EveryMatrix, Kaizen Gaming, Optimove and Sportradar were among the standout winners at the SBC Awards 2025 ceremony, which took place at the MEO Arena in Lisbon. Canadian-based companies Nuvei and GeoComply also took home big awards in their respective fields.
Held on Thursday, Sept. 18, the final day of SBC Summit, the event marked the 12th edition of the awards, dedicated to celebrating the achievements of industry leaders, operators and suppliers across key industry sectors, including payments, marketing and platform innovation.
The evening was hosted by legendary Dutch international soccer goalkeeper Edwin Van Der Sar, who presented 37 awards in front of a 1,200-strong audience of industry leaders and stakeholders.
It proved to be a standout night for Kaizen Gaming, which retained its crown as Operator of the Year – Large while also securing Sportsbook Operator of the Year. 8888.bg earned the title of Operator of the Year – Small and Vegas Legends was recognized as Operator of the Year – Medium.
Other operator categories saw Betsson Group named Casino Operator of the Year, while 1xBet collected Marketing Campaign of the Year. Novibet was celebrated for its innovative approach to gaming, winning the Innovation in Casino & Gaming Entertainment award.
In the Rising Star categories, accolades went to BetMGM Europe as Rising Star in Casino and Boomerang as Rising Star in Sports Betting.
In the payments and compliance categories, Montreal-headquartered Nuvei dethroned last year’s winner Pay4Fun to claim Payment Solution of the Year. Vancouver-based GeoComply was recognized with Fraud & Compliance Solution of the Year, while Payhound took home Payment Innovation of the Year.
Shining a light on exceptional leadership and workplace culture, SOFTSWISS, who were once again crowned Employer of the Year, while the prestigious Leader of the Year award was jointly presented to Natalia Nogues (Control F5) and Vigen Badalyan (BetConstruct).
In the supplier categories, BetConstruct enjoyed further recognition, collecting the award for White Label Supplier of the Year. EveryMatrix successfully defended its title as Multi-Channel Supplier of the Year while also picking up the Socially Responsible Initiative of the Year award.
Sportradar underlined its dominance with wins for both Sports Data Product and Land-Based Betting & Gaming Product. Optimove also enjoyed a double success, securing Marketing & Services Provider of the Year and Acquisition & Retention Partner of the Year.
On the casino side, Pragmatic Play was recognized as Slots Developer of the Year – Large, while BGaming and Kendoo took home the honours for Slots Developer of the Year – Medium and Small categories, respectively. Soft2Bet, which launched its Canadian-facing B2C platform ToonieBet in Ontario this year, earned the Innovation in Casino Entertainment gong.
Other notable winners on the night included:
- Alea: Aggregator of the Year
- BETBY: Esports Supplier of the Year
- Blask: Rising Star in Casino Innovation / Software
- DATA.BET: Rising Star in Sports Betting Innovation / Software
- Evoplay: Industry Innovation of the Year
- FeedConstruct: Live Betting Product
- FIRST: Sportsbook Supplier of the Year
- GR8 Tech: Platform Provider of the Year
- Inspired Entertainment: Virtual Sports Supplier
- Playtech: Live Casino Supplier
- Spribe: Crash Game of the Year
- Wazdan: Innovation in Mobile
The awards ceremony concluded the final day of the SBC Summit, which drew 30,000 industry professionals to the Feira Internacional de Lisboa from Sept. 16-18.
