Business Britain, having extensively covered the development of the UK online gaming market over the last 18 months, has awarded its “Online Gaming Company of the Year 2005 – 2006” trophy to CelebPoker.com.
Criteria used in the assessment, which was carried out by a team of investigative journalists was based on:
. Ease of use of site and game play
. Efficiency of payment transactions
. Help line and guidance for gambling issues
. Security and supervision of site
. Table and tournament options
. Prize money of tournaments based on value
. Customer Support and response time
. Graphics and artwork of site and players
. Poker community, appropriateness to Business Britain’s readers
. Company Ethics
Opening for business in 2004, CelebPoker has seen growth in traffic and players upwards of 600 percent as a result of its celebrity based, interactive poker business model that enables play against a variety of stars and other celebrities online. The accolade follows an award for “Best Communication” by Top Pair Magazine in April 2006.
A company press release reports that in excess of 4 million UK individuals gamble online each month, and since 2003 the amount staked online has risen dramatically by over 550 percent. Actuarial forecasting shows that this growth is set to continue into 2006, topping off around the World Series of Poker in July.