Outstanding contribution to the Italian market **NEW FOR 2026**

Lottomatica

Employer of the Year

Fast Track

"Fast Track demonstrates a mature, highly structured approach to employee development, wellbeing and inclusion, underpinned by a strong company culture. Personalised career programmes, clear internal progression, a 91% Trust Index with full participation and consistently high DEIB results stand out. Employee feedback and supporting evidence show these initiatives are embedded across the organisation. The 76% retention rate leaves some room for improvement."

Diversity and inclusion model

E-Play24

Individual achievement award *NEW FOR 2026**

Francesco Maddalena - CEO, Hub Affiliations

"Francesco Maddalena shows exceptional leadership across commercial growth, innovation, compliance, people and governance, backed by deep knowledge of the Italian remote gambling market. There is strong evidence of his personal decision-making and organisational impact. Some results presented reflect wider international group achievements rather than Italian-market outcomes specifically."

Operator performance award (powered by H2 Capital) **NEW FOR 2026**

Sisal

Rising star

Slotmatic by Hub Innovation

AI development of the year

Mindway AI

Innovation in casino

tombola

"tombola's Smorfia is a fun, highly localised idea and a strong example of innovation that matches customer needs."

Innovation in sports betting

SNAI

"SNAI delivered an excellent, highly complex sportsbook transformation, migrating more than three million customers and over 100,000 open bets without disrupting service. The rapid recovery and growth in online sports market share validate this achievement. Strong MyCombo adoption, new betting markets and live promotional mechanics show a clear focus on customer engagement. The proposition is somewhat less differentiated from a pure innovation perspective than other leading entries."

Marketing campaign

PokerStars

"PokerStars delivered a strong, creative and well-executed campaign, combining a powerful brand identity with engaging content and a solid multichannel approach. It stands out for connecting poker with sport and entertainment to create a broader brand experience. Clearer evidence of incremental impact and measurable results would further strengthen the submission."

Customer services operator

E-Play24

Casino operator

Sisal

Operator of the year

Sisal

"Sisal is the strongest all-round submission, combining market-leading scale with exceptional growth across multiple verticals. Sustained customer growth and continuous product innovation make it the clear benchmark in the category."

Safer gambling operator

Betpoint

"Betpoint takes a very strong, evidence-based approach, combining predictive monitoring, advanced KYC and AML, proactive CRM intervention and academic validation. The independent validation of BMS and its 30/30 ADM technical score are particularly compelling."

Poker operator

PokerStars

"PokerStars shows outstanding market leadership, with strong, measurable growth in GGR, active players and overall poker activity. The migration of almost two million accounts, continued innovation across online and live poker, and the development of the PokerStars Network are particularly impressive. Under new leadership, it is actively investing in the Italian poker ecosystem – a well-deserved win."

Omnichannel operator

Quigioco

"Quigioco offers one of the most genuinely integrated omnichannel models in the category, with identity, loyalty, payments and recognition following the player seamlessly between retail and digital. Tracked acquisition means stores keep benefiting when customers move online, aligning the channels rather than setting them in competition. Results include 100% growth in the VIP Club, a 64.8% rise in VIP GGR and exceptional APay adoption, and the model proved resilient through major regulatory change. Although its retail footprint is smaller than some competitors', the depth of its integration makes it an outstanding proposition."

Sports betting operator

Sisal

"Sisal combines scale and sustained market leadership with strong growth and genuinely impactful innovation. My Combo reached more than 565,000 users and generated €21.1m in GGR, while Sisal Tipster continued to grow substantially. Growth of 14.9% in betting turnover, 15.9% in average monthly users and further market-share gains show an operator actively shaping Italian sports betting."

Casino content supplier

Evolution

Freeplay gaming supplier

Key2 Business - Stickyplay

"Key2 Business's StickyPlay combines genuine product innovation with clear, measurable commercial impact. It tackles a key industry challenge – boosting engagement while reducing reliance on costly bonuses – with compelling evidence on daily engagement, bonus-cost savings and rapid integration. Credible Tier-1 and Tier-2 case studies and the platform's ability to adapt quickly to player behaviour make it a highly scalable, technically mature solution."

Payments supplier

Admiral Pay

"Admiral Pay offers the strongest overall proposition in the category, balancing innovation, reliability and product quality. Following legislative restrictions on remote gambling, it provides operators with a fully compliant, Bank of Italy-authorised payment solution with good fintech integration. Its diversified ecosystem spans digital payments, gaming, cash-in/cash-out and e-wallet services. Positive client feedback reflects its commercial success."

Full-service platform provider

Light & Wonder

"Light & Wonder is a diversified global powerhouse spanning land-based and digital, offering an end-to-end platform that sets the benchmark for scalability, reliability and commercial excellence. A deep content pipeline, proprietary RGS, financial strength and portfolio breadth convincingly support its full-service credentials. Innovation is consistent rather than disruptive."

Casino platform supplier

Playtech

"Playtech offers strong technology and impressive scalability, demonstrated in particular by its €10m Italian network promotion. Broader platform KPIs are less developed than in the leading submissions."

Sports betting supplier

Sportradar

"Sportradar is the clear benchmark in sportsbook technology, odds compiling and managed trading services worldwide. Its UI/UX and product differentiation, including streaming and integrity tools, are best-in-class, and its commercial success is unmatched in the category."

Software supplier

Pragmatic Play

"Pragmatic Play combines outstanding product quality with continuous development. Its strong, diversified portfolio, steady flow of new content and significant market presence make it one of the industry's most relevant software providers. It has delivered appealing games with remarkable consistency over the years."

Virtual sports supplier

Inspired Entertainment

Acquisition and retention partner

Optimove

Compliance and KYC partner

Sportradar

"Sportradar demonstrates strong technological performance, supported by clear validation metrics and successful deployment across different markets. Its rapid integration and adaptability to different regulatory environments are particularly noteworthy. Commercial deployment is currently more limited than that of some other entries."

Aggregator platform

Light & Wonder

"Light & Wonder's Infinity combines substantial market reach with proven stability and a very broad content ecosystem. Strong Italian market figures, near-100% uptime and continued investment in operator self-service and compliance support are particularly convincing."