London’s Savoy Hotel provided the venue for a evening of celebration at the inaugural InsideEdge Gambling Awards.
The evening was hosted by TV’s Iain Lee – and awards were presented by Snooker’s Matthew Stevens and Paul Hunter, InsideEdge columnists Nick Leeson and Tony Cascarino and the star of the evening, 12-time World Darts Champion, Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor.
The gambling companies weren’t the only winners at the awards, however. InsideEdge’s very own High Roller and Low Roller, Charlie Methven and Patrick Kinghorn, hosted a hugely successful charity auction which helped raise more than £30,000 for SPARKS.
All the award categories were keenly contested – below is the list of winners:
READER CATEGORIES
(voted for by readers of the InsideEdge website)
BOOKMAKER OF THE YEAR
Winner: VC Bet
Runner-up: William Hill
ONLINE CASINO OF THE YEAR
Winner: 888.com
Runner-up: Intercasino
ONLINE POKER SITE OF THE YEAR
Winner: Poker Room
Runner-up: VC Poker
JUDGED CATEGORIES
ODDS COMPARISON SITE OF THE YEAR
Winner: Oddschecker
Judges’ view: ‘Still the most comprehensive site out there – provides everything you need, no matter what sport you bet on.’
Honourable mention: Easyodds
Judges’ view: ‘Does something different by offering high-quality editorial as well as odds comparison.’
SPORTS SPREAD BETTING FIRM OF THE YEAR
Winner: Sporting Index
Judges’ view: ‘You have to reward excellence in the market – Sporting Index get things right more than anybody else.’
Honourable mention: Cantor Sports
Judges’ view: ‘Still an excellent provider of high-quality service for the discerning spread bettor.’
BETTING EXCHANGE FIRM OF THE YEAR
Winner: Betfair
Judges’ view: ‘Betfair have revolutionised the market, offering outstanding customer service and consistently excellent prices.’
Honourable mention: Betdaq
Judges’ view: ‘Give punters great value on the two core betting sports, racing and football.’
INNOVATION OF THE YEAR
Winner: Spreadfair
Judges’ view: ‘Spreadfair is a fantastic online innovation – it could well be the future of spread betting.’
Honourable mentions: Autobet.com, Mansion’s 0% commission, VC Mobile, Poker Room.com
Judges’ view: ‘All four are worthy runners-up for moving betting forward in their own fields over the past 12 months.’
GAMBLING PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR
Winner: Victor Chandler
Judges’ view: ‘Chandler is a huge personality… he has shown you can run a corporate business and not lose that old-fashioned style. He has turned his firm into one of the industry’s major success stories.’
Honourable mention: Barry Hearn
Judges’ view: ‘Hearn spotted the potential of poker before most of his contemporaries and his contribution to the industry cannot be underestimated.’
EDITOR’S CHOICE AWARD
Winner: Betfair
Editor’s view: ‘No other company has done as much to change the way we bet today. Betfair has the vision to see betting in a new way, and have become a giant of the industry.’
Runners-up: PokerStars and Premierbet
Editor’s view: ‘Poker Stars have produced the last two World Series of Poker winner, while Premierbet, the Asian handicap specialists, have championed a new way to bet on football.’
