The Best Of 2009 - Online Gambling Insider Awards - 11-26-09

In addition to the popularity of the tournaments, Online Vegas regularly launched new slot machine games throughout the year. They also announced their loyalty program, which now consists of seven tiers increased value the longer players remain a member. The $5000 sign up bonus is also one of the most popular around. This is a fantastic casino that services pretty much all countries and has delivered exceptional service, making it our choice casino of 2009.

All Slots Casino is powered by Microgaming and operated by the Jackpot Factory Group. The casino has won an award here at Online Gambling Insider every year since our launch. We have made no secret of the fact that we believe this to be one of the best operators in the world. All Slots has increased its global footprint over the last year, and has become one of the most popular UK slot sites. You pretty much can't go wrong if you add their great promotions for players in the UK. A standout casino in 2009.

Bookmaker.com is operated by Betcris, who really know their business as an odds maker. In fact, many sportsbooks around the world will not move their odds before taking a peek what Cris is up to. Bookmaker is a US focused brand and everything from software to promotions to customers service is world-class.

We have kept a keen eye on developments at BetUS over the last number of years. This US facing sports book is without a doubt one of the most professionally run sports books for betting on just about any global event. The lines are very competitively priced, and in our opinion they currently offer the best promotions os the US facing sportsbooks. The casino is operated on the Rival Gaming platform, and they run a US-friendly poker room as well as a mobile gaming platform.

Microgaming without a doubt takes this category hands down with their €1 million slots tournament, the Grand Slam of Slots, that concluded in November. Slots players around the world will be hoping that they run this tournament again next year.

Talking about the Grand Slam of Slots, the eventual €1 million first prize winner was a relative newcomer to Ladbrokes Casino. But this is not only reason we chose this casino. Ladbroke's is a highly respected and very professionally run gaming operator, and as a Microgaming software user, they have the advantage of up to four new slots being launched every month this year. Their regular slots focused promotions also contributed to our decision.

Cryptologic has continued to innovate throughout the year with their third-party game licensing agreements with Marvel Comics and DC Comics. They released super-hero slots such as Batman. These games are simply breathtaking and they offer big prizes and unrivaled entertainment value.

The Fortune Lounge Group, a foundation Microgaming casino operator, has proven year in and year out that quality customer service is hugely important to players. Fortune Lounge operate a very sophisticated multilingual customer service center and offer quick turnarounds when it comes to processing cash-ins and dealing with player problems. Continuous positive feedback from players contributed to this choice.

No we did not choose Absolute Poker because of Lacey Jones, the model turned poker-pro endorsing the site, although we could probably be excused if that swayed us. After the horrible cheating debacle in 2008, Absolute Poker has bounced back this year and in our opinion offers a refreshing change to the other big sites. Their merger with Ultimate Bet has had positive spinoffs for players and has seen improved customer service and busier tables.