RTG Global Awards expand to twelve categories for 2027, nominations now open

Regulating the Game (RTG) has opened nominations for the second edition of the RTG Global Awards, with the program expanded to twelve categories for 2027 after what organizers described as a successful debut year.

The inaugural awards, held in March 2026, were presented across six categories and drew interest from regulators, operators, suppliers, researchers, clinicians and advisers around the world.

The 2027 edition adds six new categories, doubling the program and extending recognition across regulatory practice, integrity, harm prevention and sector contribution.

Six categories join the roster

The new categories for 2027 are:

• Gambling Harm Prevention Campaign, for awareness and education initiatives;
• Research Impact, for evidence-led work translated into practical outcomes;
• Sport and Wagering Integrity Initiative, for programs that protect sporting fairness and wagering integrity;
• Compliance Advisory, for advisory services that support governance and capability;
• Black Market Disruption Initiative, for efforts to counter illegal and unregulated gambling;
• Distinguished Contribution, for enduring service to the sector.

These join six returning categories from the 2026 awards:

• Leadership Voice
• Safer Gambling Champion
• Compliance Excellence
• RegTech Solution
• Community Impact Initiative
• Emerging Leader.

Illegal operators draw a new category

The Black Market Disruption Initiative addresses a pressure point regulators say is growing quickly. Illegal and unregulated operators divert consumer activity and revenue away from licensed markets and place customers outside the reach of harm-minimization measures.

Some jurisdictions have responded by licensing previously unregulated activity rather than banning it. New Zealand’s move to license online casino gambling brings an existing market inside a regulated perimeter, attaching consumer protection, harm-minimization obligations and enforcement to activity that already occurred.

According to RTA, addressing the issue requires public acknowledgment of the policy challenge, collaboration to respond to it, and resistance to two approaches regulators consider counterproductive: prohibition, which leaves the market to unlicensed operators, and taxation or regulation set at a level the licensed channel cannot sustain while retaining customers.

Enforcement measures cited include payment and ISP blocking, cross-border intelligence sharing, litigation, and disruption of payment rails, affiliates and advertising channels.

RTG is inviting regulators, operators and industry bodies from any jurisdiction to submit nominations describing actions taken and outcomes achieved. The category accepts submissions at any scale, from national policy measures to coordinated international action, and is open to mature and emerging markets alike.

Judging panel drawn from across the sector

An independent panel will assess the 2027 nominations. Confirmed judges include Khalid Ali, CEO of the International Betting Integrity Association; Kai Cantwell, CEO of Responsible Wagering Australia; Peter Cohen of The Agenda Group; Professor Paul Delfabbro of the University of Adelaide; Don Hammond, CEO of Leagues Clubs Australia; Tracy Parker of the Responsible Gambling Council; Dan Rule of Endeavour Group; Tess Salmon of Aube Communications; and Dan Waugh of Regulus Partners.

Additional panelists, including a senior international gambling regulator, are expected to be announced.

Self- and third-party nominations accepted worldwide

Nominations are open globally to individuals, organizations and initiatives for work completed in the past 12 months. Both self-nominations and third-party nominations are accepted, though anonymous submissions are not.

RTG is encouraging sector participants to nominate colleagues, teams or initiatives, and to submit their own work as well.

“The inaugural awards showed the appetite across our sector to recognise the people and organisations lifting standards, strengthening integrity and improving outcomes,” said Paul Newson, founder of RTG and principal at Vanguard Overwatch.

“For 2027 we have widened the field to twelve categories so that recognition reaches further, across harm prevention, integrity, research and enduring contribution, as well as leadership and compliance,” Newson added.

“I would encourage the sector to nominate someone deserving of recognition, and to put their own work forward with confidence. Reward and recognition matter, and this is a moment to acknowledge those doing the work that sustains public trust,” he said.

Nominations close on December 21, 2026. Finalists will be announced on February 1, 2027, and winners will be recognized at the RTG Global Awards Gala Dinner on the evening of March 9, 2027, at the Sofitel Sydney Wentworth.

To nominate or to read more about each category, visit www.regulatingthegame.com/globalawards or contact the team at [email protected].