A Night to Remember at the Bookmaker Awards 2023 in Warsaw

02.19.2024

In the iGaming world, we like to celebrate success as a way to recognise achievements, strengthen team spirit and enhance the job satisfaction of everyone involved. More than that, we also see it as a way to share best practices and encourage innovation, as well as the best way to build a brand, attract talent, and, of course, create customer loyalty. Everybody wants to be part of a winning team.

As iGamingNuts, Poland’s largest affiliate company and operator of the portal “LegalniBukmacherzy.pl,” we bring you the Bookmaker Awards. For the sixth year in a row, we have taken it upon ourselves to organise the largest event for the Polish sports betting industry.

Just like the previous five editions, the event was presented by Polsat Sport’s Jerzy Mielewski but this year’s edition was for the first time in partnership with Przegląd Sportowy – Onet. With more than 60 representatives of Poland’s licensed bookmakers, the event is also a perfect networking opportunity where many conversations and discussions about the industry are held during the entire event.

The Bookmaker Awards celebrate the finest online betting platforms. From the thrill of live bets to user-friendly mobile apps, we seek to crown the best in the business. Let’s briefly discuss the methodology and categories and share this year’s winners!

Selecting and picking nominees and winners

The process we use to assure our awards are prestigious and the competition to be fair has changed very little since the first edition. The categories and criteria were selected based on consultation with people in the industry and by looking at other awards such as the SBC Awards and EGR Awards.

Bookmaker of the Year

It goes without saying that this title and award go to the best overall bookmaker. Not only do we look at all the types of bets and the odds they offer, but also the quality of their website and mobile app and their commitment to giving their customers what they want and need.

Creativity and innovation are also important aspects. Does a company have the courage to introduce new, original approaches in this highly dynamic industry where change seems to be the only constant and where there are no guarantees for success?

Like last year, this year’s overall winner was Superbet who won awards in 5 out of the 8 categories they were nominated in. Key words to describe Superbet are reliability, innovation, and a platform that works flawlessly.

Debut of the Year

For the second year in a row, the nominee for best debut of the year had no competition; however, Comeon certainly earned their award. They stormed the market not only with an amazing deposit bonus attracting many players, but they also launched their application very quickly – both things we don’t often see from new bookmakers.

We must note that Comeon’s biggest challenges seem to have been its own success – the large number of new players meant delays with account verifications and withdrawals, which inevitably led to problems at the customer support department as well. All in all, minor problems for a new player, and we are confident all these issues will be fully addressed by next year.

User Reward

A User Reward could be seen as the most prestigious award of them all; if not for the customers, who are we doing it for? In the end, perceived quality is all that matters. But the question of whether the User Award is more prestigious or not is not relevant because, just like last year, Superbet won both awards. It is noteworthy to mention that, where they won with 41% of the votes last year, this year they completely blew away the competition with 61% of the votes!

Beyond the game

Besides the offering – the events you can bet on – which of the nominees offers the best live bets and the best odds? Who had the best mobile application, customer service, and marketing in 2023? It might not come as a surprise that we see the overall winner many times in these categories:

Best Live Betting: Superbet

In the past five editions, there has only been one winner in this category: STS. However, Superbet has caught up and surpassed STS this year. They are now unrivalled when it comes to the number of special and statistical bets. Add innovations such as BetSwipe and free broadcasts, and we have an undisputed winner.

Best Odds: TOTALbet

With a margin of only 2-3% in top competitions, TOTALbet has won this category for the third year in a row. Thanks to high odds for favourites and regular odds boosters, as well as similar great odds for other sports such as tennis and basketball, they have now equaled the former champion in this category forBET, who has also won this award three times in a row.

Best Mobile App: Superbet

If you are a bookmaker and want to know how the ideal app looks, take Superbet as an example. Even in the busiest moments, the app works flawlessly; the design is modern and clear, and it is the most intuitive you can find.

Best Marketing: Superbet

Marketing is a complicated side of any business; how do you build your brand and attract new customers? For the third year in a row, Superbet shows they know how to play this game of creativity and cooperation. By making optimal use of strategic partnerships and collaboration, Superbet manages to again make themselves visible and heard in many disciplines, from football to e-sports.

Best Customer Service: forBET

This category is one of the most competitive. Three different companies have won this award in the previous five editions (LVBET, STS, and Superbet) and this year we add a new name to that list: forBet. During the past year, we have contacted support with all kinds of ‘problems’, and time and time again, we were impressed, not in the least by the fact that we never had to wait long for a response.

Responsible bookmaker: STS

Active participation in society and local communities by both pointing out the risk of unsafe and illegal gambling and supporting charity campaigns is what Responsible Gaming is about. Although the competition in this category was fierce, it was the scale and success of the “Dorzuć Misie” campaign for the AUTentYZM centre and Naszpikowani Foundation that made STS the clear winner of this year.

The Sports

Last but not least, let us look at the core of the bookmaking business: the sports! If you have a favourite sport or competition, where do you find the best offers specifically for that sport that take the unique characteristics of that sport into account? And what unique, innovative ways of betting do they offer? The winners in the sports categories for 2023 are as follows:

The best offer for football: Superbet
The best offer for speedway: STS (Entain)
The best offer for combat sports: Fortuna
The best offer for ski jumping: STS
The best offer for tennis: Fortuna (FEG)
The best offer for esports: LVbet

These were all the 15 rewards for this year! We congratulate the winners once more, and we can’t wait to see how this motivates the others to push themselves further. Or, will we see a hat-trick for Superbet in 2024?