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Introducing the Winners of the 2024 Game Developer Awards
Play’n GO, Playtech, Elk Studios, Pragmatic Play and streamer CasinoDaddy were some of the big names celebrating victories at the 2024 edition of the Game Developer Awards ceremony.
Concluding the final day of the highly successful CasinoBeats Summit, the illustrious awards ceremony, which took place at the Hilton Malta, was a night dedicated to honouring the remarkable achievements of the iGaming industry.
The evening witnessed the return of veteran host Trudy Kerr, alongside award-winning game developer John Romero, as they handed out 28 awards to accomplished operators, game studios and individuals.
Award categories included:
- Game Performance,
- Streamers,
- Game Creation,
- Game People,
- SlotCatalog,
- Casino Platform, and
- Best Game Release.
Rasmus Sojmark, Founder and CEO of SBC, said: “The Game Developer Awards offers a pivotal opportunity to honour the remarkable accomplishments of the industry, celebrating both regional and global brands as well as individual talent. This year’s shortlist was by far the most competitive we have seen, and I would like to congratulate all our esteemed winners.”
It was a good night for Play’n GO, who secured the prestigious SlotCatalog’s Game Studio of the Year (Large) award for the second consecutive year, whilst also picking up the Game Music / Soundtrack accolade for their title Hugo Legacy.
The game creation categories saw:
- Playtech once again take home the Game Licensed Content award for their work on Breaking Bad: Cash Collect & Link.
- Hacksaw Gaming was awarded Game Feature of the Year for their title Chaos Crew 2,
- Relax Gaming was honoured with the Game Design & Art Direction award for Money Train 4, and
- GAMOMAT was named winner of the Game Retro-Style award for Fancy Fruits Deluxe.
Pragmatic Play notably took home two awards on the night, winning both the Game Mechanic of the Year award for their MultiHold mechanic and Slot Legacy Title for Gates of Olympus.
The SlotCatalog categories saw:
- GAMOMAT return to the stage to pick up their second award of the night for Best Game Development Company Central Europe, while
- Playson was awarded Best Game Studio In Development Countries.
- Reel Kingdom secured the SlotCatalog’s Game Studio of the Year (Medium) award,
- Fortune Factory Studios was named SlotCatalog’s Game Studio of the Year (Small) and
- IGT Play Digital claimed SlotCatalog’s Best Game Development Company North America.
The coveted SlotCatalog’s Rookie of the Year accolade was presented to industry newcomers Area Vegas.
In honour of the individual achievements in the industry, the Game People categories saw:
- Andrei Filipovich of Aviatrix awarded Game Designer of the Year,
- Julia Aliakseyeva from BGaming named Product Manager of the Year and
- PearFiction Studios’ Jean-Pierre Larouche presented with the Game Composer of the Year award.
EveryMatrix won the Aggregator of the Year award, The Mill Adventure was awarded Platform Innovation of the Year, while the Best Game Release award went to Lambda Gaming for 8Bit Football Twinko.
This year’s edition saw the introduction of two new awards:
- the FTN Game of the Year award which was sponsored by BetConstruct and presented to Rubyplay for Mad Hit Olympic First, and
- the CasinoBeats Annual Community Recognition Award which was awarded to SoftConstruct for its work on BFTH Arena.
It was a big night for CasinoDaddy who took home the esteemed Streamer of the Year award, while The Slot Beasts and Haddzy were recipients of two new Streamer awards, Responsible Streamer of the Year and Next-Gen Streamer of the Year, respectively.
In the Game Performance categories:
- PowderKeg Studios claimed the Slot Debut award for their title Munition Mines,
- Stormcraft Studios won Slot to Watch for their work on Immortal Romance 2, while
- Light & Wonder and Netflix took home Slot Collaboration of the Year for Squid Game.
The illustrious Slot of the Year award went to Elk Studios for Pirots 2.
“Last night’s ceremony was a tremendous success and proved to be a truly memorable night. I would like to thank our official partner Gaming Malta, alongside all our supporting sponsors for their help in honouring the incredible achievements of the industry” Sojmark added.
The awards ceremony concluded the final day of the CasinoBeats Summit, which saw 4,500 industry professionals convene at the InterContinental Hotel in Malta, the hub of iGaming.
Carlo Santarelli
Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc. Names Carlo Santarelli Senior Vice President, Corporate Strategy and Investor Relations

Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc. announced that Carlo Santarelli has been appointed Senior Vice President, Corporate Strategy and Investor Relations, a new position at the Company. Mr. Santarelli will begin his new position on August 18, 2025 and will report to GLPI President and Chief Operating Officer, Brandon Moore.
Mr. Santarelli brings over 25 years of Wall Street experience in Equity Research and Investment Banking to his new role and joins the Company from Deutsche Bank where he was Managing Director of Gaming & Lodging Equity Research. Prior to Deutsche Bank, Mr. Santarelli held similar positions at Bear Stearns, JP Morgan and Wells Fargo. He consistently ranked highly in Institutional Investor and other sell-side analyst research polls as a thought leader in the space, providing unique perspectives on industry events and trends with his data-driven approach and stock picking talent. Carlo Santarelli graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a B.A. in Economics in 2000.
Peter Carlino, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of GLPI, said: “We’ve known and respected Carlo’s research work on the gaming, lodging and gaming REIT sectors for many years. Carlo brings to GLPI an in-depth knowledge of the industry and its participants, having experienced GLPI’s original formation of the gaming triple-net-REIT structure from a research analyst and capital markets perspective. We value his deep network of contacts among institutional investors, sell-side analysts and a wide range of gaming industry operators and we look forward to the value of his contributions.”
In his new role, Mr. Santarelli will work with Mr. Carlino and GLPI’s senior management to develop and evaluate growth opportunities and strategic relationships, and will oversee investor relations interactions.
The post Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc. Names Carlo Santarelli Senior Vice President, Corporate Strategy and Investor Relations appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.
Industry News
VIP Play Announces Departure of Chief Financial Officer

VIP Play, a technology-driven leader in interactive consumer engagement, announced that Jim Mackey, the Company’s Chief Financial Officer, will step down from his role, effective August 8, 2025.
The Company has initiated a transition process and is in the process of identifying a successor. Mackey will assist in an orderly transition over the coming weeks.
“We thank Jim for his contributions to the Company, particularly during a transformative period for our business. We remain focused on executing our strategic priorities, including financial visibility, operating efficiency, and delivering value to our stakeholders,” said Les Ottolenghi, CEO of VIP Play.
The post VIP Play Announces Departure of Chief Financial Officer appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.
eSports
Esports Charts Becomes Official Viewership Analytics Partner of StarLadder Budapest Major 2025

Esports Charts, the leading esports viewership analytics provider, has partnered with StarLadder, a pioneering tournament organiser. The Budapest Major 2025 marks a highly anticipated comeback for StarLadder, as it is their first Counter-Strike Major since 2019 and a significant return to the top-tier esports arena.
As the official analytics partner of the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025, Esports Charts will provide comprehensive, real-time audience data and insights throughout the event. This will empower organisers, teams, sponsors and fans with unparalleled transparency and a deeper understanding of the tournament’s global reach.
Artyom Odintsov, Co-founder and CEO of Esports Charts, said: “We are thrilled and proud to provide viewership analytics for StarLadder for the Budapest Major 2025. Since both Esports Charts and StarLadder are Ukraine-born companies, we share similar values and deal with similar challenges, which brings us even closer.
“It’s genuinely exciting to follow how viewership will develop at this Major. But knowing the expertise, drive, and passion that the organizers are bringing, I have no doubt we’ll witness some incredible things happen in Budapest.
“Esports Charts has always been driven by a mission to provide the esports community with accurate, actionable data, and we look forward to showcasing the impact and audience engagement of this world-class event.”
StarLadder has been a driving force in global esports for almost 15 years now, since hosting its first tournaments in 2011. Renowned for its innovation and reliability, the company has organised some of the industry’s most iconic events. These include the StarLadder Berlin Major 2019, which accumulated over 44 million hours watched and remains in the top 10 CS events by this metric, and the legendary StarSeries tournaments which started back in 2012.
Viacheslav Shcherbakov, Sales and Partnerships at StarLadder, said: “We’ve been working with Esports Charts since their founding and have always valued their professionalism and integrity. In a market where reliable data is essential, Esports Charts provides honest, transparent numbers, exactly the kind of insights sponsors and stakeholders rely on when assessing the potential reach of a World Championship event.
“We’re confident that this partnership will result in a high-quality analysis of our tournament’s performance and the audience data we’ll report to our partners. It’s a collaboration built on trust, shared values, and a deep understanding of what it takes to elevate esports to the next level.”
The Starladder Budapest Major 2025 will be held from November 24 to December 14 in Budapest, Hungary. The event will bring together the world’s top 32 Counter-Strike 2 teams to compete for a $1.25 million prize pool and one of the most prestigious titles in esports.
The post Esports Charts Becomes Official Viewership Analytics Partner of StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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