This was awards week for iGaming firms in Malta. Known as a hub of gaming because of its generous tax and operating implications, Malta is also looked at as the island where innovations take root.

The Malta iGaming Excellence Awards (MiGEA) set an annual bar for Malta-based firms to fly high over and this year was no different. With 16 awards up for grabs and 32 judges making the decisions, these are the awards that all Maltese companies want to win.

With the awards held earlier this week, Gina Clarke takes a look at just what passes for greatness these days.

The one that cleaned up

It’s always got to be someone’s night, and this award season it was definitely Yobetit’s. Market-leading and established in Malta, the company was awarded four prizes on the night, which really set a note of competition for their competitors.

Yobetit took home the Best Online Betting Platform of the year, Malta’s Best iGaming Ambassador of the year, Malta’s Best iGaming Company of the year, and Malta’s Best iGaming Online Lotto Product of the year.

The awards are the culmination of a pivotal year for the company, which has seen robust growth and an improvement in services due to a strong internal focus.

Nikolai Livori, Yobetit’s CEO said: “Winning the awards at MIGEA is a special tribute to the combined dedication of the entire team at Yobetit and the unrivaled qualities of our advanced platforms and service. I am grateful to my team and to the MIGEA. I look forward to another year of excellence.”

The one that almost did it

Just after presenting their latest developments and innovations at Innovation Workshops in Malta, BetConstruct was presented with three MiGEA titles. The company was recognized for its online casino services, an area in which they plan to focus their development on in the future.

Walking away with the Best Industry Achieve of the year, Best iGaming Technology Provider of the year, and Best Online Casino Operator of the year, they were just behind Yobetit in total awards.

While some might say it was a two-horse race, still BetConstruct received well-deserved recognition for some of their special concepts. The company focuses on data feed solutions for sporting content providers as well as political-based applications. The service is called BetonPolitics and provides news and insight into the political world. Not forgetting the well-known BookieApp, also launched by BetConstruct, which allows users to create a game that others can bet on.

The one that’s the newbie

2018 was one company’s first appearance at the Malta iGaming Excellence Awards, and it was certainly a great start. Wazdan was nominated for four awards and took home the prestigious Malta’s Start-Up of the year award. They were also nominated for Innovative Product of the year, best iGaming Casino Supplier of the year, and Malta’s Best iGaming B2B Excellence of the year.

The company’s MiGEA success comes after their success at Macao, where they won the Hot Hit Award for 9 Lions, their new slots game. After their latest success, Andrzej Hyla said: “Malta’s iGaming Excellence Awards are the Oscars of the gaming industry and to win and be nominated for three in the first year we’ve applied is more than we could have ever wished for. This is just the beginning and we’re all focused entirely on delivering the very best, most innovative slots out there.”

Wazdan also enjoys a wide portfolio of over 100 HTML5 casino games, all of which contain the developer’s unique features including energy saver mode and double screen mode, among others.

The one that everyone wants

Deserved of an honorable mention was slot games developer Game Art, also appearing at the awards for the first time. They ended up taking home the Best Digital Company of the Year award.

The company relies on its core technology to provide a true multi-platform capability for its variety of slot games with high-level bonus and predictive business intelligence tools.

Saverio Castellano the co-founder, research director, and CTO at GameArt, said as he collected the award: “Our business and our team have gained a reputation for delivering innovation, knowledge, and revenue-generating slots for regulated market operators. It is therefore an honor to be recognized by our peers, and our customers with the receipt of this award and we look forward to continuing to provide the best slots portfolio and experience possible.”

With over 100 pictures of the event available to browse on Malta Business Review, it’s safe to say some companies will already be planning their strategy to sweep the board at next year’s awards.