PokerStars Shines at eGR Operator Awards

The 2014 eGaming Review (eGR) Awards took place in London this week and, as expected, PokerStars was the biggest winner in the poker categories.

The Isle of Man-based online poker powerhouse took out the award for Poker Operator of The Year as well as the Mobile Poker Operator of the Year award.

Eric Hollreiser, Head of Corporate Communications for the Rational Group – which operates PokerStars –expressed his delight that the network was recognised at the awards ceremony held earlier this week.

Earning the Poker Operator of the Year award was particularly a major feat for PokerStars. While the company has traditionally been seen as the big gun in the world of online poker, its rival, 888poker, has taken out the award over the last three years.

The awards also came as PokerStars faced criticism from some sections of the poker community over the changes it has made recently. Those changes, which included raising rake on certain games and cutting down on promotions, have drawn the ire of some professional players who make a large portion of their income from online poker.

Both awards also cap off what has been a highly eventful year for the company. Besides the above-mentioned changes, PokerStars and its parent company were also purchased by Amaya Gaming in August for $4.9 billion.

It remains to be seen whether the awards will translate into greater player numbers and greater revenue for the poker site.

It also remains to be seen whether or not the awards will have any effect on player numbers at 888poker - which is the second largest global poker room in terms of player traffic – given its strong success at the eGR awards over the past few years.

William Hill took out four non-poker related gaming awards at the ceremony, which included the highly coveted Operator of the Year award.