Bwin crowned EGR Operator of the Year 2009

Bwin has won Operator Of The Year at the EGR Awards 2009, the top trophy at the online gaming sectors' industry awards.

The Austrian gaming and betting giant beat off strong competition from rivals including Bet365, PartyGaming and Betfair to land the industry’s top prize, which was presented at London's Old Billingsgate Market last night on the first night of EGR Live, eGaming Review's two-day conference and exhibition for operators.

Collecting the award, Bwin UK country manager Nic Wenn said: ”It's great that Bwin has won this award after ten years. I think Bwin have carried on doing wht Bwin have been doing, leading the way in opening new territories in Europe and leading the technological advance in our industry."

Bwin was shortlisted on the strength of its scale and reach. The company also topped eGaming Review’s Power 50 leading operators for the second year running in 2009 and acquired the leading Italian poker site Gioco Digitale to make it one of the front runners in Italian gaming space.

Judges praised the company for its ‘consistency, leadership, scale, the strength of the brand, for promoting responsible gaming, and for showing continued, consisted leadership.’

UK online bookmaker Bet365 was shortlisted thanks to its huge turnover and for being one the major players in online betting.

Betclick has been one of the major industry growth stories of recent years. The company and its parent group Mangas Gaming has become one of the major players in egaming in just under four years and has major plans.

Betfair, which won UK Sports Betting Operator of the Year, made the list for having changed the face of betting in the past 10 years and has also recorded stellar growth in 2008-09 and has made a move in the US market.

PartyGaming has signed major B2B deals this year and has serious intentions of returning to the highly lucrative US market should it ever regulate.

William Hill Online has effected a major turnaround this year thanks to the Playtech and Orbis deals signed at the tail end of 2008. The company is sure to be a strong contender at future awards events.