The latest edition of the SBC Awards North America, set to take place as part of SBC Summit North America at the New York Hilton Midtown on May 11, unveiled the line-up of shortlisted operators, affiliates, suppliers, and leaders.
Among them are Sportradar and BetConstruct leading with five nominations each, followed by FanDuel, Betting Hero, LSports, OpenBet, SOFTSWISS, Spotlight Sports Group, and White Hat Gaming | White Hat Studios, each boasting four nominations.
A panel of judges will be responsible for selecting the winners from the 30 categories, and the victors will be honored with a trophy in front of over 600 industry guests celebrating their success.
The celebrity host for the night will be Meredith Marakovits, renowned as the New York Yankees’ clubhouse reporter for the YES Network. She will “add an extra layer of prestige with her notable expertise in the field of sports reporting,” according to organizers.
SBC expects the competition to be fierce, with DraftKings gearing up to defend its hard-won 2022 title of Sportsbook Operator of the Year against challengers like Caesars Sportsbook, FanDuel Group, and Snoqualmie Casino. DraftKings and FanDuel will also be in the race for the highly coveted Casino Operator of the Year award, with BetMGM also vying for the top honor.
MediaTroopers and Gambling.com find themselves shortlisted for not one but two prestigious affiliate awards: the Casino Affiliate of the Year and Sports Affiliate of the Year. In the Casino Affiliate of the Year category, these two companies face competition from Finixio and Bojoko while the Sports Affiliate of the Year award will be fiercely contested by 11 brands.
In the Casino Supplier of the Year category, the shortlist features an impressive lineup of studios, including last year’s winner, Light & Wonder, as well as Evolution Gaming, Greentube, Bragg Gaming Group, Play’n GO.
In the Sportsbook Supplier of the Year category, a whopping 11 contenders are in the running, with heavyweights like Altenar, BetConstruct, Delasport, Sportradar, and OpenBet among the contenders.
The competition will be heated in the Payments and Compliance section, with Trustly, Paramount Commerce, PayNearMe, and Sightline Payments all in for two highly coveted titles: Payment Innovation of the Year and Payment Solution of the Year.
The Compliance Solution & Partner of the Year category has the most shortlisted companies, with fifteen outstanding contenders battling it for the title. These firms include Mindway AI, Crucial Compliance, Kinectify, Veriff, Odds On Compliance, and many others, each showcasing their expertise and innovation in compliance solutions and partnerships.
The three Rising Star categories are stacked with competitors, including MIRACL, SharpRank, Tipico USA, Hard Rock Digital/Hard Rock Sportsbook, Pascal Gaming, and Wizard Games, among many others. “Winning this title will be a true testament to their potential as rising stars defining the future of the industry,” organizers stated.
The coveted Marketing Campaign & Sponsorship of the Year award will see nominees such as Betandeal, Caesar’s Sportsbook, Choctaw Casinos & Resorts, and FanDuel Group, who have all demonstrated exceptional marketing and sponsorship efforts throughout the year.
The comprehensive list of all the shortlisted companies can be found on the company’s website. According to the firm, nominees for the Tribal Awards will be announced at a later date.
