Anyone fortunate enough to attend multiple Global Gaming Awards will know that every ceremony is different. New nominees, new winners and new industry developments guarantee an air of renewed exuberance at every annual Awards ceremony. The Global Gaming Awards EMEA 2025, however, promises to be a unique experience for all in attendance. After seven years of memories at the Hippodrome Casino in London, the ceremony takes on a new form in the city of Barcelona.
The Global Gaming Awards took on its first form in Las Vegas 10 years ago in 2014. Four years later, the Awards expanded to London, finding their its home on this side of the pond at the Hippodrome Casino in London. Following the success of the awards across the Americas and Europe, the Global Gaming Awards expanded once again to the Asia-Pacific region in 2022, with the first in-person ceremony being held in Manila in conjunction with the SiGMA Asia Summit in June 2024.
New City, new venue, same standards
Barcelona, of course, is a city adorned with both beauty and history – making it the perfect location for the gaming industry’s most coveted awards. For the first time, 2025’s iteration of the Global Gaming Awards EMEA will be held at the Fira Barcelona Gran Via. Designed by Pritzker Architecture Prize winner Toyo Ito, the venue is located close to the city’s airport and boasts an exhibition area of 240,000 square metres – making it one of the largest and most modern fair halls in Europe. Home to 3 million visitors and 270+ fairs, congresses, activities, seminars and other events each year, the Fira Barcelona Gran Via is also set to play host to the gaming industry’s largest annual summit in SiGMA ICE Barcelona 2025.
World-class ceremonies require world-class settings, which is why the next Global Gaming Awards EMEA will be held at a prestigious Fira Barcelona Gran Via restaurants on the 20 January 2025, during ICE week. The location of the 2025 Global Gaming Awards EMEA has, indeed, been updated. However, the selection process remains as thorough as ever.
As always, the awards will be judged by a panel of over 50 industry leading executives and independently adjudicated by KPMG in the Crown Dependencies. Executives, of course, are unable to vote in any categories in which there may be a conflict of interest. Nominees and winners alike are determined through a meticulous selection process and broken down into 16 categories.
The categories
The Global Gaming Awards are designed to cover the length and breadth of the gaming industry, ensuring recognition for each corner of the business. Awards for sports betting operators, suppliers, retail operators, online & in-person casinos and affiliate programs are all up for grabs. Additionally, Awards for the year’s best social responsibility programs, platform providers, breakthrough companies and individual executives are also on the agenda.
Taking a look back at some of this year’s winners, bet365 were among the afternoon’s biggest beneficiaries and one of two organisations to go home with multiple Awards – winning awards for both Affiliate Program of the Year and Online Sports Betting Operator of the Year. Pragmatic Play also took home the Awards for Online Casino Supplier of the Year, as well as Product Launch of the Year for its live casino game, Treasure Island.
Thanks to the Hippodrome
We would also be remiss if the Global Gaming Awards did not reflect on its seven-year tenure at London’s iconic Hippodrome Casino. Originally designed in 1898, the Hippodrome Casino building has taken on a range of forms over its numerous lifetimes. Initially introduced as a circus hosted by Charlie Chaplin in the early 1900s, the Hippodrome’s theatrical introductory phase also saw a one-off performance from Harry Houdini in 1904.
The building later took on a more musical form, notably playing host to the UK’s first ever jazz concert by the Dixieland Jazz band in 1919 and, rather poetically, also hosting Prince’s last ever UK show nearly 100 years later.
Following the opening of The Hippodrome Casino in 2012, the venue saw seven Global Gaming Awards ceremonies come and go between the years of 2018 and 2024, playing an invaluable role in the Awards’ evolution.
Mariya Savova, Global Gaming Awards Event Manager, reflects on the Hippodrome’s contribution as long-term host: “The Hippodrome Casino is a true innovator and one of the driving forces of the UK gaming industry. We can’t thank Executive Chairman Simon Thomas enough for giving the Global Gaming Awards a home for seven years. Even in 2021, when we couldn’t host an in-person ceremony due to Covid-19 restrictions, we filmed the virtual presentation at The Hippodrome. It has been an honour and a pleasure to work with The Hippodrome Casino’s team, gathering the best of the best from the gambling industry in the UK’s most fabulous casino.
“Change is, of course, difficult – but it is also incredibly exciting! The Global Gaming Awards EMEA have always been held during ICE week and we would like to keep that tradition, which is why next January we will celebrate the best suppliers and operators from Europe, the Middle East and Africa in the beautiful city of Barcelona. I am pleased to share that the Global Gaming Awards will be held at the ICE 2025 venue, Fira Barcelona Gran Via, at the end of Day 1. I’d like to thank the Clarion Gaming team for welcoming our event to ICE week, which is certainly shaping up to be fantastic. ¡Hasta pronto, Barcelona!”
Looking forward
Barcelona’s Global Gaming Awards EMEA 2025 will see a few changes from its previous, London-based ceremonies. Hosted in tandem with ICE week in Barcelona, the event will be held at a slightly earlier date of the 20 January, meaning the self-nominations will be set to close at a slightly earlier date. Self-nominations are now open and are set to close at the end of October.
Afternoon tea will be swapped out for afternoon tapas – with the historical suave of the Hippodrome Casino making way for the sleek modernism of the Fira Barcelona Gran Via. However, in between now and the 2025 EMEA Global Gaming Awards stands the 11th Global Gaming Awards Americas ceremony. With the full Shortlist soon to be revealed, the voting for this year’s Global Gaming Awards Americas is set to commence on 9 September. The ceremony follows shortly after on the 7 October.
As always, the Global Gaming Awards Americas is bound for the legendary Venetian Resort Las Vegas for its eleventh outing. Doors will open at 11:45am, with the presentation ceremony officially commencing at 12:30pm.
With three annual Global Gaming Awards now being held around the world for the Americas, EMEA & Asia-Pacific regions, a ceremony is never far away – and while the Americas is around the corner, the Asia-Pacific ceremony is still visible in the rear-view.
This year saw the Asia-Pacific Global Gaming Awards’ first-ever in person ceremony following the loosening of Covid restrictions in the region. Held in tandem with the SiGMA Asia summit at the Conrad Manila, the Awards celebrated the best and brightest the industry has to offer in the region – which is all but returning to full strength following the pandemic.
As always in gaming, there has been a lot to acknowledge in the industry so far this year. The continuous boom in technologies such as AI has generated countless examples of innovation and re-innovation across the global market. Personalisation technologies, responsible gambling, cryptocurrency integration and the continuous development of interactive VR online casino – to name but a few – have re-shaped the industry over the course of 2024.
These pioneering innovations are exactly what the Global Gaming Awards are put together for – recognition of the brilliant minds behind these new ideas. A new setting awaits this year’s attendees for the Global Gaming Awards EMEA. However, the ceremony itself promises to remain a celebration of another stellar year for gaming.
