The gambling world is changing. After decades of old men sitting in smoke-filled betting shops, the environment and rules are evolving. Today’s modern gambler is more likely to be a twentysomething sat behind a laptop betting in-play on any number of sporting events, or playing 60 hands an hour at an online poker site. Gambling is now cool and socially acceptable, thanks in large part to the poker boom and the rise of online betting.

As such, Dennis Publishing – publisher of PokerPlayer, InsideEdge and Total Gambler – felt the industry needed its own special night, to celebrate the huge growth and achievement in the gambling world.