• Optima – Winner
• SIS – Highly Commended
• Racing Post/BGT
• Perform Group
• Mediatech
• BetConstruct

Source: SBC News