Inaugural Betsmarties Awards
Much like the 12 days of Christmas, we want to dedicate December to spreading festive joy and positivity within our network, and we plan to do this by hosting our inaugural Betsmarties Awards.
Now, are we talking about sending French hens, gold rings and partridges through the post? Sadly, no – but even more exciting will be the 12 posts recognising hugely talented individuals and organisations, for their excellent contributions to our industry.
Our expert team gathered at Betsmart Towers to decide upon wide ranging award categories and the criteria, then we all submitted our nominations and voted for our winners. Granted there is no glitzy event or magical evening (this year 😉), but we do hope all the winners know how genuinely phenomenal the Betsmarties Awards judging panel believe their work and contributions are to this industry.
We will announce the winner of each category every weekday from today, Tuesday 05 December onwards, adding all the details, and if you miss any posts, you can refer to all the winners as they’re announced below.
12 Days of Industry Recognition Winners
Day 1. The Networking Ninja - Jeremy Lever - You are on it! You are everywhere, you attend events, post about it, connect others and simply are the epitome of bringing the right people together at the right time. Congratulations, Jeremy.
Day 2. The Matchmaker Award - Betting Jobs - Knowing exactly who to connect and where they will thrive is your business. You have spent years building your company and learning exactly what our industry needs match up the perfect candidates to their new employers with aplomb. You are all-rounders, and consistency and quality are your USP. Congratulations, Betting Jobs and Jennifer Innes 🥂.
Day 3. The Data Detective Award - Roderick Grafton and GC Analytics 🎉. Roderick is a miracle worker when it comes to managing data and getting the most out of it. If you’re looking for spreadsheets and pages to speak to you and make data driven decisions to steer your company in the best direction, this is the person you need. Well done, Roderick – your work speaks for you!
Day 4. The Legal Eagle Award - Melanie Ellis🥂. Melanie has gone above and beyond to keep us all up to date on regulatory changes as they happen, in fact we’d say lightning fast! Not only that, but Melanie also includes how these changes could impact organisations, and in turn their customers. We applaud your speed and verve, Melanie, we always look out for your updates, they really do have an impact.
Day 5. The Safety Star Award - The Game Safety Institute 👏. You put the safety and well-being of end users above all else. You work hard to develop and disseminate incredibly valuable research regarding gambling platforms, games and player safety, to educate and inform operators, regulators, charities, game producers and suppliers, on gambling harms and Safer Gambling. Your esteemed and data led insights aim to directly change the approach to player safety in our industry. Congratulations Sarah Ramanauskas and Simo Dragicevic on your greatly deserved win!
Day 6. The Customer Advocate Award - The Gambling Business Group 🎉. You listen to customers and work with organisations to continuously improve the consumer environment for all. You invest time, effort and resources into providing the best services which care for customers with social responsibility at the heart. You add value through this goal, and recognise that to achieve it, we must raise the reputation of key stakeholder groups. Your commitment to continuous improvement is admirable and you deserve this award 🥂.
Day 7. The Gambling Compliance Shining Star Award - Anna Davies. We get to work with some fabulous compliance leaders, and competition was high for this award. Anna is next level, having played a key role alongside Chief Compliance Officer Jimmy Howard, in revolutionising their company’s internal compliance framework, which has had a profound and positive impact. Impeccably professional, respected by both internal and external colleagues, Anna’s approach is not just to do the compliant thing, but also the right thing – keeping both the company, and most importantly, customers protected. Well deserved, Anna 🥂.
Day 8. The Remarkable Regulator Award - iGaming Ontario 🎉. You always look for a brighter tomorrow, putting things in place to help as many businesses as you can. You do this by communicating clearly, concisely and regularly, supporting all organisations in your territory to meet your regulatory guidelines, as they understand exactly what’s required, how to implement instructions and the clear timelines. Well done to the entire team Martha Otton, we greatly applaud the work and efforts of everyone👏.
Day 9. The Lifesaver Award category - Laura Fuhr. Betsmart Towers is a hive of activity, with a wide variety of things happening at any one time. Laura constantly organises the team, keeping us up to date on what is happening and when, and is key to the business running so efficiently. On many occasions she has been able to save the day for a project or piece of work which meant we can keep going as planned. You are solutions orientated and come with recommendations which inevitably end up saving the day. Well done, Laura - we couldn’t be prouder of you 👏
Day 10. 'The Safer Gambling Saviour Award'- Tony Kelly👏. We’ve been hearing fantastic things from our network about what the Red Card Gambling Support Project have been doing. Many people will recognise Tony from his successful decade long career playing professional football, but those who know him best see him for the outstanding work to raise awareness around problem gambling and its triggers. Speaking about gambling addiction and prevention at public events, schools and colleges and reaching more than 10,000 youths in the UK over the last 3 years, we are over the moon to dedicate 'The Safer Gambling Saviour Award' to Tony and his team – keep up the great work!
Day 11. The Protecting Players Tech Award - Monzo Bank🥂. We were very impressed with Monzo, like many banks they give customers the chance to block gambling transactions – but we love that you can add your own message to this just in case of moments of weakness. Kudos TS Anil and your team, and congrats on winning a Betsmartie👏.
Day 12. The Mountain Mover Award - Betway Group Financial Crime Team including David Moores, Juan Gomez and Ashley Cooper. We have had the pleasure of working with you for a period of time and can see that you and your team go above and beyond to move mountains for your company. Whether it’s in the run up to, during or after an audit or in daily catchups, you always do your best to ensure your company is in the best possible position, you have moved mountains. Congratulations 👏