SBC Summit 2026 concluded its third edition in Lisbon with more than 40,000 attendees, but the story of this year’s event extended well beyond scale, with attendees pointing to the quality of the audience, the breadth of the programme and a more mature event structure built around different communities across the global gaming industry.
From 29 September to 1 October, FIL and the MEO Arena brought together operators, affiliates, suppliers, regulators, startups and industry leaders from 178 countries.
The event welcomed 800 sponsors and exhibitors and 600 speakers, while registrations grew 34.5% year-on-year. Operator attendance increased 37%, affiliate attendance rose 71%, and the number of C-level decision-makers grew 40.7%, reflecting not only a larger audience, but one increasingly weighted towards seniority, commercial decision-making and international participation.
For Kresimir Spajic, CEO of Allwyn Digital, SBC Summit has become “one of those events that you have to be at”.
He said: “I think it’s one of the few that I said that I won’t miss, because I believe the quality of the content, quality of exhibition, quality of the attendees is what matters at the end of the day.”
The increasing seniority of the audience was also visible to exhibitors on the ground.
Ani Mkrtchyan, Chief Sales Officer at Digitain, said: “We met with the majority of the decision-makers, the owners, founders, co-founders, and managed to have quite meaningful and interesting conversations and, most importantly, fruitful conversations.”
She added that Lisbon was becoming “better and better in terms of attracting, for us, the right audience.”
The event’s audience also became significantly more international. Attendance from Africa increased 129.6%, followed by Oceania at 75.8%, North America at 58.5%, Asia at 44.3%, Europe at 32.3% and Latin America at 10.7%.
Mkrtchyan highlighted that shift directly, pointing to participation from “Latin America, from Asia, from Africa, from different parts of the world”, and saying the exhibition was becoming increasingly global.
Rasmus Sojmark, Founder and CEO of SBC, said: “The growth is obviously something we are very proud of, but the most important thing for us is what that growth represents.
“SBC Summit is, first and foremost, a major trade show, and the expo floor remains at the heart of the event as this is where a huge amount of business gets done. What has evolved is everything that we are building around that core to make the time people spend in Lisbon more valuable. This year, it was all sorts of things from structured networking like Regulatory Gaming Meetups to specialist forums to more hands-on educational experiences.
“Different parts of the industry are coming to Lisbon with different objectives, but ultimately they are there to meet, do business, discover products and create new opportunities. Bringing all of that together around a busy, commercially focused show floor is what makes the event special.”
That idea of bringing different parts of the industry together was echoed repeatedly throughout the week.
Chris Duncan, COO of Spotlight Sports Group, said his first impression of the event was that “the whole of the industry is here, in all of its different guises”, giving attendees an opportunity to see different companies, products and approaches while getting “a real sense of what the future’s going to look like”.
For Martha Brincat, Chief Regulatory Officer at the Malta Gaming Authority, the value came from having the wider ecosystem represented in one place.
She said: “To be able to have one space to have conversations with the different stakeholders within the entirety of the gaming ecosystem, including payment service providers and other forms of supporting networks, has been very, very fruitful.”
Affiliate Leaders Summit finds its own identity
That evolution was particularly visible through the launch of the Affiliate Leaders Summit as a dedicated event, which brought together 10,000 attendees, including 6,000 affiliates and 3,000 operator representatives, alongside 150 exhibitors and sponsors.
For Keith Geary, Director of Marketing at Mr Gamble, separating the affiliate community into its own dedicated event created a noticeably different environment.
He said: “The focus on what really matters to affiliates has made a huge difference.”
Geary added that the dedicated space made it easier to have more focused conversations, meet relevant peers and get closer to the topics shaping the affiliate sector.
He described the format as “a lot more focused”, adding: “You can meet the people you want to meet a lot easier. You can find information [on] what you’re here for.”
Vasili Rappos, CPO at Novibet, described the standalone model as “a natural evolution”, saying the dedicated space and increased focus added value for both operators and affiliate teams.
James Kramer, RMG Manager at Meta, made a similar point, saying it was useful to have “one dedicated area where you can talk to like-minded individuals that are in a similar space”.
New Forums put emerging markets and regulation in focus
The week also saw the debut of the African Gaming Forum and the Global Prediction Markets Forum, creating dedicated environments for two fast-evolving areas of the industry.
For Jason Gibson of SportPesa, the increased focus on Africa was particularly important.
He said: “I think it’s vitally important. Understanding our continent, understanding the different make-up of our continent, how things work, how things don’t work, is key.”
For Gibson, providing operators from the region with a platform to shape the conversation was just as important. He added: “It’s important that we control the narrative of the continent and the countries we operate in… for us as operators from the region to set the record straight, tell people how it is, what works, what doesn’t work.”
The Global Prediction Markets Forum, meanwhile, created space for an emerging sector that continues to raise new questions around regulation, market structure and appropriate safeguards.
Martha Brincat, Chief Regulatory Officer at the Malta Gaming Authority, noted that there are “a lot of different interpretations across the globe” when it comes to prediction markets.
She added that conversations taking place during the week were already helping to inform thinking around whether operators require further guidance, which markets they can enter and what safeguards should be in place.
Regulatory dialogue moved closer to the centre of the Summit
Regulatory dialogue also became a more visible part of the wider Summit through conference sessions and dedicated regulatory gaming meetups.
Anders Dorph, Director of the Danish Gambling Authority, said these smaller formats created “a closer dialogue” and allowed attendees to ask more specific questions around individual markets.
He also emphasised the value of face-to-face conversations between regulators and operators, saying: “That close dialogue is much better when you meet in person.”
Brincat similarly described the regulatory meetups as a “great initiative”, noting that the more niche format allowed attendees to engage on highly specific regulatory topics.
Meanwhile, Dan Ghiță, Chairman of Rombet, highlighted the importance of bringing regulators and private-sector stakeholders into the same environment.
He said the event created an opportunity for “both sides to interact” at a time when gambling regulation is changing rapidly across multiple jurisdictions.
The stronger regulatory presence reflected a broader shift in the Summit’s role: not only bringing together companies looking to do business, but creating more space for the conversations shaping how regulated markets develop.
More structure around networking
One of the most visible developments at SBC Summit 2026 was a greater emphasis on structured networking.
Alongside traditional meetings and informal networking, attendees could take part in regulatory meetups, speed networking, show floor tours and use SBC Connect to begin arranging meetings before arriving in Lisbon.
For Harrison Barrett, VP of Business Development Primary at Soft2Bet, the importance of that structure increases as the event itself grows.
He said: “SBC this year in particular has done a great job in creating pockets of opportunities for people who share similar values, similar business interests.”
He described the regulatory roundtables as a good example of putting “the right people in the right rooms to have conversations with purpose”.
Lindsay Ratcliffe, Chief Innovation & Transformation Officer at CreateFuture, said pre-event planning had become increasingly important given the scale of the show.
She said the SBC Connect app allowed her team to identify delegates and pre-book meetings because, at an event of this size, relying entirely on chance encounters becomes more difficult.
Spajic made a similar observation, advising attendees to “come here with a purpose” and prepare in advance to make the most of the event.
For Meta’s Kramer, the value of the event remained fundamentally human.
He said: “We’re in a world now where everything’s kind of tech- and AI-first, but nothing can beat the power of face-to-face human interaction.”
That was also reflected in the event’s more informal environments.
Geary described Festival Square and the Food Festival as creating a more social atmosphere that was “very conducive to networking”.
Stats Perform’s Louise Beltrame-Bawden also highlighted the importance of creating different kinds of meeting spaces, saying informal environments gave companies more opportunities to build stronger relationships with existing clients.
Conference programme moved beyond passive learning
SBC Summit’s conference programme also continued to expand beyond traditional panel discussions.
The 2026 programme included the Product Innovation Showcase Stage, an expanded CPD-certified education programme and a series of Tech Academies designed around more practical learning formats.
CreateFuture sponsored the AI Academy, with Ratcliffe saying the format had brought together operators, technology companies, consultancies and AI models on one stage, allowing audiences to hear different perspectives around the same topic.
Soft2Bet sponsored the Player Experience Academy, with Barrett arguing that more focused workshop-style environments could create deeper conversations than traditional short meetings.
He said these formats gave attendees “focused time” to understand why companies are taking certain approaches, how they work and what they are trying to achieve.
The wider conference programme also drew praise for its scale and range.
Spajic said: “Everybody can find something for themselves, from people that are just newcomers in the industry and starters, to actually me as a CEO that has 20 years of experience.”
Beltrame-Bawden made a similar observation, saying the depth of conversations, volume of stages and range of high-profile sessions meant “there’s a bit of something for everybody”.
Michael Jordan led a broader Super Stage line-up
Across the week, the programme combined some of the industry’s most influential executives with major figures from global sport and media.
Across the week, the programme combined some of the industry’s most influential executives with major figures from global sport and media. Headline speakers included basketball icon, investor and philanthropist Michael Jordan; Sportradar Founder and CEO Carsten Koerl; DraftKings Co-Founder and CEO Jason Robins; football journalist and transfer market insider Fabrizio Romano; and UFC champion Charles Oliveira.
They were joined by industry leaders including Betsson Group CEO Jesper Svensson, Allwyn Digital CEO Kresimir Spajic, Flutter International Chief Strategy Officer Tom Bowry, Fortuna Entertainment Group CEO Dieter John, Super Technologies Deputy CEO Albert Simsensohn, LeoVegas Group CEO and Co-Founder Gustaf Hagman, Altenar COO and Co-Founder Dinos Stranomitis, Spribe Founder and CEO David Natroshvili, and SoftConstruct Co-Founder Vigen Badalyan.
The presence of major figures from outside the traditional gaming conference circuit was one of the most discussed elements of the programme.
Duncan described them simply as “big hitters”, adding: “Not everybody gets MJ to come on the stage.”
He said the value went beyond headline recognition because the speakers were also connected to the conversations taking place across sport, technology and gaming.
Ratcliffe described Michael Jordan’s appearance as “a massive endorsement for SBC as a conference”.
Kramer recalled the atmosphere inside the MEO Arena, saying: “I was at the Michael Jordan one. The room was packed.”
He added that major speakers helped “get the momentum up and energise the room” across the three-day programme.
Rappos said Michael Jordan’s appearance generated an immediate reaction across the event.
“The whole floor was buzzing. Everyone went,” he said.
For Barrett, the lineup reflected a broader change in what SBC Summit represents.
He said: “It’s an absolute testament to SBC that they’re able to become the intersection of sports, digital and entertainment sectors.”
He added that bringing globally recognised figures into the programme had “raised the bar” around what industry events can represent.
Commercial conversations remain at the core
Despite the expansion of content, entertainment and networking formats, attendees repeatedly pointed back to commercial outcomes as a central reason for attending.
Rappos said his second year at SBC Summit had allowed him to approach the event much more strategically.
“It’s the third day, and so far I feel ahead of the goals that I had,” he said.
“I had the opportunity to connect with high-level people and actually understand opportunity and find opportunity where I didn’t think I would actually find value. So it’s gone beyond my expectations.”
He also described the show floor as a place where previously delayed conversations could move forward.
“The fact that we’re here is the breakthrough moment that means some of the leads that we were postponing are now actually converting,” he said.
Barrett said Soft2Bet had experienced “year-on-year improvement in the quality of engagement [and] quality of conversations”, describing the event as a “10 out of 10 success” for the business.
Stats Perform also reported strong commercial activity.
Beltrame-Bawden said the company’s booth had been “very busy and very popular”, with strong meeting activity and “lots of decision-makers” engaging with the team.
Lisbon becomes part of the Summit’s identity
Lisbon itself remained central to the event.
Lisbon Mayor Carlos Moedas delivered the opening remarks before Portuguese government and city officials, including Turismo de Portugal President Carlos Abade, Deputy Mayor Maria Luísa Aldim, Turismo de Lisboa Director-General António Valle, FIL Vice President António Ramalho and MEO Arena CEO Jorge Vinha da Silva, joined SBC leadership and major sponsors for the official ribbon-cutting ceremony and tour of the exhibition floor.
The relationship between SBC and the city has now been extended further, with a new long-term agreement confirming Lisbon as the home of SBC Summit through 2030.
The agreement was signed with Turismo de Portugal, the Municipality of Lisbon and Lisboa FCE.
Barrett described Lisbon as “an incredible city to host these events”, adding that the move to the Portuguese capital had been a major success.
Sojmark added: “Lisbon has become part of the identity of SBC Summit. The support we receive from the city, the venues and our partners gives us the confidence to keep investing in the event and keep pushing what it can become.
“Committing to Lisbon through 2030 means we can build with a much longer-term view, both for our attendees and for the industry.”
That sense of place was also reflected in attendees’ overall impressions of the event.
Spajic pointed to “the attendees, the venue, the city” as part of the mix that creates the Summit’s atmosphere.
Ghiță described the event in four words: “innovative, challenging, very good energy… very productive”.
Attention turns to 2027
As the 2026 edition closed, attention was already beginning to shift towards next year.
During the event, attendees were given an early glimpse of what is coming next when Snoop Dogg appeared in a surprise video message announcing that he will attend SBC Summit 2027.
And for many of those already in Lisbon, the message about returning was straightforward.
Mkrtchyan said: “I would definitely recommend it. First of all, I would say you need to go.”
She added: “The crowd is quality… You see people whose opinions matter, conversations with whom will really matter.”
Rappos was similarly direct: “This is the place to be.”
Perhaps the shortest summary came from Spotlight Sports Group’s Duncan.
Asked why SBC Summit is The Greatest Show in Gaming, he answered:
“All of life is here.”
SBC Summit will return to FIL and the MEO Arena from 21–23 September 2027.
