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Meet the Panel of Judges Deciding this Year’s William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award Winner
Five individuals from the world of sports and journalism will be following a rigorous judging process and reading their way through the five shortlisted books to find this year’s winner, who will be crowned the 34th William Hill Sports Book of the Year at the official award ceremony on the 1st of December at BAFTA, 195 Piccadilly, London.
Alyson Rudd will be taking up the role of Chair of the Judging Panel of William Hill Sports Book of The Year Award (WHSBOTY) for the fourth year running. She is the author of two sports books: a biography of Matthew Harding, the former Chelsea football club director; and Astroturf Blonde, an account of her playing career in men’s and women’s football teams. She is also an award-winning sportswriter at The Times.
Alongside Alyson will be broadcaster, writer and journalist Mark Lawson. In addition to being a critic and feature writer for The Guardian, Mark is a six-time author, and has recently completed his book The Judgements. He cited that becoming a WHSBOTY judge back in 2016 was “the fulfilment of one of his greatest ambitions in sport.”
Longest standing member of the judging panel, sports presenter John Inverdale will take part in his 25th and final year as judge. During his illustrious career as one of the country’s leading sports presenters, John has been named Broadcaster of the Year and Sports Broadcaster of the Year amongst other accolades.
Brighton and Hove Albion FC non-executive board member and chair of Brighton & Hove Albion Women’s FC, Michelle Walder, will be joining the judging panel for the first time this this year. She said: “I am both delighted and honoured to join the William Hill Sports Book of the Year judging panel this year.”
Former professional footballer Clarke Carlisle is no stranger to the Award, his autobiography A Footballer’s Life reached the 2014 longlist. Clarke’s thought-provoking BBC3 documentary, Football’s Suicide Secret was shortlisted for the 2014 prestigious MIND Media Awards, he was first a SBOTY judge back in 2012.
Chair of the Judging Panel, Alyson Rudd, said: “As the judging panel, we have the nearly impossible task of choosing the 34th William Hill Sports Book of the Year winner. Following a record-breaking year in terms of entries, the standard has been set incredibly high.
“Each judge will bring their own expertise as well as lived experiences in sports and literature to the table, and I am looking forward to chairing what will be a hotly contested panel meeting.”
The 34th William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award will be announced on 1st December at BAFTA, 195 Piccadilly ,London. The event will be streamed live from 1.30pm on the @BookiePrize Twitter feed. Find out more about the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award here: https://news.williamhill.com/sport/sports-book-of-the-year/

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Soft2Bet’s Quickcasino Wins at EGR Europe Awards 2025
Soft2Bet’s Quickcasino has been awarded “The Nordics and Baltics – Rising Star” at the prestigious EGR Europe Awards, reinforcing its status as one of the region’s most innovative and fast-growing online gaming brands.
This recognition is a testament to Soft2Bet’s commitment to market-leading technology, data-driven gamification, and player-first experiences. By combining cutting-edge mechanics with a highly localised approach, Quickcasino has established itself as a force in Sweden’s competitive iGaming landscape.
A Market Leader in Innovation and Gamification
Quickcasino.se has redefined the Nordic and Baltic iGaming experience, blending seamless UX, high-speed transactions, and a unique gamification ecosystem to keep players engaged. Powered by Soft2Bet’s proprietary MEGA (Motivational Engineering Gamification Application) solution, the platform delivers dynamic challenges, real-time progression, and personalised incentives, creating an experience that is both immersive and rewarding.
Beyond gamification, Quickcasino’s commitment to top-tier security, lightning-fast payments, and market-driven customisation has resonated strongly with Swedish players. Its ability to merge high-performance technology with a player-centric approach, via MEGA, has driven remarkable growth, reinforcing its status as a market leader.
Uri Poliavich, Founder and CEO of Soft2Bet, commented: “Receiving European recognition from one of the leading industry awards is a proud moment for Quickcasino and Soft2Bet. This achievement not only recognises Quickcasino’s rapid success but also highlights how our B2C experience acts as a proof of concept for B2B partners. As we investigate new ways to enhance our offerings, the results we achieve with our brands showcase the power of our technology and help operators elevate player engagement, retention, and performance in highly competitive markets. This award reinforces our ability to drive success for our brands and partners.”
A Future Focused on Growth and Innovation
Quickcasino’s latest accolade adds to Soft2Bet’s growing list of industry recognitions. Looking ahead to 2025, the company is preparing for major market expansions, new strategic partnerships, and continuous advancements in gamification technology. With innovation at its core, Soft2Bet remains committed to pushing boundaries and delivering industry-leading solutions that shape the future of iGaming.
The post Soft2Bet’s Quickcasino Wins at EGR Europe Awards 2025 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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The Lithuanian Gaming Control Authority (LPT) has completed its inspection: Olympic Casino has been fined almost 8.4 million euros
The company Olympic Casino Group Baltija (OCGB) did not take sufficient steps to identify the origin of Šarūnas Stepukonis’ losing funds, and the monitoring of his financial transactions was only formal and ineffective. Such violations were identified by the Gaming Supervisory Authority, which conducted an inspection of OCGB’s activities in Lithuania. The company was fined almost 8.4 million euros.
The Gaming Supervisory Authority (LPT) investigated the actions taken by OCGB in response to Š. Stepukonis’ transactions on the company’s gaming website from December 2016 to the end of June 2021. The law obliges gaming operators to ensure that customer funds are not obtained from criminal activities or through participation in such activities. It is also mandatory to verify the origin of the funds. LPT found that the measures applied by OCGB were poor and insufficient, and the monitoring of Š. Stepukonis’ transactions was formal.
Gambling organizers must report suspicious transactions to the FNTT. Š. Stepukonis’ transactions had obvious signs that should have raised suspicions for the gambling organizer. However, the FNTT was not informed about this.
During the inspection, evidence was also collected that Š. Stepukonis’ gambling was irresponsible. The gambling company should have noticed this, especially since the client was assigned a personal manager who saw all of his transactions.
“Instead of finding out whether Š. Stepukonis had a gambling problem or informing the supervisory authority, Olympic Casino encouraged him to gamble even more. An individual incentive package was prepared for him. A total of 1.3 million euros was allocated for this. This “bonus” could only be spent on gambling. Other incentives were also allocated,” – comments on the results of the inspection by LPT Director Virginijus Daukšys.
Since mid-2021, gambling companies in Lithuania have no longer been allowed to offer incentives to their customers that they would later lose. Just before this tightening came into effect, Š. Stepukonis’ virtual gambling was moved from Lithuania to Estonia, where it was still allowed to encourage gamblers.
In this way, it was possible not only to maintain incentives for gambling, but also to avoid supervision by the LPT. If an ordinary gambler from Lithuania tried to go and register on the Estonian Olympic Casino website, he would be redirected to the Lithuanian website. However, in the case of Š. Stepukonis, the redirection was not carried out. These circumstances are part of the pre-trial investigation.
During the inspection, a total of five violations of the provisions of the Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism and the Law on Gambling were identified.
The law allows for a fine of up to twice the amount of damage caused. The damage was determined to be 6.4 million euros – the amount Š. Stepukonis lost at the Olympic Casino in Lithuania. When calculating the fine, an aggravating circumstance was taken into account – the company did not cooperate during the inspection.
According to V. Daukšys, after this story came to light, steps were taken to prevent similar cases from recurring. The most important change is the law, proposed by the LPT, which obliges gambling companies to take action upon noticing irresponsible gambling and to provide information about it to the LPT.
“Until now, there was no such obligation. Therefore, the LPT did not have information that would allow it to take preventive actions in advance,” says V. Daukšys.
The new Gambling Law will come into force in November this year. Its aim is to reduce the accessibility, attractiveness and potential harm to personal health of gambling.
LPT also reviewed its procedures, adjusted internal procedures, allowing for more frequent scheduled inspections of the activities of gambling companies. In addition, the Ministry of Finance conducted an audit of LPT’s activities. No significant operational deficiencies were identified during the audit. LPT took into account the audit recommendations and allocated more human resources to money laundering prevention functions.
Source: Gambling Supervisory Authority under the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Lithuania
The post The Lithuanian Gaming Control Authority (LPT) has completed its inspection: Olympic Casino has been fined almost 8.4 million euros appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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iQOO partners with India’s leading gamers Mortal, Payal and Scout; will co-create products for nation’s mobile gaming community
The post iQOO partners with India’s leading gamers Mortal, Payal and Scout; will co-create products for nation’s mobile gaming community appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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