Inside Asian Gaming is pleased to announce that the official voting period for the 2026 IAG Academy IR Awards will commence this Friday 4 September, with an elite panel of 100 judges set to determine the winners across this year’s 26 categories plus the Hall of Fame.
The official voting period follows the close of nominations at midnight on Tuesday 1 September, marking the final stage of the 2026 awards process before the winners are revealed at the IAG Academy IR Awards Black Tie Gala Dinner at the Marriott Manila Ballroom, Newport World Resorts on the evening of Tuesday 15 September.
The IAG Academy IR Awards recognize outstanding achievement across Asia’s integrated resort and gaming industries, with this year’s 26 categories covering a broad range of operators, suppliers, individuals and initiatives.
The 100-strong judging panel represents a cross-section of senior industry professionals from across the Asia-Pacific region. The full judging panel is:
- Andrew W Scott, Vice Chairman and CEO, Inside Asian Gaming (Judging Panel Chairman)
- Lino Airosa, Managing Director, BCI Worldwide
- Sérgio de Almeida Correia, ACS Lawyers and Private Notary
- Sandy Amida, Chief Gaming Officer, Newport World Resorts
- Dennis Andreaci, Independent Gaming Consultant
- David Baxley, Regional Vice President – Entertainment, Sands China Ltd and Marina Bay Sands Pte Ltd
- Kevin Benning, SVP and General Manager, Studio City Macau
- Ben Blaschke, Managing Editor, Inside Asian Gaming
- Luísa de Bragança, Senior Assistant General Counsel, Sands China Ltd
- Harmen Brenninkmeijer, Executive Chairman, NYCE International Ltd
- Daryl Bruce, Director, Product Management EGMs (Asia), Light & Wonder
- Ciarán P Carruthers, CEO, General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority
- Daniel C. Cecilio, SVP Land-Based Operations, Licensing and Regulatory Group, PAGCOR
- Pedro Michael M. Cendaña IV, General Manager, PAGCOR
- Tony Chan, CFO and Executive Director, Asia Pioneer Entertainment
- Greg Chase, Former Corp VP, MGM Resorts International
- Nelson Cheung, Systems Sales Manager – Asia, IGT
- Charles M. Choy, Co-Chairman, Macau Beer Company Limited
- Michael Clifford, Director of Casino Operations, Caesars Entertainment Inc
- Carlo R. Climaco, Vice President – Integrated Resorts, Belle Corporation
- Carlos Eduardo Coelho, Partner, MdME
- David Croft, SVP Gaming Optimisation & Strategy, Tangam Systems
- Graeme Croft, President Asia-Pacific, Walker Digital Table Systems
- Rui José Da Cunha, Lawyer / SJM Resorts Secretary-General, C&C Lawyers / SJM Resorts, S.A.
- Rui Pedro Cunha, Executive Vice President, Macau European Chamber of Commerce
- Geoffrey Davis, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Melco Resorts & Entertainment Limited
- Robert Dykstra, Manager of Business Development for Asia Pacific, AMATIC Industries
- Jeffrey Évora, President and COO, Winford Resort & Casino
- Scott Fisher, Managing Partner, Convergence Strategy Group
- Maulin Gandhi, President, Tangam Systems
- Kelly Gass, President, San Marco Capital Partners
- Tommy Gibbons, Chief Operating Officer, Casino Marina
- David Green, Gaming and Governance Consultant
- Fredric E. Gushin, President and CEO, Spectrum Gaming Group
- Antonio Benigno V. Gutierrez, Acting General Manager, PAGCOR
- Maria Victoria M. Gutierrez, Assistant Vice President, Slot Machine Department, PAGCOR
- Rod Hackman, VP of Gaming Operations, Hann Casino Resort
- Trevor Hammond, Senior Vice President – Gaming & Integrated Resort Operations, NUSTAR Resort & Casino
- Ryan Hong-Wai Ho, Lecturer and MBA Programme Coordinator, Centre for Gaming and Tourism Studies, Macao Polytechnic University
- Michael Hu, President – Asia Pacific, Interblock Asia Pacific
- Ian Hughes, CRO, Gaming Laboratories International; CEO, GLI Australia
- Florence Ian, President of Executive Board, International Tourism Professionals Development Association, Macao
- Brett Ingram, Assistant Vice President – Event Development & Management, Sands China Ltd
- Nicholas Ionides, Senior Vice President, Communications & Corporate Affairs, Marina Bay Sands
- Sabri Jaafar, Managing Director, SammQuattro Inc
- Michael G Johansen, President Gaming Division, StarDream Cruises
- Ken Jolly, VP Strategic Development, Asia, Light & Wonder
- David Jorden, Executive Vice President Gaming, Hoiana Resort & Golf
- Sudhir Kalé, Founder & CEO, GamePlan Consultants
- Keijiro Kan, Chairman, Angel Macau Ltd
- Kevin Kelley, Chief Operating Officer – Macau, Galaxy Entertainment Group
- Herris Kocibelli, Founder & Managing Director, HWK TradingCo Ltd
- Joji Kokuryo, Senior Regional Account Manager, Light & Wonder
- Michael Krispli, Vice President – EGM Operations, NUSTAR Resort and Casino
- Matthew Lai, Business Development & Operations Advisor, Aruze Gaming Global
- Buddy Lam, Director of Corporate Affairs, Galaxy Entertainment Group
- Desmond Lam, College Master and Professor, University of Macau
- Kevin Lee, Director of Sales, Asia, Sega Sammy Creation
- Mike Lei, Vice President – Macau Integrated Tourism and Leisure Enterprises, Young Professionals Association
- Roger Lienhard, Executive Vice President – Hospitality, Galaxy Macau
- Marcus Lim, Founder & CEO, Vault Corporation
- Raymond Lo, Senior Vice President, Head of Global Marketing and General Manager, Altira Macau and Mocha Clubs
- Richard Longhurst, Senior Director, Galaxy Entertainment Group
- John Lucas, Chief Hospitality Officer, Newport World Resorts
- Shigeki Machida, Managing Director, Matsui Asia Ltd
- Atty. Walter L. Mactal, Senior Vice President and Chief Legal & Administrative Officer, Newport World Resorts
- Nuno Sardinha da Mata, Partner, Lawyer, Notary, C&C Lawyers & Notaries
- Shaun McCamley, Founder and Managing Partner, Euro Pacific Asia Consulting Ltd
- Greg Meares, Vice President of Facilities Management, Facilities Management Administration, MGM China
- Scott J. Messinger, Chief of Staff, Inside Asian Gaming
- Niall Murray, Chairman, Murray International (Macau) Co. Ltd
- Herman Ng, CEO, Asia Pioneer Entertainment
- Ma. Vina Claudette Oca, Assistant Vice President, PAGCOR
- Ruel S. Oro, General Manager, Ortiz Gaming Philippines (GGVC)
- Ronald G. Pineda (Peepo), Director, Thenix Solutions Ltd
- Joe Pisano, Founder and CEO, Jade Sportsbet
- Cristina Quental, VP Integrated Marketing & Communication, Sands China Ltd
- Tonet Quiogue, CEO and Founder, Lawyer, Arden Consult International Pte Ltd
- Trevor Ross, Head of Venue Services, MAX, a Tabcorp Company
- Elena Santos, HR Head, Streamtech Systems Technologies, Inc
- Graça Saraiva, Partner, MGS Legal
- Filipe Senna Fernandes, Director of Marketing Relations, SJM Resorts, S.A.
- Tim Shepherd, Senior Partner, Fortuna Investments
- Chen Si, Chief Operating Officer, Resorts World Sentosa
- Paul Simmons, CEO, Kairos Gaming
- Suat Sirin, Founder and President, Tecnet Asia
- Dave Smith, Director, ASIUL Trading Co Ltd
- Evan Spytma, CEO of Casino Plus and Hotel Stotsenberg Leisure Park and Hotel Corporation
- Philip Stormonth, Senior Director of Sales for Asia, Light & Wonder
- Ángel Sueiro, COO, PH Resorts
- Larry Synstelien, President, ReadyLinks
- Danny Tang, Vice President and General Manager of Sands Macao, Sands China Ltd
- Alan Teo, Chief Executive Officer, Hoiana Resort & Golf
- Harold Charalampos Tsakmaklis, Executive General Manager – Gaming, Crown Resorts
- Francis Valenzuela IV, Account Manager – Philippines, IGT
- Rutger Verschuren, Area Vice President Macau & Hengqin, Artyzen Hospitality Group
- Antonio Lobo Vilela, Lawyer, Lobo Vilela Advogado
- Samuel Wilson, Founder and CEO, TKHS Global Holdings Pte Limited
- Ian R. Wood, Business Development and Senior Sales Manager, Dallmeier International (Macau) Ltd
- Betty Zhao, Senior Vice President of International Operations, Aruze Gaming Global
All judges have their name, title, organization and brief profile featured on the Awards website at iagexpo.com/awards-judges.
The official voting period will run from Friday 4 September through Friday 11 September 2026.
The awards use a first-past-the-post voting system, with the nominee receiving the highest number of votes in each category declared the winner. In the event of a tie, the Chairman of the Judging Panel will hold the casting vote.
To ensure the integrity and independence of the judging process, any judge who has been nominated for an award, whose organization has been nominated or who has another conflict of interest as determined by the Chairman of the Judging Panel will be recused from voting in the relevant category or categories.
Following the conclusion of voting at midnight on Friday 11 September, the votes will be tallied between Saturday 12 September and Monday 14 September.
The vote tally will be conducted by the Chairman of the Judging Panel in a secure location. Once the tally has been completed, the Chairman will certify the winners, with the entire process independently audited to ensure the accuracy and integrity of the results.
Once certified and audited, the final results will be secured in a safe and remain locked away until shortly before the commencement of the awards ceremony.
The winners of all 26 categories and the three Hall of Fame categories will be announced at the 2026 IAG Academy IR Awards ceremony on Tuesday 15 September 2026, part of the IAG EXPO program in Manila.
For more information on IAG EXPO, which also includes the inaugural CiG iDEA Summit, welcome event Manila After Dark, the IAG Academy Summit and The Regulators Forum, please visit www.iagexpo.com.
For sponsorship inquiries, please contact:
Jadeson Ho
+853 2875 2959
jh@asgam.com
Alex Coutinho
+853 6328 1757
alex@asgam.com
Caroline Iau
+853 2875 2959
ci@asgam.com
For media, production and event enquiries, please contact:
Dorothy Loi
+853 6802 1905
dorothy@asgam.com
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