Prediction markets have gone from a niche curiosity to one of the most contested questions in global gambling. Are they a financial product, a betting product, or something regulators haven’t caught up to yet? SBC’s new Global Prediction Market Forum will bring the industry’s leading voices together to confront that question head-on, through a full-day conference programme in Lisbon.
Taking place on Thursday, 1 October, at the Myriad Hotel in Lisbon, the standalone event will run alongside SBC Summit 2026, providing a dedicated meeting point for stakeholders interested in the future of prediction markets.
Bringing together operators, prediction market specialists, legal and regulatory experts and technology leaders, the educational programme will address the sector’s biggest challenges as it transitions from a predominantly American niche to a growing global opportunity.
Sessions will examine evolving regulatory and legal frameworks, how prediction markets could translate to European audiences, the technical considerations of launching and integrating markets and the long-term future of the sector.
“Prediction markets have quickly become one of the biggest talking points in the industry, but as with any sector moving at this pace, the opportunities come with a lot of questions,” said Rasmus Sojmark, CEO & Founder of SBC.
“For operators considering entering the space, the question is how to do so effectively, safely and compliantly. That is the purpose of this forum: to bring newcomers and experts into the same room, tackle the questions and build a clearer understanding of where the sector is heading.”
With jurisdictions divided over whether to block, regulate or license prediction markets, the session ‘Regulating futures: bridging the gap between the US and Europe’ will examine how the regulatory landscape is developing on both sides of the Atlantic. Experts Andrew Lyman (Gambling Commissioner and Executive Director, Government of Gibraltar), Charles Mizzi, (CEO, Malta Gaming Authority), Terence Cassar (Partner, GTG Legal), Zach Doctor (Co-Founder & CEO, WagerWire) and moderator Ron Segev (Founding Partner, Segev LLP) will assess ongoing regulatory uncertainty across key global markets and explore how operators can prepare for future regulatory change.
At the heart of this regulatory debate is the question of how prediction markets should be legally defined. The session “The legal conundrum: are prediction markets gambling?’ will tackle this question head-on, bringing together experts Matt Kane (Head of Legal, Betr), Arthur Stadler (Founding Partner, Stadler Partner Attorneys), Steve Humenik (Chief Legal Officer, Crypto.com) and panel moderator Quirino Mancini (Partner, WH Partners Italy. The panel will debate whether event contracts constitute gambling or financial trading, examine existing legal frameworks and consider how regulators may rule in the future.
The discussion will then move to the technical considerations of launching prediction markets during the session, ‘Time to market – the technological hurdles to launching a prediction market product’. Speakers Andrew Gonzalez (CEO, ParlayX), Henrich Tauber (Head of Business Development, Limitless), Amit Mahensaria (CEO, Pred.app), Guy Dotan (Co-Founder, WireMarkets) and panel moderator Jeff Haas (Strategic Advisor, Binara.ai) will evaluate the technology needed to remain compliant, available integration options and which technology can support a faster and more efficient route to market.
The future of prediction markets will take centre stage during the session ‘An industry on the cusp of boom or bust: what’s the future of futures?’. Experts John Aristotle Phillips (CEO, PredictIt), Joey Levo (CEO, Betr) and Noah Traisman (CEO, Winible) will explore whether prediction markets can coexist alongside traditional sportsbooks, what can be learned from other formats such as poker and daily fantasy sports and whether there is room for multiple major players.
Other sessions across the day will delve into topics including the role of strategic media partnerships in taking prediction markets mainstream, the distinctions between prediction markets and sportsbooks, the merits of peer-to-peer and fixed-odds models and the developments that have transformed prediction markets from a niche product into one of the biggest talking points in global gambling.
Access to the Global Prediction Markets Forum requires a separate ticket, priced at €399. Each ticket holder will also receive a complimentary copy of SBC Insights’ ‘Prediction Market Report 2026’.
Source: SBC News
