SBC’s flagship global event, SBC Summit 2024, was held in Lisbon last week, achieving record success, setting a new industry benchmark and solidifying SBC’s status.
Mayor of Lisbon and Minister of Economy of Portugal open the SBC Summit
The summit attracted nearly 25,000 attendees, marking a 70% increase over the 2023 edition in Barcelona.
Furthermore, with representation from 134 countries, 20 more than the previous year, and a huge exhibition area of 110,000 square meters at the Lisbon International Fair and MEO Arena, the event has earned its place as the leading event and fastest growing in the sector.
The Mayor of Lisbon, Carlos Moedas, together with the Minister of Economy of Portugal, Pedro Reis, and the Secretary of State for Tourism, Pedro Machado, welcomed the SBC Summit to the city, recognizing the considerable economic contribution of the event. Estimated to generate up to 100 million euros in indirect benefits, the SBC Summit left a lasting mark on the city.
In other words, the SBC Summit exhibition area was a resounding success, with more than 600 exhibitors creating a vibrant and busy atmosphere. Of those, 250 were new to the SBC Summit and more than 100 were first-time exhibitors at an SBC event.
According to data from the official SBC Summit app, SBC Connect Plus, a record 10,000 meetings were scheduled through the app alone, with thousands more meetings taking place during the summit.
So, as SBC’s flagship event, the company strategically focused on increasing participation from key geographic regions vital to the industry’s growth. Participation increased by:
- 126% in Latin America and the Caribbean
- 80% in Asia
- 45% in Africa
- 127% in North America, highlighting the event’s global appeal and growing influence.
Participation of several celebrities
The event further reinforced its focus on global markets through the introduction of the Global Markets Lounge, where 11 market-specific sessions and meetings were held.
Country and region-focused panels and 12 high-level global roundtables, featuring prominent industry experts, further deepened engagement with key international audiences.
But one of the main highlights of the event was the power of celebrities, as the SBC Summit hosted:
- Inventor of the World Wide Web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee
- Iconic skateboarder Tony Hawk
- UFC Champion Merab Dvalishvili
- Football legends Luis Figo and Peter Schmeichel
- Renowned British TV presenter Laura Woods
These global stars took to the Super Stage at the MEO Arena, one of the largest indoor venues in Europe, which was one of eight stages operating simultaneously during the convention. They were part of an impressive lineup of 600 speakers, including industry leaders, decision makers, and several C-level executives.
In this way, the SBC Summit also attracted high-level leaders from the sector, with notable participations from C-level speakers, such as:
- Alex Fonseca, CEO Brazil at Superbet
- Carsten Koerl, CEO of Sportradar
- Gustaf Hagman, CEO of LeoVegas
- Livia Troise, CEO of Betmais
- Neal Menashe, CEO of Super Group
- Nils Anden, CEO of Kindred Group
- Per Widerstrom, CEO of Evoke
- Stuart Simms, FairPlay Sports Media Group CEO
- Zlatko Hrkać, CEO and co-founder of Sofascore
- Zsófia Bánhegyi, CCO of Szerencsejáték Zrt.
Highlights of the SBC Summit Lisbon
500 industry leaders, including prominent CEOs and C-level executives, also gathered for the invitation-only SBC Leaders Summit on September 24 at the 5-star Myriad By Sana hotel.
The high-profile event featured exclusive networking opportunities, educational sessions and a prestigious Hall of Fame ceremony honoring Barry Gibson, who marked his final appointment as Chairman of Entain Group. The event also featured an interview with Formula 1 legend and Non-Executive Director of SOFTSWISS, Rubens Barrichello.
Networking was one of the main highlights of the event, with dedicated dinners and parties over the three days. The closing party, INFINITY Lisbon, was hailed as one of the industry’s biggest celebrations of all time. Held at the iconic MEO Arena, the party featured electrifying performances by world-renowned DJs Miss Monique, Don Diablo and Darude.
Thus, another major highlight of the event was the record-breaking SBC Awards ceremony, in which 1,300 industry professionals came together to celebrate excellence in 39 categories. Big names like Soft2Bet, Betsson Group and Kaizen Gaming were among the biggest winners of the night.
Next SBC Summit in Portugal will be in September 2025
New to this year’s event were ESI Lisbon, the Payment Expert Summit and the Affiliate Leaders Summit, each with its own dedicated space in the exhibition area, with curated educational content and networking events.
The Media Headquarters was the center of media activities, housing major media companies, press conferences and interview rooms for the industry’s global reach. The expo also featured Startupsphere, which showcased the best of industry innovation, culminating in the First Pitch competition, where Match Hype took the crown.
Additionally, the SBC Summit also proudly launched the Women Empowerment Initiative. The initiative has received widespread support from global organizations that advocate for women in sports betting and iGaming.
The SBC Summit is scheduled to return to Lisbon from September 16th to 18th, 2025, promising to offer another unmissable event.
