What makes an event worth three days away from your desk?
It is not simply the number of exhibitors, speakers or attendees in the building. It is whether you leave with answers to the problems holding your business back, a clearer understanding of what is coming next and relationships that continue creating value after the event ends.
Taking place in Lisbon, the event brings together 40,000 professionals from more than 150 countries across every major part of the global gaming industry. Across three days, attendees can:
discover new products and partners
learn from the people shaping the market
develop practical skills
access specialist communities
create connections with genuine commercial potential.
But scale alone is not enough.
SBC Summit has been designed to help every attendee turn a global event into a journey that reflects their own objectives.
Whether you want to explore the full industry, focus deeply on one market or discipline, fill your calendar with relevant meetings or simply understand where the next opportunity may come from, the structure, tools and experiences are already in place to help you do it.
Here is what you can expect from SBC Summit 2026.
Discover solutions that drive real business growth (aka reason number 1: “The Show Floor”)
The show floor isn’t an expo you wander through. It’s where you find the answer to one question: who can help me solve my biggest problem?
Spanning more than 135,000 square metres, roughly the equivalent of 19 football pitches, across four themed halls, SBC Summit brings together over 800 exhibitors and sponsors covering every corner of the industry.
Looking for a new sportsbook platform? Make Hall 3 your first stop.
Keen to explore the latest casino content and game studios? You’ll want to spend plenty of time in Halls 1 and 2.
Between Halls 1 & 2, the Startup Hub gives you a first look at the companies and technologies that could be shaping the industry’s next chapter, before everyone else finds them.
Between Halls 3 & 4, the Player Protection Hub brings together the tools, research and providers driving safer gambling forward.
And next to the main registration area, the Media Hub operates as the newsroom of global gaming, where the industry’s biggest stories take shape in real time.
Around every corner, there’s a new technology, a new product, a new opportunity, or a familiar face you didn’t expect to bump into.
With 40,000 professionals moving through the halls, finding what’s relevant to you could easily feel overwhelming. That’s exactly why we’ve invested in making discovery as intuitive as possible: themed halls, clear signposting, digital wayfinding through the official event app SBC Connect, and guided Show Floor Tours that take you directly to the exhibitors and technologies that match what you’re actually looking for.
The goal isn’t just access to 800+ exhibitors and sponsors. It’s making sure you spend less time navigating and more time having the conversations that turn into real business outcomes.
Understand what happens next (aka reason number 2: “The Conference”)
The gaming industry is being reshaped all at once, by technology, regulation, payments, market expansion, AI, compliance and shifting player behaviour. Operators, affiliates, suppliers, regulators and investors are all asking the same question: what happens next?
Information isn’t the hard part anymore. You can find it in a podcast, a webinar, a LinkedIn post, a newsletter, any day of the year. What’s harder to find is interpretation: understanding what actually matters, what doesn’t, where the opportunities are, and where the risks are building before they hit.
This year, that plays out across six stages and more than 600 speakers, organised around the shifts actually reshaping the industry:
Super Stage: the industry’s biggest conversations happen here. CEOs, founders, regulators and global leaders on the forces reshaping gaming at a strategic level.
Global & Emerging Markets Stage: growth is moving. Some markets are opening. Others are tightening. Some will make you. Others will break you.
Technology & Innovation Stage: technology is changing faster than most businesses can adapt. Your competitors may already be ahead of it.
Regulation & Compliance Stage: regulation is no longer something businesses react to. It’s the gap between adapting fast enough and falling behind.
Payment Expert Summit Stage: players only notice payments when they fail. The way money moves through gaming is already changing.
Product Innovation Showcase Stage: player expectations rise faster than roadmaps. The businesses winning tomorrow are building different experiences today. New for 2026, this stage makes sure some of the industry’s most exciting breakthroughs get the attention they deserve.
DON’T MISS: TheLeadership in Sports Business keynote, bringing together basketball icon, investor and philanthropist Michael Jordan, CarstenKoerl (Founder & CEO, Sportradar) and Jason Robins (Co-Founder & CEO, DraftKings), hosted by Kirsty Gallacher.
GOOD TO KNOW: The conference agenda is CPD-certified, allowing attendees to earn recognised Continuing Professional Development (CPD) credits while participating in the sessions.
Build capability, not just awareness (aka reason number 3: “Education+)
Conference sessions show you what’s changing. Education+ helps you actually do something about it.
The gap between the two is deliberate. Conferences expose you to new ideas and help you understand where the industry is heading. Education+ is about doing your job better on Monday morning. It’s practical. It’s hands-on. It’s operational.
Some sessions are presentations, others are case studies, AMAs and interactive discussions, but all of them are built around smaller groups and direct access to trainers, so you can askquestions, testideas, and apply what you learn in real time.
Both Academies and Masterclasses are CPD-certified and available through the Education+ Upgrade Pass (€249), on top of your main event ticket.
The industry is changing faster than most organisations can keep up: AI is reshaping workflows, search and attribution are shifting, and compliance and payments keep evolving.
The businesses that adapt fastest are the ones investing in their teams now, not waiting until they’re already behind.
If you’re investing in your team’s development, this is where that investment pays off fastest.
Understand the next big opportunity (aka reason number 4: “The Global Prediction Markets Forum”)
Prediction markets have gone from niche curiosity to one of the most talked-about developments in gaming. Operators are exploring them. Regulators are scrutinising them. Investors are backing them. And businesses across the industry are asking the same question: is this the future of gaming or its biggest disruption?
Taking place on 1 October 2026 at the Myriad Hotel in Lisbon during SBC Summit week, this dedicated one-day forum brings together the companies building prediction markets, the regulators shaping the rules, and the executives deciding what happens next.
Throughout the day, delegates will explore the issues defining this rapidly evolving sector:
The rise of prediction markets and their impact on sports betting.
The regulatory and legal frameworks emerging across global markets.
Where operators, investors and technology providers fit into the ecosystem.
The commercial opportunities (and competitive risks) businesses need to understand today.
What’s coming next, and how to prepare before the market leaves you behind.
Whether you’re an operator assessing the threat, an investor looking for the next growth opportunity, a regulator shaping policy, or a technology provider building for the future, the forum offers the insights and connections needed to stay ahead of one of gaming’s fastest-moving conversations.
Your ticket also includes networking throughout the day, refreshments and lunch, plus a complimentary copy of the 2026 Prediction Markets Report from SBC Insights, giving you the research behind the discussions taking place on stage.
Please note: The Global Prediction Markets Forum is a standalone event. Entry requires a dedicated forum ticket (€399), and an SBC Summit pass is not required to attend.
Stay ahead of performance marketing (aka reason number 5: “The Affiliate Leaders Summit”)
Affiliate marketing moves faster than almost every other part of the gaming industry. Search algorithms evolve overnight. Acquisition channels come and go. AI is rewriting workflows. Regulation continues to reshape player journeys. And the strategies that delivered results last year may already be losing their edge.
Co-located with SBC Summit, this dedicated event is built exclusively for the performance marketing community, bringing together affiliates, operators, media buyers, SEO specialists, affiliate programmes, platforms and technology providers under one roof.
While you’ll still benefit from being part of the industry’s biggest gathering, you’ll also have access to an experience designed specifically around the challenges and opportunities facing affiliate businesses today.
What makes it different?
A dedicated exhibition: Explore a specialist show floor featuring 150+ exhibitors and sponsors, showcasing the latest affiliate platforms, operator affiliate programmes, marketing technologies, traffic solutions and services.
Aconference agendabuilt for affiliates and acquisition specialists:Two dedicated conference stages deliver practical insights across the topics shaping performance marketing, including:
Platforms & Performance – Building high-performing funnels across SEO, paid media, CRM and content.
Future of Affiliate Strategy – Preparing for regulatory change, evolving player journeys and sustainable growth.
Content & Discovery – Winning in the age of AI search, short-form content and changing discovery platforms.
Conversion Conf: Scale – Systems, operations and leadership for growing affiliate businesses.
Conversion Conf: Growth – The acquisition channels, creative strategies and platforms driving results today.
Conversion Conf: AI – Where automation creates a competitive advantage—and where human expertise still matters.
The Affiliate Leaders Awards: Celebrate the businesses and individuals raising the bar across affiliate marketing at the industry’s dedicated awards ceremony.
Whether you’re looking to grow traffic, improve conversion, discover new monetisation opportunities or future-proof your business, the Affiliate Leaders Summit gives you access to the people, insights and solutions built specifically for the affiliate ecosystem.
Please note: The Affiliate Leaders Summit requires a separate ticket. However, approved affiliates receive complimentary access, including entry to both the Affiliate Leaders Summit and SBC Summit.
Create the Right Connections (aka reason number 6: “The Networking”)
In gaming, the right conversation can change everything.
A new market opportunity. A strategic partnership. A supplier relationship. A regulatory insight. A deal that starts with a single introduction.
But at large-scale events, finding the right people is often the hardest part. You can spend three days walking the halls, attending sessions and collecting business cards and still miss the conversations that matter most.
That’s why SBC Summit has redesigned networking.Instead of leaving connections to chance, SBC Summit helps you find the people who matter to your business through a structured networking programme built around your goals.
The question is no longer: “Who can I meet?” It’s: “Who should I meet?”
From pre-scheduled meetings to curated introductions and dedicated networking experiences, every element is designed to help attendees spend less time searching and more time having valuable conversations.
SBC Connect Meets: Plan your meetings before you even arrive in Lisbon. SBC Connect Meets helps attendees connect with relevant operators, suppliers, affiliates and industry professionals based on their business objectives. The result: you arrive with your calendar already full.
Regulatory Gaming Meet-Ups: Meet the people shaping tomorrow’s markets. These dedicated sessions (21!) bring together regulators, legal experts and industry leaders for focused discussions on the jurisdictions and regulatory developments impacting gaming worldwide. The result: direct access to the voices shaping the future of the industry.
Show Floor Tours: Finding the right suppliers shouldn’t mean searching through thousands of companies. Guided Show Floor Tours help attendees discover relevant exhibitors, technologies and solutions based on their business needs, making the exhibition more targeted, efficient and valuable. The result: find the companies you actually need to meet.
Speed Networking: More relevant conversations. Less wasted time. Speed Networking creates a fast-paced environment where attendees can meet multiple new contacts in a single session, helping expand networks and uncover new opportunities quickly. The result: more meaningful introductions in less time.
Smart Connect: The right introductions, powered by business needs. Smart Connect matches operators and suppliers based on objectives, requirements and areas of interest, helping create conversations that have genuine commercial potential. The result: targeted connections built around opportunity.
Networking at SBC Summit is not about having more conversations.
It’s about having the right conversations.
The people you need to meet. The conversations you need to have. The outcomes you came for.
Want to partake in the networking activities? You will need a Networking, Business or VIP pass, and you can book your spot via the official event app, SBC Connect, so make sure to download it.
Experience moments that will stay with you long after the event (aka reason number 7: “The Experience”)
Business events should deliver business outcomes. But that doesn’t mean they should feel like work from the moment you arrive until the moment you leave.
SBC Summit is designed to give attendees both: three highly productive days and an experience they will genuinely enjoy being part of.
That starts on the conference stages, where some of the biggest names in business, sport and entertainment create the moments people will still be talking about long after the event ends.
This year, basketball icon, investor and philanthropist MichaelJordan joins CarstenKoerl, Founder & CEO of Sportradar, and JasonRobins, Co-Founder & CEO of DraftKings, for a landmark conversation on leadership in sports business.
And that is only the beginning, with further high-profile keynote speakers still to be announced.
But once the conference sessions and meetings finish, the experience continues.
World-famous JD Tiësto will headline the event’s closing celebration, Infinity Lisbon, while the Food Festival will bring together more than 50 food trucks serving flavours from around the world.
The Festival Square creates a central place to meet, recharge and spend time with the industry beyond formal meetings, complete with its own beer garden, shisha lounge and entertainment.
Across the show floor, thoughtfully designed lounges and networking spaces give attendees somewhere comfortable to continue conversations, take a break or prepare for the next meeting.
We have also considered the parts of the experience that happen before attendees reach the venue.
Through collaborations with TAP Air Portugal and Leading, attendees can access discounted flights and hotel rates. Shuttle buses will operate from selected hotels, while airport badge collection will make arriving in Lisbon faster and easier.
The aim is simple: remove unnecessary friction and create an event people feel good attending, from the moment they book their journey to the final night in Lisbon.
See the whole industry but focus on what matters to you (aka reason number 8: “The Journey”)
SBC Summit brings together every major part of the global gaming industry.
That scale gives attendees the opportunity to step back, understand the bigger picture and explore the technologies, markets, trends and commercial shifts influencing the industry as a whole.
But a large event should never mean a generic experience. SBC Summit is structured so every attendee can build a journey around the areas that matter most to their role, business and objectives.
If payments are your priority, you can spend your time at the dedicated Payment Expert Summit and meet the companies shaping how money moves through gaming.
If you work in affiliate marketing, the Affiliate Leaders Summit offers its own exhibition, conference programme, networking opportunities and awards ceremony.
If your focus is player protection, you can explore the dedicated Player Protection Hub, connect with specialist providers and attend sessions addressing safer gambling, regulation and responsible growth.
The same applies across sportsbook, casino, compliance, technology, product, emerging markets and professional development.
Conference sessions range from global strategic conversations to highly specific discussions covering individual markets, technologies, functions and skill sets.
Attendees can move between sectors and discover opportunities they may not have previously considered. Or they can create an entirely focused three-day journey around one challenge, market or area of expertise.
The event covers the full industry, without expecting every attendee to experience it in the same way.
Whether you want to zoom out and understand where gaming is heading or zoom in on the issue directly in front of your business, SBC Summit gives you the scale and structure to do both.
Meet the people who can move your business forward (aka reason number 9: “The Audience”)
An event is only as valuable as the people attending it.
SBC Summit brings together 40,000 professionals from more than 150 countries, representing operators, affiliates, suppliers, regulators, investors, sports organisations, media companies and emerging technology businesses from across the global gaming ecosystem.
But the value of the audience is not simply its size.
Over 30% of attendees hold senior decision-making positions, including founders, CEOs, directors, heads of department and executives with responsibility for budgets, partnerships, technology and business strategy.
These are the people selecting new suppliers, entering new markets, forming partnerships, shaping regulation and deciding where their organisations invest next.
For suppliers, that means direct access to buyers and decision-makers actively searching for solutions.
For operators, it means meeting technology partners, content providers, payment companies, affiliates and advisers capable of solving immediate business challenges.
For affiliates, it means access to operator programmes, acquisition technologies, platforms and partners from markets around the world.
For regulators and policymakers, it means engaging directly with the businesses, experts and industry leaders responding to the issues shaping gaming today.
The international mix also matters.
With attendees travelling from over 150 markets, conversations are not limited to one jurisdiction or one way of doing business. Established markets meet emerging ones. Global companies meet local specialists. Businesses can compare approaches, identify expansion opportunities and build relationships in markets they may not otherwise be able to access.
SBC Summit does not only bring the industry together.
It brings together the people with the knowledge, influence and authority to act.
Plan everything in one place (aka reason number 10: “SBC Connect”)
A successful event does not begin when the show floor opens.
It begins weeks (or even months) earlier, when you decide who you need to meet, which sessions matter, where you need to be and how you will make the most of three busy days.
SBC Connect is the tool that brings all of that together.
Before arriving in Lisbon, attendees can use the platform to explore the event, identify relevant companies and professionals, arrange meetings and begin building a schedule around their business priorities.
SBC Connect Meets makes networking more deliberate.
Instead of arriving and hoping to cross paths with the right person, attendees can search for relevant operators, suppliers, affiliates and industry professionals, connect based on shared business objectives and schedule conversations in advance.
The result: you arrive in Lisbon with important meetings already in the diary.
But SBC Connect is not only a networking platform.
It also helps attendees plan how they will experience the wider event.
With hundreds of exhibitors, conference sessions, specialist summits, networking formats and experiences taking place across the week, the platform gives attendees one place to organise what matters to them.
Use it to build a personalised agenda, keep track of meetings, identify the sessions you do not want to miss and structure each day around your priorities.
Once the event begins, SBC Connect becomes your guide on the ground.
Digital wayfinding helps attendees navigate more than 135,000 square metres of exhibition space, locate exhibitors and move between halls, stages, meeting points and specialist zones more efficiently.
That means less time searching for where you need to be and more time speaking to the people you came to meet.
It also makes discovery easier.
Attendees can use SBC Connect to explore exhibitors and participants beyond the companies they already know, helping them uncover relevant technologies, partners and opportunities they may otherwise have missed.
Whether you are planning meetings, building your agenda, navigating the venue or discovering who and what should be on your radar, SBC Connect helps turn the scale of SBC Summit into a more focused and manageable experience.
Everything you need to plan your time, navigate the event and create the right connections, in one place.
SBC Summit is not built around a single reason to attend.
It is where you can solve an immediate business challenge and discover an opportunity you did not know you were looking for. Where global industry trends sit alongside specialist conversations. Where major companies, emerging businesses, regulators, investors and decision-makers come together with the authority to turn ideas into action.
You can use the event to explore 800+ exhibitors & sponsors, understand the changes reshaping gaming, build practical capabilities, enter specialist communities and arrange the conversations most likely to move your business forward.
You can zoom out and see the direction of the entire industry, or zoom in and build three highly focused days around one market, function, product category or commercial objective.
And throughout that journey, SBC Connect gives you one place to choose the right access, find relevant people and companies, schedule meetings, build your agenda and navigate the event more efficiently.
But SBC Summit is also designed to be an experience people want to be part of.
From landmark keynote conversations and world-class entertainment to the Food Festival, Festival Square, thoughtfully designed lounges and easier travel arrangements, every detail is intended to make the week productive, enjoyable and memorable.
The result is more than three days at an industry event.
It is three days designed to give you better answers, stronger relationships, new opportunities and a clearer idea of what your business should do next
