SBC Summit 2026 gets underway today, Tuesday 29 September, in Lisbon, bringing more than 40,000 betting and iGaming professionals to the Portuguese capital for what organizers are billing as the event’s biggest edition yet.
Taking place through October 1 at Feira Internacional de Lisboa (FIL) and MEO Arena, the third consecutive SBC Summit in Lisbon arrives with a record-scale program, more than 800 exhibitors and sponsors, over 600 speakers and delegates from more than 150 countries.
The event’s expansion also reflects the increasingly broad ecosystem surrounding betting and iGaming, with more than 11,000 operators confirmed to attend alongside growing participation from regulators, lotteries, affiliates, technology companies and other businesses operating across the sector.
At the center of Tuesday’s opening program will be the Super Stage at MEO Arena, where basketball icon and businessman Michael Jordan will appear alongside Sportradar Founder and CEO Carsten Koerl and DraftKings Co-Founder, CEO and Chairman of the Board Jason Robins.
The session, titled “Leadership in Sports Business,” will take place from 12:00 to 13:00 and will examine the evolution of sport through the perspectives of three figures with different roles across the modern sports ecosystem. Broadcaster and journalist Kirsty Gallacher will moderate the conversation.
The Super Stage has become one of SBC Summit’s most prominent conference features since its launch in 2024, previously hosting figures including Sir Tim Berners-Lee, Tony Hawk, Oleksandr Usyk and Gary Vaynerchuk.
Michael Jordan headlines SBC Summit’s opening day
Jordan’s appearance is part of a wider effort by SBC Summit to bring figures from outside the traditional betting and gaming industry onto its main stage.
Alongside Jordan, Koerl and Robins, the Super Stage lineup includes football transfer-market journalist Fabrizio Romano and UFC star Charles Oliveira, who will appear during Wednesday’s program.
Romano will take part in “Here We Go: Trust, Speed and the Business of Breaking News” on September 30, exploring the media brand he has built around football transfers, speed and accuracy, as well as creator partnerships and the relationship between football audiences and betting brands.
Oliveira, meanwhile, will discuss performance under pressure, resilience and the routines behind sustained success during his Wednesday appearance as an Aviator brand ambassador for game developer SPRIBE.
The Super Stage will also feature a series of Founder Stories involving executives including SPRIBE Founder and CEO David Natroshvili, LeoVegas Group CEO and Co-Founder Gustaf Hagman and SoftConstruct Co-Founder Vigen Badalyan.
Sports business will remain another focus, with a session dedicated to the international expansion of the Argentine Football Association’s brand featuring former AFA commercial and marketing chief Leandro Petersen and former Argentina goalkeeper Sergio Goycochea.
Affiliate Leaders Summit arrives as a standalone event
One of the most significant changes for SBC Summit 2026 is the expansion of the affiliate component.
For the first time, the Affiliate Leaders Summit will operate as a standalone co-located event, with its own ticketing, conference program, exhibition space and awards ceremony. SBC expects around 10,000 professionals from the affiliate and performance marketing ecosystem to attend.
The new format reflects the growing scale of the affiliate sector and gives operators, suppliers, affiliates and performance marketers a dedicated environment within the wider SBC Summit.
SBC has also partnered with Conversion Conf for this year’s Affiliate Leaders Summit, adding another layer to the event’s programming for the affiliate and performance marketing community.
The wider summit is also introducing two specialist forums.
The Global Prediction Markets Forum arrives as prediction markets continue to attract attention from investors, operators and regulators, particularly as the sector increasingly overlaps with areas including trading, betting and forecasting.
The African Gaming Forum, meanwhile, has been developed with the Gaming Regulators Africa Forum, iGaming Afrika and the Ghana Association of Sports Betting Operators. It will focus on the continent’s expanding gaming markets and their different regulatory environments.
More networking, technology and practical learning
Networking has also been redesigned for this year’s event, with SBC introducing speed networking sessions, show floor tours and 20 Regulatory Gaming Meetups developed in partnership with the International Association of Gaming Regulators (IAGR) and the International Masters of Gaming Law (IMGL).
The Smart Connect matchmaking service will also return, pairing buyers and sellers based on their business interests.
Another new addition is the Product Innovation Showcase Stage, designed to give exhibitors an opportunity to demonstrate products and technology through live presentations to potential customers.
Technology will feature heavily across the wider event, with major companies including AWS, Google, Meta, OpenAI, TikTok, Tinder and Snapchat represented at SBC Summit.
For attendees looking for more specialized education, four Tech Academies will focus on AI, Player Experience, Digital Marketing & CRM, and Web3 & Crypto. Three Masterclasses will also cover trading, casino operations and responsible gaming.
For the first time, both the conference and education tracks will be CPD-certified.
800 exhibitors and a packed week in Lisbon
The exhibition floor will feature 800 exhibitors and sponsors, making the 2026 edition the largest showcase in SBC Summit’s history.
Beyond the exhibition and conference areas, SBC has expanded the event’s social and networking infrastructure. Festival Square will provide an outdoor space for attendees to meet during and after event hours, while the Food Festival will return with more than 50 vendors offering local and international options.
The event’s evening program will also feature two major parties. The SBC Summit Opening Party, powered by 1xBet, will feature a headline performance from The Script, while INFINITY Lisbon will close the week with a performance from Tiësto.
Two awards ceremonies, the SBC Awards and Affiliate Leaders Awards, will also take place during the event.
SBC has additionally introduced Bruna, an AI concierge developed by InsightPlay AI, which will assist attendees with onsite questions and navigation.
The entire experience can be managed through the SBC Connect app, including event scheduling, ticket add-ons and meeting bookings.
With the doors now opening in Lisbon, SBC Summit 2026 will spend the next three days bringing together operators, suppliers, affiliates, regulators, technology companies, investors and sports figures under one roof.
Check today’s agenda here.