AffiliateINSIDER has been confirmed as the exclusive media partner for the AskGamblers Awards 2018, a ceremony designed to recognise the best online casinos over the last year, which will be held in Belgrade on Thursday 17 January.

AI founder and CEO Lee-Ann Johnstone, supported by newly-appointed Marketing Manager Natalie Lees, will be making the trip to the Serbian capital to cover the gala event live, which features the following key casino industry nominations – Best Casino, Best New Casino and Best Slot.

Johnstone commented: “As an affiliate marketing media partner, we are proud to support this unique AskGamblers initiative. AffiliateINSIDER is a business purposefully built on and around supporting innovation and affiliate growth in the igaming industry.

“The AskGamblers awards is a great way for an affiliate brand to help operators and players to work together to deliver unique experiences and improved community values.”

Every single online casino on AskGamblers – a trusted affiliate portal for transparent, unbiased casino and games reviews – was made eligible for nomination up until the 30 September deadline, before the official voting opened on 1 October with ten casinos and slots in each category.

Last year’s Best New Casino winner King Billy Casino is in the running once again, this time alongside Betsson Casino, Cashmio Casino, BitStarz Casino, SlotsMillion Casino, Videoslots Casino, ShadowBet Casino, Lapalingo Casino, Fable Casino and Bob Casino for the Best Casino award.

The Best New Casino will come from the following group: Casino Calzone, Campeonbet Casino, LadyHammer Casino, Genesis Casino, 7 Gods Casino, West Casino, Cadoola Casino, Champagne Spins Casino, Mr. Play Casino and Fairplay Casino.

Meanwhile, the Best Slot shortlist features Eastern Emeralds Slot, Berryburst MAX Slot, Fruit Blox Slot, Great Rhino Slot, Exotic Cats Slot, Vikings Go To Hell Slot, Sweet Alchemy Slot, Legacy of Egypt Slot, Asgardian Stones Slot and Wild Seas Slot.

AskGamblers added: “The opinion of our players is one of our main priorities, and we want to make sure that their voice is heard across the industry.

“That’s why we have decided organise unique awards that celebrate their opinion. We are very excited to have AffiliateINSIDER as our official media partner. This cooperation will definitely help us spread the word.”

22 January 2018 – The most successful and innovative gaming companies are noticed at the EGR Nordic Awards. In fierce competition, LeoVegas won three awards, “Nordics Operator of the Year”, “Casino Operator of the Year” and “Sports Betting Operator of the Year”.

“We are extremely pleased to have won the Casino Operator and the Sports Betting Operator awards as these are the two main categories that define our product. Being declared as the Nordics Operator of the Year is really outstanding! To receive these awards is a receipt that we are an extremely talented team at LeoVegas that is constantly delivering. It also shows that we are the GameTech company that is leading the way within the Nordic region,” says Gustaf Hagman, Group CEO.

Nordics Operator of the Year 
LeoVegas won the award for the Nordics Operator of the Year because LeoVegas has been the driving force for innovation in all parts of the company and clearly distinguished from its competitors through a mix of high growth, innovation and strong delivery within product.

In addition, over the past year, LeoVegas has amplified its efforts in responsible gaming through the launch of www.LeoSafePlay.com – a dedicated portal for players who are at risk of developing an unhealthy gambling behaviour.

Casino Operator of the Year
This award confirms LeoVegas’ strong casino offering and the improvements made over the past 12 months. Primarily initiatives within Live Casino were highlighted with the ground-breaking “in-game deposit” feature, allowing players to make deposits without losing their seats. LeoVegas has also enhanced its live casino experience through their very own and exclusive studio, Chambre Séparée.

Sports Betting Operator of the Year 
Over the past year, LeoVegas Sport has gone from strength to strength. Today, LeoVegas Sport is available in several markets and offers the possibility to bet on over 130,000 sporting events.

Even in this category, LeoVegas is praised for the ability to differentiate itself from the others in industry and in this case through an excellent product offering, effective marketing and global reach.

LeoVegas’ passion is “Leading the way into the mobile future”. LeoVegas is Sweden’s premier GameTech company and is at the forefront of using state-of-the-art technology for mobile gaming. In 2017 the company passed the threshold for being classified as a unicorn, i.e., a start-up valued at more than USD 1 billion. A large part of this success can be credited to an extreme product and technology focus coupled with effective and data-driven marketing. Technology development is conducted in Sweden, while operations are based in Malta. LeoVegas offers casino, live casino and sport gaming, and operates two global and scalable brands – LeoVegas and Royal Panda. The company’s shares are listed on Nasdaq First North Premier, and Avanza Bank AB is the company’s Certified Adviser. For more about LeoVegas, visit www.leovegasgroup.com.

The 12th annual Affiliate Summit Pinnacle Awards were presented on Tuesday, January 9, 2018 at Affiliate Summit West 2018, which took place at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel.

The Affiliate Summit Pinnacle Awards are affiliate marketing’s most prestigious, competitive honor for the leaders in the space. Award winners are recognized because they are innovative leaders with vision and influence.

Below are the finalists for the Pinnacle Awards at Affiliate Summit West 2018 and the winners are in bold:

Affiliate of the Year

• Business Insider
• Greg Kim/Slickdeals
• Ziff-Davis

Affiliate Manager of the Year

• Adam Riemer
• Greg Hoffman
• Mike Nunez

Affiliate Network Employee of the Year (* new category *)

• Chad Waite/AvantLink
• Mark Walters/Awin
• Tiffany Tse/ShareASale

Exceptional Merchant of the Year

• HP
• Jane.com
• Snake River Farms

Affiliate Marketing Advocate

• Pat Grady
• Robert Glazer
• Sarah Bundy

OPM/Agency of the Year

• Acceleration Partners
• Apogee
• PartnerCentric

Tool/Service of the Year

• Mediarails
• PerformanceMarketingJOBS.com
• Slack

Affiliate Marketing Legend

• Carolyn Tang Kmet

Nominations for the Pinnacle Awards are open publicly, and then the Affiliate Summit Advisory Board votes on the nominations to determine the winners. The Affiliate Marketing Legend is not given every year, and it is selected by Affiliate Summit Co-CEOs, Missy Ward and Shawn Collins.