Today marks the first full day of the Casino Affiliate Programs (CAP) Euro London convention and expo. Festivities on the docket included the 2009 CAP Awards, which were handed out in ceremonies held today at a black tie ceremony at The Brewery in the historic European city. Awards spanning the online poker, casino, Bingo, and sports book industries were given out.
The CAP Awards are voted on by members of the industry and handed out to companies and individuals within it. A press release distributed by CAP on Friday explains the importance the voting process: “The democratic nature of the process is designed to ensure that the CAP Awards represent a consensus of the online gaming affiliate community as a whole and are not just the decision of the CAP administrators.” This is the second running of the CAP Awards, which are nicknamed the “Cappies,” and voting began in July.
A total of 23 awards were handed out in London. CAP Founder and President Lou Fabiano stated, “These are truly the brightest stars in the CAP community. But honestly, each of the dozens of nominated programs and individuals deserve congratulations, as does our stellar community of more than 8,000 affiliates and webmasters who not only voted for this year’s winners, but who also make the entire CAP experience possible each and every day.” Here were the winners of this year’s accolades:
Affiliate Program Awards
Best Casino Affiliate Program: EuroPartners
Best Poker Affiliate Program: Everest Affiliates
Best Bingo Affiliate Program: Jackpot Joy / MarketAce
Best Sports Book Affiliate Program: Betfair Affiliate Program
Best Skill Gaming Affiliate Program: RummyAffiliates
Best Overall Affiliate Program: Affiliate Club
Software Awards
Best iGaming Casino Software: Microgaming
Best iGaming Poker Software: PokerStars
Best iGaming Bingo Software: Playtech
Affiliate Manager Awards
Best Casino Affiliate Manager: Renee, Rewards Affiliates
Best Poker Affiliate Manager: Carly, PokerStars
Best Bingo Affiliate Manager: Pierrick, Virgin Games
Best Sports Book Affiliate Manager: Roman, Intertops
Best Skill Gaming Affiliate Manager: Shay Shevach, RummyAffiliates
Best Overall Affiliate Manager: Cobus, Referback
Affiliate Awards
Best iGaming Affiliate Network: Income Access
Best Payment System for Affiliates: Neteller
Best Casino Affiliate: Simmo
Best Poker Affiliate: RakeTheRake.com
Best Bingo Affiliate: BingoPort.co.uk
Best Sports Book Affiliate: Bet Brain
Best Skill Gaming Affiliate: Dominique
Best Overall Affiliate: Bet Brain
The awards were announced by Michael Caselli and Warren Jolly. The proceedings began with comedian Tony Law entertaining the crowd on hand at The Brewery. Earlier in the day, Fabiano gave a welcome speech and panel discussions focused on search engine optimization and how to use videos to drive website traffic. Sharon Baylay, Former General Manager for Microsoft Online Services Group U.K., gave the event’s keynote. Baylay spoke on the importance of social networking sites. The keynote was originally scheduled to be delivered by First Tuesday AG Co-Founder Susan Kish, who was forced to back out after sustaining injuries in a skiing accident.
Saturday’s seminars include how to make money in financial markets, tips for designing effective landing pages, and how to develop successful e-mail marketing campaigns. The Affiliate Series of Poker, or ASOP as it’s commonly known, will also be a part of the weekend’s schedule. Sunday’s activities include tours throughout the city of London. Sponsors of the event include Party Partners, Partner Logic, Ladbrokes, BetUS, Chipleader, Everest Poker, Affiliate Club, and OnlineGambling.com.
