Sportsbook differentiation is becoming harder to achieve through features alone, and operators increasingly want greater control over how their products are built, presented, and adapted to individual markets, while still relying on suppliers for the underlying technology, trading, and risk infrastructure.
Ahead of SBC Summit Lisbon, Yogonet spoke with Tom Light, Founder and CEO of FIRST.bet, about the company’s priorities for the event, the changing expectations of sportsbook operators and the role of AI in product development and personalization.
He also discusses how SportOS is evolving to give operators more control over the front end, why performance and uptime remain critical, and what he expects to define successful sportsbook technology from 2027 onward.
FIRST.bet is heading into SBC Summit Lisbon with a nomination for Sportsbook Supplier of the Year. What are your main priorities for the show, and what would you like operators and potential partners to take away from your presence in Lisbon?
Our priority in Lisbon is simple: meet as many operators and partners as we can, and understand exactly what they need and where they want to go.
What I want them to take away is that the sportsbook game is changing, right now, through 2026 and into 2027. For years, everyone worked from the same template. That era is over. Speed to market, customisation, and being different are what matter now, and with SportOS, an operator can be whoever it wants to be and move fast doing it.
With so many operators and suppliers gathering at SBC Summit, what are you hearing from the market right now? Which conversations, challenges, or trends do you expect to dominate meetings at the show this year?
The question we hear most is how an operator can make its sportsbook different when so many products look the same. The answer used to be another feature. Today operators are asking for control. They know their players, and they want to act on that without waiting in line on someone else’s roadmap.
The other conversation everywhere will be AI. Every operator is asking how it changes the way a sportsbook is built and run, and the ones asking the right questions now will be ahead very quickly. Put those two together, control and AI, and you have most of the meetings in Lisbon.
FIRST.bet has been recognised repeatedly across the industry. What do you think has been the biggest driver behind that recognition, and how do you make sure the company continues to raise the bar?
Our people. Everyone at FIRST.bet works extremely hard, and everyone here wants to win. I know it sounds like a cliché, but we operate like a family. Nobody says “that is not my job”. Everyone helps everyone with everything.
That mentality is what sets us apart. We are here to win, and we do not settle for less. That is what we do, and it is what we do best.
FIRST has argued that sportsbook differentiation is increasingly about execution, not simply having the longest feature list. Where do you currently see the biggest gaps between what sportsbooks offer on paper and the experience players actually receive?
A long feature list is nice, but every market needs its own things. A feature that works in one market can mean nothing in the next, and a feature that fails under pressure does not matter at all.
At the end of the day, the only thing that speaks is the product: the engine behind the sportsbook, the part the player never sees. When a big match is live, and everyone is betting at once, the sportsbook either holds up or it does not. Performance and uptime at that moment are what operators and players remember.
As you noted, AI is becoming a major talking point across sportsbook technology. Where do you see the most realistic near-term applications, and how could it change the way operators personalise their products and player journeys?
The possibilities with AI today are enormous. It shortens the path from an idea to a prototype to something live, and it automates so much of the repetitive work that people have more time to think about what really matters: the next step, and how to get better. We have a dedicated AI team working on exactly that, both internally and in the tools we give operators.
Personalisation is where players will feel it most. A sportsbook should know which leagues and markets matter to each player and put them first. The rule is simple: AI has to solve a real problem for a player or an operator. When it does, the results speak for themselves.
SportOS gives operators flexibility over how their sportsbook is built and presented. How is the product evolving as operators look for greater control over the front end while still relying on suppliers for the underlying technology, trading and intelligence?
SportOS gives the operator control over the frontend, while FIRST.bet steers the engine behind it and delivers the best performance it can get. We run pricing, trading and risk, including bet acceptance and settlement.
The operators leading their categories run their own sportsbooks. SportOS gives an operator that same level: a Tier-1 sportsbook, with its own design, built for its own operation. The operator brings the vision and the team to build it, and we make sure the engine behind it performs.
Looking beyond the current cycle, what do you expect to define successful sportsbook technology from 2027 onwards, and where will FIRST.bet be investing to stay ahead of those changes?
I think the operators who win from 2027 onwards will be the ones who can turn an idea into something live the fastest. The engine underneath still has to be excellent, but operators will expect much more say over how it is used.
That is where we are investing: stronger APIs, deeper localisation and SportOS. Over time, our Turnkey offering will also become customisable on SportOS, so a fixed, shared frontend stops being the default.
If you are in Lisbon, come and see it at stand D316.