The SBC Awards North America 2022 will see the biggest brands in sports betting and gaming compete for the top prizes, with BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings, FanDuel, Penn Interactive, PointsBet, and Rush Street Interactive all making the shortlists announced today.

The winners of the 27 operator, supplier, and affiliate categories will be announced in front of an audience of 600 senior executives during a lavish ceremony at Pier Sixty, Manhattan on July 14. 

In the headline operator categories, Circa Resort & Casino, DraftKings, FanDuel, Penn Interactive, and PointsBet will contest the Sportsbook of the Year honor, while BetMGM, Resorts Digital Gaming, and Rush Street Interactive are in the running for the Casino Operator of the Year prize. 

A number of those high-profile brands have also been recognized for their commitment to responsible gambling and player safety, as the shortlist for Socially Responsible Operator of the Year features Caesars Entertainment, DraftKings, Entain, PointsBet, and Rush Street Interactive.

While there are plenty of household names among the operator brands shortlisted, the Awards also celebrate the industry’s challenger brands and the outstanding performance of BettorEdge, Fubo Gaming, Low6, MaximBet, PrizePicks, Rootz, and Sporttrade is celebrated with places on the shortlist for the Rising Star of the Year trophy. 

Rasmus Sojmark, Founder and CEO of SBC, said: “Everyone in the international industry has been impressed by the phenomenal growth of the North American sports betting and igaming markets, and it’s great to see so many of the operators that have been driving that success represented on the shortlists. With such strong competition among the Awards entrants, just making it on to the shortlists is a real mark of quality, so it will be fascinating to learn who our expert judges select as the big winners on the night.” 

The race for the 13 supplier and three payments & compliance honors is also set to be keenly contested, with BetConstruct, Betting Hero, Delasport, GAN, IGT, Inspired Entertainment, Nuvei, OpenBet, Pariplay, PayNearMe, Paysafe, PXP Financial, Sportradar, Sports IQ Analytics, Spotlight Sports Group, and White Hat Gaming, among those to have secured places on multiple shortlists. 

In the affiliate categories, Catena North America, Gambling.com Group, and MediaTroopers make the shortlists in both the casino and sports affiliate sections. The new Sports Media Company of the Year award, which reflects the crucial role of publishers and podcasters in enhancing the player experience, has a shortlist that includes American Affiliate, Better Collective, Catena North America, MediaTroopers, NBC Sports Next, Playmaker Capital, SGPN, The Game Day, and XLMedia.

Sojmark added: “The standard of the products and services developed for North American markets is exceptional and that was reflected in the quality of the entries for the supplier and affiliate categories. Our independent judging panels faced a really tough task to draw up the shortlists, and now have an even more difficult one in deciding the winners.”

Meanwhile, the shortlist for the prestigious industry-wide Leader of the Year award features FanDuel’s Amy Howe, OneComply’s Cameron Conn, Sportradar’s Carsten Koerl, Gambling.com Group’s Charles Gillespie, Penn Interactive’s Jon Kaplowitz, Rush Street Interactive’s Richard Schwartz, and Boom Entertainment’s Stephen A. Murphy. 

The Employer of the Year shortlist comprises Better Collective, Boom Entertainment, DraftKings, Gambling.com Group, GoldenRace, Inspired Entertainment, Penn Interactive, Rush Street Interactive, and VBET. 

Sojmark said: “While we focus a lot on high-tech innovations and commercial performance when assessing the progress made by the industry in North America, the key factor in its success is people. That is why the employer and leader categories are so important, and I’m looking forward to meeting many of those on the shortlists at the ceremony in July.” 

The SBC Awards North America ceremony will be the culmination of a week of events in New Jersey and New York, where professionals from the international gambling industry can also take in the SBC Summit North America conference and tradeshow, the Player Protection Symposium, and the Sports Betting Hall of Fame induction ceremony. 

To view the shortlists for all 27 of the awards, please click here.

For information about sponsorship opportunities at the SBC Awards North America ceremony or to book a table, please contact [email protected].