The 2026 Winners
Announced on August 1, 2026, after three rounds of jury deliberation. One winner in each of the three categories, chosen from a shortlist of eight.
One winner per category
Leo K. Weber
DACH market specialist whose analysis of German, Austrian and Swiss regulation is read by operators and affiliates alike.
Lorenzo Vitali
Editor-in-chief of one of Italy's most popular gambling publications and the author of academic research on gambling.
Jan Woźniak
Product Owner at SOFTSWISS who builds casino products by day and advises casinos and software developers on theirs.
The route to these three names
Nominations opened on June 10 and closed on July 15. On July 17 the jury received a shortlist of eight experts, published in full alongside their profiles, and deliberation began the same day.
The panel worked in three rounds until July 31. Each member first reviewed the shortlist independently; the second round matched finalists to categories and narrowed the field; the third settled on one winner per category. Vera Vilchek, Gregory Matesienkevic, Nick LeBraune and Craig Himsworthy sat on the panel, covering regulation, marketing, social impact and media.
The five other finalists — Mike Betoray, Lina Murphey-Gaelle, Markus Komovic, Giulio Caruso and Vasco Oliveira — keep the status of Finalist 2026 and the badge that goes with it.
The principles and integrity rules behind the process are published on the jury page, and every winner and finalist can collect an official badge kit on the Press & Badges page.