Asked how 2025 went for SBC, Dennis Algreen gives a measured but upbeat response. “It was overwhelmingly positive,” SBC’s Senior Marketing Director explains. “Lisbon, especially, was the best event we’ve ever done, and I’d argue one of the best the industry has to offer.”
Coming from someone who lives and breathes the events calendar, it reads less like hype and more like a statement of intent. For SBC, 2026 isn’t about reinventing the wheel. It’s about sharpening each summit so it has a clear identity, a defined audience and, increasingly, its own gravitational pull on the global gaming schedule.
Algreen describes 2025 as a turning point, not just for Lisbon but the entire portfolio. Clarion’s ICE Barcelona kicked off the year with “a very strong event”, but more importantly the standard it set sparked internal competition. “When you operate at that level,” he notes, “it pushes all of us to deliver better quality and more value. You can’t just show up with ‘good enough’ anymore.”
Tat mentality now underpins SBC’s 2026 roadmap: a Brazil-focused Rio, a deeper and more technical Malta, a refreshed and rebranded Canada, a consolidated yet sharper Americas, and Lisbon as the catch-all flagship that many companies now pencil into their diaries before anything else.
SBC Summit Rio - 3-5 March
SBC’s year begins in Brazil, and Algreen is crystal clear about what Rio is and what it isn’t. “Rio is really dedicated to this exciting, not yet fully developed betting landscape in Brazil,” he explains. “If you have any serious interest in that market, that’s your event.” Where SBC Summit Americas in Miami stretches across the whole hemisphere, Rio is unapologetically single-minded: it is Brazil’s stage.
Tat focus is being widened in a controlled way, not by adding noise but by importing expertise the local industry needs. “We want to bring in stakeholders from outside gaming, marketing specialists, tech innovators, AI experts, because the Brazilian market can learn a lot from them,” Algreen describes. AI in particular is seen not as a passing fad but as a structural shift. “AI is not going anywhere. It impacts pretty much every function, so we have to make sure there’s real learning available on how to actually use it.”
On the audience side, Rio 2025 delivered an impressive buyer turnout, but SBC is pushing harder. “We want even more buyer profiles next year. All the key regulators, all the licensed operators and a much stronger presence from affiliates and influencers,” Dennis notes.
In Brazil, those influencer-driven acquisition channels are a major part of
the ecosystem, and Algreen wants them central rather than peripheral. “Te goal is that any exhibitor, sponsor or attendee feels the value the moment they step onto the floor,” he adds. “And that is directly connected to who else we bring into the room.”
SBC Summit Malta - 28-30 April 2026
If Rio is sharp and local, Malta is dense and technical. What once felt like a pure online casino show has evolved into something broader but still intimate. “Already this year we had nearly as many buyer profiles from sports betting as from iGaming,” Algreen observes. “It’s still very Europe- centric, but it’s not just a casino show anymore. It’s a European industry summit.”
What truly distinguishes Malta, Algreen emphasises, is the depth of learning. Tis is where SBC leans into workshops and practical takeaways for people who rarely get sent to conferences. “Developers, specialist marketers, CRM people, they’re often not covered elsewhere,” he explains. “In Malta we’ve built whole programmes for them. Next year we’re doubling down with an entire workshop room focused on practical tools and hands-on work.” In other words, Malta is where teams come not just to network but to improve how they perform their roles.
Tere is, however, an intentional ceiling. Malta’s current venue is appreciated for its intimacy, the opposite of cavernous halls where you can walk for minutes without encountering someone you know. “Te show floor was absolutely full and the conference rooms were packed this year,” Algreen reflects. “So for us it’s less about chasing raw growth and more about reaffirming what Malta is now, a broader event that includes sports betting but with the same high-quality, close-knit experience.”
SBC has considered moving, but he is candid about the trade-offs. “You could go to a bigger venue, but you’d lose the atmosphere and the standard of delivery. We’re not willing to compromise that just for scalability.”
For affiliates and marketers, Malta is becoming something of a pilgrimage. “Every single year, those sessions are standing room only. You look at the rooms and think, we literally can’t fit more chairs in here. Tat tells us the audience gets enormous value from this event, and that’s exactly the feeling we want to preserve.”
SBC Summit Canada - 19-21 May 2026
Unlike SBC Summit Malta (formerly CasinoBeats Malta), SBC Summit Canada has a different origin story. Te event had been running for more
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