From Best Casino Award to Head-in-the-Sand Award, the 2020 list by Casinomeister is out
No words minced by industry veteran Bryan Bailey with his annual awards
The industry enjoys the presence of many reputable casinos that pay out their players’ winnings in a timely manner, thanks also to an increased presence from regulators across multiple jurisdictions. Just like any other vertical, however, the iGaming industry is also plagued by a few shady operators that short change players and, at times, even affiliates, who work hard to promote these casinos.
As a result, SiGMA took the bold decision to ban such operators from exhibiting by engaging a team of vetting big affiliates with solid reputation: folks such as Matching Visions, Casinomeister, GWPA and Affiliate Guard Dog – all of whom give us valuable feedback whether each operator should be speaking to affiliates or not.
In 2018, in fact, there was one instance where we had to refund in full one operator who had committed with a stand at SiGMA, following feedback from Bryan Bailey from Casinomeister himself. The operation in question was Affiliate Edge.
Before the 2018 expo, Affiliate Edge was listed as a sponsor on SiGMA’s site. The vetting process for operators carried out by SiGMA to ensure top quality, claims that each operator with a booked booth at the event needs to be approved by at least two judges from a lineup.
During the vetting process, SiGMA was alerted of funds of demised people being transferred directly to the website’s accounts.
Casinomiester red flagged more then just one incident for the company Affiliate Edge. The judge has screenshots of affiliate accounts that show the same accounts being tampered with.
These accounts were not hacked, but manipulated in the backend. Affiliates had noticed a serious dip in their revenue as the persons in charge decided they could make more money by detagging players from affiliate accounts.
Casinomister commented to SiGMA how the company was “Detagging players and closing accounts of webmaster’s widows. In my nearly twenty years of dealing with rogue activity, this was probably the worst experience for all that I have witnessed.”
After this information emerged, SiGMA took it upon themselves to refund Affiliate Edge and eliminate the company’s stand from the floor plan. Apart from tainting the company’s reputation this move would have allowed for further affiliates to fall to the same trap. All of this was done for SiGMA to keep its status of key quality.
Fast forward to 2021 and here we are, going through Bryan’s list of awards for the previous year. Find below a handful of the awards by Casinomeister. These online casinos and affiliate programs are ranked in different categories based on a strict set of criteria having consistently succeeded or failed to deliver a fair service to affiliates and players.
Best Casino 2020
All British Casino
All British Casino is listed as UK’s fully dedicated online casino. Based on the player advocate Casinomeister, All British Casino has once again proven to be a solid operation offering great customer support and a wide variety of games.
When asked to comment to why the Casinomister award was handed to All British Casino, Bryan Bailey of Casinomeister.com said: “Voted #1 by our most senior members and our illustrious Meister Minions, it is evident that All British Casino did not rest on its laurels.”
“This casino has continued its player focused management philosophy – and they have truly appeased their players with awesomeness.”
All of the games offered by the operator are run on a Random Number Generator, which is certified as fair by the UK Gambling Commission and Maltese Gaming Authority. All players can feel sure that their personal data is protected thanks to the sophisticated SSL encryption system.
Head In The Sand 2020
UK Gambling Commission
The Head in the Sand awards by Casinomeister represent entities who ignore important issues in the casino market such as player protection, or player assurance.
This year’s Head-in-the-Sand award was handed out to the UK Gambling Comission. The future of the iGaming industry in the UK is under pressure with mainstream media considering a monthly loss limit cap.
The UKGC are constantly failing to recognise that overbearing regulation will drive players away from their shores.
In 2020, we also saw several operators giving up their UK Gaming licence and stop the servicing to UK players.
Chief Executive of the UKGC, has been playing down the risk of players taking their businesses offshore, indeed the UKGC’s failure to recognise the problem of unlicensed gambling in offshore territories has further been highlighted.
Another case of ‘Head in the Sand’ award is the UKGC’s perceived lack of action against sites deliberately targeting problem gamblers specifically those that have signed up with the GamStop self-exclusion service.
What SiGMA stands for:
All operators wanting to exhibit at SiGMA must be approved by the commission. It’s vital for operators to respect the rules of the game and treat players and affiliates fairly. Shady operators do not do any justice to the industry we work so hard for.
SiGMA adds Hindi as its 7th language:
SiGMA Group is excited to announce the launch of a 7th language to its website. Users can find all content, including the SiGMA News website, in Hindi. The latest addition to SiGMA’s portfolio of languages will run alongside the recently launched French, Russian, Mandarin, Spanish, and Portuguese content, and aims to cater to SiGMA’s global vision.
