American Gambling Awards Winners

Presented by Gambling.com and Bookies.com, the American Gambling Awards celebrate the outstanding work of the companies, organizations, executives, and influencers working to responsibly grow regulated American online gambling, including the new legal sports betting market.

Honorary 2020 American Gambling Award Recipient

Michigan Representative Brandt Iden has been one of the strongest and most vocal pro-gaming legislators in the country, and it was his feat of championing a successful all-encompassing gaming bill into law that truly set him apart over the last year. For his successful efforts to bring sports betting and online gaming into the 21st century and set an example for states all over the country, Gambling.com is proud to award a 2020 Golden Eagle to Brandt Iden.

2019 Commercial Enterprise Winners

  • This award will go to the overall best online gambling operator who has excelled during the judging period in the regulated American market by providing first class products and customer experience to players across multiple product categories. Sports betting, casino, poker and daily fantasy sports operators are all eligible, however, the winning operator will demonstrate excellence beyond one single product category.

    Winner

    Rush Street Interactive

    Finalists

    Caesars Interactive Entertainment

    Golden Nugget

    MGM Resorts (Borgata + PlayMGM)

    888 Holdings

  • This award will go to the online sports betting operator active in the regulated American market who has excelled during the judging period by demonstrating growth, professionalism and customer satisfaction. The judges are looking for operators that have taken an early lead in terms of not only growth but thought leadership and responsible gaming since the invalidation of PASPA.

    Winner

    FanDuel

    Finalists

    Caesars

    DraftKings

    PlayMGM

    William Hill

  • This award is to highlight the success of the online casino operator in the regulated American market that has stood out from the crowd during the judging period. In a competitive space you must show how your product and offering gives players a superior experience. The judges are looking for the overall package so let them know what you are proud of and the features that make your online casino experience amazing for players.

    Winner

    Rush Street Interactive (SugarHouse)

    Finalists

    Betfair Casino

    Caesars

    Golden Nugget

    Tropicana

    888

  • The poker operator of the year will demonstrate how they have made ground on the revival of online poker in US. The judges would like to see innovation, growth, player liquidity and evidence of a high quality offering.

    Winner

    WSOP

    Finalists

    Borgata

    888

  • This award will go to the operator that has progressed and shown positive development in the market this judging period. The judges want to know your biggest achievements of the year and why you feel you prevailed as the best DFS operator in America.

    Winner

    DraftKings

    Finalists

    FanDuel

    Fantasy Draft

    Monkey Knife Fight

    Playline

    Yahoo! Fantasy Sports

  • This award will go to the operator that has progressed and shown positive development in the market this judging period. The judges want to know your biggest achievements of the year and why you feel you prevailed as the best horse racing operator in America. Scale is important but only one of the judging criteria. This is not an award specifically for the largest horse racing operator but rather the horse racing operator that has developed best over the judging period.

    Winner

    TVG

    Finalists

    OffTrackBetting.com

    Twin Spires

    Xpressbet

  • It is no secret that many players in the US face difficulties making payments to the regulated online gambling companies. The winner of the payment provider of the year award will have helped deal with this problem by supplying a payment solution which meaningfully increases the success rate of deposits.

    Winner

    Paysafe

    Finalists

    EML

  • This award will go to the industry service provider who had the most meaningful impact in the online gambling space during the judging period. Nominees should not be actual gaming operators but the B2B service providers that they rely on to deliver their services. There are no product limitations but each provider should demonstrate the importance of their service with usage numbers and clear descriptions of the problems they solve for their operator clients.

    Winner

    Evolution Gaming

    Finalists

    Optimove

    Fresh8 Gaming

    Digital Fuel Marketing

    GeoComply

    Income Access

    Sportradar

    Catena Media

    Vegas Kings

  • A very important award in the gambling space where judges will be looking which industry player has done the most to protect online players and create a safe gaming environment. The winning enterprise will have demonstrated outstanding efforts to identify problem gamblers early, prevent problem gamblers from transacting, to ensure players are dealt with in a fair and responsible manner, and to protect children and other vulnerable persons from being harmed or exploited by gaming.

    Winner

    National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG)

    Finalists

    BetAmerica

    DraftKings

    FanDuel

    Rush Street Interactive

  • This award will go to the acquisition, merger, market access deal or other corporate transaction which demonstrated clear strategic vision and created shareholder value for the acquiring party. The judges are looking for the deal which best positioned the acquirer for future growth in the regulated American market and supported growth in the overall market.

    Winner

    Paddy Power / Betfair acquisition of FanDuel

    Finalists

    Bet365 & Hard Rock Partnership

    MGM & GVC joint venture

    Boyd Gaming & MGM Partnership

    El Dorado & The Stars Group Partnership

2019 Public Service Finalists

  • This award will recognize the person, group or organization which has made the biggest positive impact in the development of the regulated online gambling industry in the United States. The award is meant to recognize non-governmental actors such as private citizens, trade bodies, NGOs and lobbyists. (Government affiliated actors including policymakers and regulators have separate categories.)

    Winner

    Raymond Lesniak, former New Jersey State Senator

    Finalists

    Joe Brennan Jr., CEO, SportAd

    Dan Wallach, Wallach Legal

    GeoComply

    iDEA Growth

  • This award will go to the gaming industries top legal professional whose work and advocacy has enabled companies and organizations to thrive in the online gambling market. The winner of this award could be working behind scenes to advance legislation, or could be a public face and advocate for the legal and regulated gaming market.

    Winner

    Ted Olson

    Finalists

    Mark Hichar

    Jeff Ifrah

  • This award honors the elected or appointed policymaker at either the state or federal level who has been a champion for free market principles that will ultimately help the online gaming and sports betting markets flourish. The winner of this award will be a forward looking thinker who advocates for policy that sets up the right structure today that will pay dividends for decades to come.

    Winner

    J. Gary Pretlow, New York Assemblyman

    Finalists

    Shawn Fluharty, West Virginia Delegate

    Bill Galvano, Florida State Senator

    Brandt Iden, Michigan State Representative

  • This award will go to the regulator or regulatory body whose work has enabled the strongest growth potential for their market. Regulatory policies should demonstrate independence from bias, a focus on public safety, and maximizing economic growth while balancing out the practical challenges of operating in a regulated environment.

    Winner

    David Rebuck, New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement

    Finalists

    Allen Godfrey, Mississippi Gaming Commission

    Susan Hensel, Pennsylvania Gamning Control Board