With SBC Summit bringing together 40,000 betting and gaming professionals across the week, those looking to network won’t be short of opportunities.
From dedicated networking tools and meeting spaces to structured networking experiences and evening parties, SBC Summit offers countless ways to meet the people who matter to your business.
But having opportunities and making the most of them are two very different things.
Failing to prepare, overlooking the tools available, or simply approaching networking the wrong way can quickly turn endless potential into wasted potential.
To make sure that doesn’t happen, we break down the seven biggest networking mistakes you can make at SBC Summit and, more importantly, how you can avoid them.
- Waiting Until Arriving to Download SBC Connect (or Not Downloading it at All!)
One of the easiest networking mistakes to make is waiting until you arrive in Lisbon to start using SBC Connect.
By that point, you are already behind.
SBC Connect gives you access to the attendee list before the event, allowing you to search by company, job title and sector, identify the people most relevant to your goals, send direct messages and arrange one-to-one meetings in advance.
That means you can arrive at SBC Summit with introductions already made and important meetings already in your diary, rather than spending your first day searching the show floor for the right people and hoping they have time to speak.
It is also worth completing your profile before you start reaching out. Adding a clear photo, accurate job and company details, and a short description of what you do gives potential contacts the context they need to decide whether a meeting makes sense.
For attendees who prepare early, SBC Connect turns networking into something planned. For those who wait, it can mean competing with thousands of other delegates for a quick introduction once diaries are already filling up.
Remember, access to attendee lists and arranging meetings is only available for Networking, Business, and VIP Pass holders!
👉 Read our blog on how to get the most out of SBC Connect here.
- Not Having a Ticket That Gives You Networking Access
One of the easiest ways to limit your networking opportunities at SBC Summit is choosing a pass that does not give you access to the tools and experiences you actually want to use.
Every registered attendee can use SBC Connect for essential planning features, but only Networking, Business and VIP Pass holders receive advanced access, allowing them to browse attendees, start conversations and send meeting requests before the event.
Those passes also unlock SBC Summit’s structured daytime networking programme, including:
They also provide access to a wider programme of evening networking opportunities, giving you more ways to continue conversations once the exhibition floor closes.
The mistake is assuming that every ticket gives you the same networking experience. If meeting new clients, partners or decision-makers is one of your main reasons for attending, choosing the wrong pass could mean arriving in Lisbon without access to the very tools designed to help you meet them.
- Assuming Networking Will Sort Itself, Spoiler Alert: You Still Need to Sign Up!
With more than 40,000 people attending SBC Summit, simply turning up and hoping to meet the right contacts is a risky strategy.
The people most relevant to your business may be in another hall, booked into meetings or attending conference sessions when you happen to be looking for them. That is why building structured networking into your schedule before Lisbon matters.
Networking, Business and VIP Pass holders can sign up for a range of formats designed to make those introductions easier:
- SBC Connect Meets lets you put dedicated one-to-one meetings into your diary before the event.
- Speed Networking helps you expand your network quickly through themed sessions covering areas including payments, AI and next-generation leaders.
- Regulatory Gaming Meetups put you in the room with regulators, operators and market specialists from 21 jurisdictions relevant to your business.
- Show Floor Tours provide a shortcut to exhibitors relevant to particular interests, with themes including fintech, compliance and sportsbooks (eight in total).
- Smart Connect matches buyers and suppliers around their commercial priorities, helping both sides arrive with relevant meetings already scheduled.
The mistake is assuming you can decide which of these to use once you arrive. Places are limited, so waiting until Lisbon could mean missing the sessions most relevant to your goals altogether.
Review the options before the event, decide which formats can introduce you to the people you actually need to meet and secure your places through SBC Connect.
- Not Getting to Know the Show Floor Before You Arrive in Lisbon
One of the easiest ways to waste valuable networking time at SBC Summit is arriving without knowing where your meetings, priority exhibitors or networking spaces are located.
The show floor is designed for more than visiting stands. Dedicated lounges and meeting areas give you somewhere to hold scheduled appointments, continue conversations away from busy aisles and create a more professional setting for important introductions. The SBC Connect Lounge (CR1) is particularly useful for meetings arranged through the app, allowing eligible attendees to reserve tables in advance rather than searching for somewhere suitable on the day.
For VIP Pass holders, the Gold Lounge provides an additional space for meetings, working between appointments and hosting clients away from the busiest parts of the exhibition.
Meanwhile, eligible operator executives can access the Operator Platinum Lounge, which offers a quieter environment for meetings and conversations with other senior industry figures.
Before arriving, study the floor plan, identify the stands and meeting spaces you expect to use and understand which lounges your pass gives you access to. Otherwise, you risk spending valuable time crossing between halls, searching for meeting points or holding important conversations somewhere that does not give them the attention they deserve.
- Not Making Use of SBC Summit’s Informal Networking Spaces
Not every valuable conversation at SBC Summit needs to happen at an exhibition stand or around a pre-booked meeting table.
One mistake attendees can make is filling their diary with formal appointments without leaving space for the more spontaneous conversations that happen elsewhere around the event. Knowing where those spaces are before you arrive gives you somewhere to continue a promising introduction, catch up with an existing client or sit down with someone you have just met without having to search for a free table.
Two of the best places to do that are the Food Festival and Festival Square.
Food Festival
The Food Festival combines more than 50 food vendors and trucks with seating and outdoor areas spread throughout the event.
Rather than treating lunch as time away from networking, use these spaces to continue conversations in a less formal setting. They can also provide a useful meeting point between appointments, giving you somewhere to catch up with a contact without taking another formal slot out of either diary.
Festival Square
Once the exhibition halls begin to wind down, Festival Square gives you another place to keep those conversations going.
Open until 20:00 on Tuesday and Wednesday and 17:00 on Thursday, the square includes spaces such as the Beer Garden, Cocktail Bar, Piano Bar, Wine Bar, Shisha Bar & Lounge and Live Music Lounge.
The value is not simply having somewhere to grab a drink. Festival Square gives you a more relaxed environment to spend longer with clients, continue conversations started during the day or build relationships with contacts you may only have had a few minutes with on the show floor.
If you only think about networking in terms of scheduled meetings, you risk overlooking some of the easiest opportunities to turn a quick introduction into a stronger relationship.
- Skipping the Evening Events
One of the easiest ways to cut your networking short at SBC Summit is treating the end of the exhibition day as the end of your networking.
The evening events give you a different environment to build on conversations started during the day, reconnect with people you only had a few minutes with on the show floor and meet contacts through mutual connections. Skip them, and you risk leaving some of your strongest introductions underdeveloped.
SBC Summit Opening Party
The SBC Summit Opening Party takes place on Tuesday, 29 September at Pavilhão Carlos Lopes, bringing attendees together after the opening day.
For networking, the value is simple: there is no stand to get back to and no conference session starting in ten minutes. That gives you more time to continue promising conversations, catch up with existing clients and get introduced to people you may not have met during the day.
Skipping it means missing one of the first opportunities to strengthen the relationships you have already started building in Lisbon.
INFINITY Lisbon
The week closes with INFINITY Lisbon at the MEO Arena on Thursday, 1 October, headlined by Tiësto and BlasterJaxx.
It may be the closing party, but from a networking perspective it is also your final opportunity to reconnect with the people you have met over the previous three days, make introductions through new contacts and leave Lisbon with relationships that extend beyond the event itself.
Leaving before INFINITY can mean missing that last chance to turn a quick show-floor introduction into a relationship worth continuing after the summit.
SBC Awards and Affiliate Leaders Awards
The SBC Awards and Affiliate Leaders Awards offer another valuable setting for networking, particularly with senior figures from across the industry.
Alongside recognising the companies and individuals driving the sector forward, the ceremonies bring operators, suppliers, affiliates and other decision-makers together in a more social environment than the exhibition floor.
Both require separate tickets, but for attendees looking to maximise their networking opportunities, overlooking the awards could mean missing another concentrated gathering of the people they are hoping to meet.
The mistake is viewing the evening programme as optional entertainment. If networking is one of your priorities in Lisbon, these events give you valuable extra time to turn daytime introductions into stronger relationships.
- Keeping Attendance to Yourself
People cannot arrange a meeting with you if they do not know you are attending.
Many assume they can simply rely on word of mouth about attending, when in fact, a little promotion goes a long way. Here’s how to make sure people know you’ll be there in Lisbon:
Registered attendees receive social assets that can be used to announce their attendance before the event. Share yours on LinkedIn, tag your company and explain what you will be looking to discuss in Lisbon.
Avoid posting only: “See you at SBC Summit.”
Be specific. Mention the markets you operate in, the partnerships you are seeking, the products you want to discover or the problems you are hoping to solve.
You should also encourage colleagues to share their attendance and make sure your SBC Connect profile reflects the same information.
The easiest meeting to secure may be the one somebody else requests after seeing your post.
Make Networking Part of Your Event Plan
Successful networking at SBC Summit rarely comes down to luck.
It starts with choosing the right pass, activating SBC Connect and identifying the people you need to meet. It continues through structured sessions, well-planned show-floor visits, informal conversations and the experiences taking place after the halls close.
Download the app, complete your profile, register for the networking formats relevant to your goals and begin filling your schedule before you travel.
The opportunities will be waiting in Lisbon. Preparation determines how many of them you are able to take.
