October 20, 2026
Nominations for the fifth Casino Guru Awards opened on 15 October. The 2027 edition has 13 categories, a new Player Protection Advocate of the Year award, and a winners' ceremony in Malta on 26 May 2027.
The race for one of the online gambling industry's most talked-about honours is officially on. Casino Guru opened nominations for the Casino Guru Awards 2027 on 15 October 2026, kicking off the fifth edition of a programme that rewards fairness, transparency and player protection rather than sheer size or revenue. This year's line-up features 13 categories, including a brand-new award for people who work to reduce gambling-related harm, and the winners will be crowned at a live ceremony in Malta next May.
Edition: fifth, Casino Guru Awards 2027
Nominations open: 15 October 2026
Nominations close: 15 February 2027
Categories: 13, including the new Player Protection Advocate of the Year
Ceremony: 26 May 2027, Casino Maltese, Valletta (alongside NEXT Summit Valletta)
Awards built around players, not profits
Plenty of industry awards celebrate the biggest operators, the fastest-growing brands or the slickest marketing campaigns. The Casino Guru Awards set out to do something different. Their stated aim is to recognise companies, initiatives and individuals who are helping to build a fairer, more transparent and more innovative iGaming industry. What counts is the impact on players, on industry standards and on the wider gambling environment — not how large a company is or how much money it makes.
Over the years, the categories have covered areas that matter directly to anyone who plays online: fair terms and conditions, sensible bonus policies, responsible gambling tools, the way complaints are handled, social responsibility, leadership and innovation. For players, that makes the shortlist a useful signal of which brands are taking their obligations seriously.
A record-breaking 2026 season
The 2027 edition builds on a strong year. According to the organisers, the 2026 season saw the total number of nominations rise by roughly one third compared with the year before, and the newly introduced categories attracted particularly strong interest. The two public-voting categories, Players' Choice and Voice of the People, collected more than 150,000 votes between them. The live ceremony at The Xara Lodge in Malta brought together nearly 150 iGaming professionals.
2026 in numbers: around one third more nominations than the previous year → more than 150,000 public votes → nearly 150 industry guests at the Malta ceremony.
New for 2027: Player Protection Advocate of the Year
The headline change this year is a new category: Player Protection Advocate of the Year. It is designed to honour individuals who make a meaningful contribution to keeping players safe and reducing gambling-related harm — people who shape policy, develop better practices and bring organisations together around player protection.
Simon Vincze, Head of Sustainable and Safer Gambling at Casino Guru, explained that the topic has always been at the heart of the programme. "Player protection has always been closely connected to the Casino Guru Awards," he said, adding that the new category aims to put a spotlight on the people driving this work forward.
The organisers had already hinted at this direction before the launch, saying player protection was an area where they believed more work deserved recognition. They have also revealed that a separate new project, going beyond the usual list of categories, is in development. Details are being kept under wraps for now. Daniela Sliva, PR & Creative Project Director at Casino Guru and the leader of the awards project, would only say: "We are keeping that part to ourselves for a little longer."
All 13 categories for 2027
| # | Category | Decided by |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Most Impactful Social Responsibility Initiative | Judges |
| 2 | The Best Implementation of RG Tools | Judges |
| 3 | Player Protection Advocate of the Year (new) | Judges |
| 4 | iGaming Changemaker of the Year | Judges |
| 5 | Woman Leader of the Year | Judges |
| 6 | Rising Star in Responsible Gambling | Judges |
| 7 | Young Changemaker Award | Judges |
| 8 | Company Culture Shaper | Judges |
| 9 | The Most Transparent Casino | Judges |
| 10 | The Fairest T&Cs | Judges |
| 11 | The Most Effective Handling of Complaints | Judges |
| 12 | Players' Choice | Public vote |
| 13 | Voice of the People | Public vote |
Four of these — Woman Leader of the Year, Rising Star in Responsible Gambling, Young Changemaker Award and Company Culture Shaper — were introduced only last season and return after a well-received debut.
How to nominate
The process is open to almost anyone in the industry. Companies and individuals can nominate themselves or someone else. Nominators pick a category and fill in the official form on the Casino Guru Awards website. Attaching a more detailed nomination letter with supporting evidence is optional, but it can give the judges a much clearer picture of why a nominee deserves to win.
How the winners are chosen
Most categories are decided by a panel made up of Casino Guru specialists and external industry professionals. The judges review the submitted materials and hold online interviews with shortlisted candidates before reaching a decision. The two remaining categories, Players' Choice and Voice of the People, are left entirely to the public, giving players a direct say in which brands and people they believe stand out.
Key dates
- 15 October 2026: nominations open
- 15 February 2027: nominations close
- 1 March 2027: shortlist announced and public voting opens
- 30 April – 7 May 2027: judging period
- 7 May 2027: public voting closes
- 26 May 2027: winners announced at a live, invitation-only ceremony
Back to Malta
The ceremony returns to Malta, the island nation that has long been one of Europe's main hubs for online gambling companies. This time the venue is Casino Maltese in Valletta, and the event runs alongside NEXT Summit Valletta 2027, bringing together nominees, judges, partners and industry professionals in one place.
Why it matters to players
For the average player, industry awards can feel distant. These ones, however, focus on exactly the issues that shape everyday experiences at an online casino: whether the terms are fair, whether a bonus is honest, whether complaints are resolved, and whether there are real tools to help people stay in control. The more attention and prestige these qualities attract, the stronger the incentive for operators to improve them. The new player protection category pushes that message even further, placing safer gambling firmly in the spotlight.
The Casino Guru Awards 2027 are open, with 13 categories, a new honour for player protection advocates and a mystery project still to be revealed. Nominations run until 15 February, the shortlist follows on 1 March, and the winners will be named in Malta on 26 May 2027. After a record 2026 season, the fifth edition looks set to put fairness and player safety even more firmly at the centre of the conversation.
