SBC Summit Aims for Lasting Value Over Scale at Lisbon 2026

SBC Summit’s move to Lisbon comes with an ambitious promise: to be the “Greatest Show in Gaming.” But for SBC CEO and Founder Rasmus Sojmark, this label only holds if exhibitors and attendees derive lasting, measurable value. Scale alone—a forecast 40,000 attendees, 800+ exhibitors, and 135,000 square metres of exhibition floor—is not enough. The actual return comes from new business relationships, intelligence, and skills acquired during the event.

Why ‘Greatest Show in Gaming’ Goes Beyond Attendance Numbers

SBC Summit will debut in Lisbon with an extensive footprint and participant list. But organisers argue that doubling down on size is not the metric that matters most. Sojmark draws a distinction between headline figures and business impact. The event claims more than 800 exhibitors and sponsors and is expecting around 40,000 visitors, but these statistics only matter if they translate into real commercial opportunities for attendees.

Meeting that standard, Sojmark argues, means focusing on what attendees actually take home—"Does having 40,000 people in Lisbon give you access to customers you wouldn’t otherwise meet? Does having hundreds of companies under one roof help you find technology that makes your business better? Can you learn something that saves money, opens a market or changes your strategy?" The event’s slogan is therefore a challenge: to ensure that the scale of the experience is matched by business outcomes.

Five Pillars of Value: The SBC Summit Approach

Internally, the organisers assess the event across five dimensions:

• Exhibition: Hundreds of companies and products are accessible on a single floor, letting attendees compare vendors, platforms, and services swiftly—saving months of one-off meetings.
• Networking: With operators, suppliers, legal and compliance specialists and regulators present, relationships and regional market contacts (for instance, for Brazil) can be formed without multiple international trips.
• Conference: The agenda is positioned to offer market intelligence, including how peers manage regulatory shifts, adopt new technologies, and respond to changing player behaviour. These insights can directly challenge or validate firms’ strategies.
• Education: Workshops and sessions are designed to develop practical skills attendees can apply in their operational environment.
• Experience: While easily viewed as non-commercial, experience is set as fundamental—ease of access, comfortable meeting spaces, efficient logistics, and even headline performances (like Tiësto at INFINITY Lisbon) are intended to create the kind of environment where strong partnerships develop. Details such as badge collection at the airport and food quality are positioned as reducing attendee friction.

"Business is built on relationships, and relationships develop when people spend time together. Some of the strongest partnerships I’ve seen in this industry began over dinner, at an awards ceremony or during a conversation that had nothing to do with the meeting originally in somebody’s diary." — Rasmus Sojmark

Measuring ROI: The Litmus Test for Gaming Events

For Sojmark, the true test comes after doors close—whether participants report meaningful positive change: a supplier who cuts costs, a partner unlocking a new market, or skills that materially improve business processes. He acknowledges the investment—travel, lodging, and crucially, time—required of attendees and positions the event’s return as central to its ongoing credibility.

The event’s organisers say their work is only just starting when delegates arrive. The focus is on facilitating measurable outcomes: new supplier contracts, entry to additional markets, or sharper strategic direction. These tangible results, rather than attendance records, are the metric by which the event invites judgment.

What Sets SBC Summit Lisbon Apart in 2026?

In shifting the event from Barcelona to Lisbon, the organisers are emphasising a break from formulaic expansion—prioritising deeper business engagement over mere size or spectacle. With the scale and diversity of the anticipated exhibitor and attendee base, the platform is positioned as fertile ground for international dealmaking.

"The Greatest Show in Gaming isn’t really about how much we can put into an event. It’s about how much you can get out of it. That’s the standard we have to keep measuring ourselves against." — Rasmus Sojmark

The intent is that Lisbon’s increased footprint and elevated production values serve only as a backdrop for more robust networking, education, and business growth—core elements that Sojmark contends justify the event’s claim.

Looking Ahead: Moving Beyond Hype in B2B Gaming Events

Seen through Sojmark’s lens, SBC Summit’s promise is not about headline acts or visual grandiosity, but in structuring an experience that efficiently facilitates the connections and knowledge that matter in iGaming. Market participants are encouraged to measure the event on post-show outcomes, not just its opening spectacle—the metric by which future iterations will be set.

Summit attendees will be looking for more than badges and booths: the organisers’ challenge is to deliver tangible returns that can be cited in boardrooms after the event. Whether Lisbon’s debut edition achieves that standard will shape the future direction and relevance of this flagship industry event.