SBC Summit Lisbon Focuses on Maximising ROI for 40,000 Attendees
Portugal.- 10 September 2026 | www.zonadeazar.com SBC is preparing the next edition of its flagship Lisbon event with a strategy focused not simply on increasing scale, but on maximising the commercial value operators, suppliers, affiliates, regulators and other participants can generate during the Summit.
Under the “The Greatest Show in Gaming” concept, SBC Summit expects 40,000 attendees, more than 800 exhibitors and sponsors and an exhibition footprint exceeding 135,000 square metres.
For SBC, however, these numbers only matter if they translate into new relationships, knowledge, commercial opportunities and return on investment.
More Than 40,000 Attendees
The upcoming SBC Summit is expected to bring approximately 40,000 people to Lisbon.
That scale enables professionals from multiple industry verticals and international markets to come together in one location.
The objective is to create connections that might otherwise require months of separate meetings, travel and negotiations.
More Than 800 Exhibitors and Sponsors
The exhibition will feature more than 800 exhibitors and sponsors.
This concentration allows delegates to compare suppliers, products, technologies and commercial models within a matter of days.
SBC sees scale as a tool for accelerating product discovery and business decision-making.
135,000 Square Metres
The exhibition footprint exceeds 135,000 square metres.
SBC believes physical growth must be supported by infrastructure that makes navigation, meetings and content easier to access.
The challenge is to ensure greater scale does not create unnecessary complexity for attendees.
Five Core Areas
SBC organises its Summit proposition around five areas:
- Exhibition.
- Networking.
- Conference.
- Education.
- Experience.
Although each serves a different purpose, all are designed around the same commercial objective: making the time spent in Lisbon as valuable as possible.
Exhibition to Accelerate Decisions
The exhibition provides access to hundreds of potential partners and products within one environment.
Instead of arranging separate demonstrations over several months, delegates can compare companies and technologies during the event.
This can accelerate decisions involving suppliers, products and expansion into new verticals.
Networking as a Commercial Tool
Sojmark places particular emphasis on networking within a global industry.
A company considering entering Brazil, for example, may be able to meet:
- Operators.
- Suppliers.
- Lawyers.
- Regulators.
- Market specialists.
This concentration can reduce the need for multiple separate international trips to gather intelligence and build relationships.
Conference as Business Intelligence
The conference programme is intended to provide insight into how other companies are responding to major industry changes.
These can include:
- Regulatory developments.
- New technology.
- Changing consumer behaviour.
- Market expansion.
- Product transformation.
SBC believes conference content produces commercial value when it changes strategic thinking or helps identify an opportunity.
Practical Education
The education component is designed to move beyond general discussion of trends.
Its objective is to give professionals practical skills and knowledge that they can take back into their day-to-day roles.
For SBC, event ROI can also be measured through capabilities acquired by participating teams.
Experience Can Also Generate Business
Sojmark argues that attendee experience should not be treated separately from commercial outcomes.
Business relationships are often developed outside formal meetings.
Dinners, awards ceremonies, informal gatherings and social events can create environments where new partnerships emerge or existing relationships become stronger.
Reducing Wasted Time
Experience also means removing operational friction.
SBC is looking to simplify areas including:
- Badge collection.
- Venue navigation.
- Meeting spaces.
- Food.
- Movement around the event.
The principle is that every hour not lost on logistics can instead be spent on meetings, learning or business activity.
Airport Badge Collection
One example is the ability to collect event credentials at the airport.
The initiative forms part of SBC’s effort to simplify arrival and reduce administrative time once attendees reach the venue.
Tiësto at INFINITY Lisbon
Entertainment will remain part of the Summit proposition.
The week will close with Tiësto at INFINITY Lisbon.
Sojmark believes business events should also be enjoyable, particularly because professional relationships can strengthen in less formal environments.
Return on Investment
The central measure used by SBC to assess the event is attendee ROI.
Participating in an international conference requires investment in:
- Travel.
- Hotels.
- Tickets.
- Time away from the business.
SBC therefore believes it must create sufficient opportunities to justify those costs.
Tangible Business Outcomes
Return can take many forms.
An attendee might:
- Find a supplier that reduces costs.
- Meet a partner capable of supporting entry into a new market.
- Change strategy after a conference session.
- Learn a new skill.
- Strengthen relationships with important customers.
SBC considers these results more important than attendance figures alone.
Statements
Rasmus Sojmark stressed that he has never believed a larger event automatically means a better event.
For SBC’s Founder and CEO, the more important question is what delegates can obtain from having 40,000 people and hundreds of companies under one roof.
He argued that “The Greatest Show in Gaming” should ultimately be measured not by how much SBC puts into the event, but by how much attendees are able to take away from it.
Industry Context
Major international conferences have become strategic meeting points for an increasingly global gaming industry.
Expansion into new markets, rapid technological development and regulatory change increase the need for simultaneous access to specialist information, contacts and suppliers.
As a result, competition between events is increasingly moving beyond pure scale towards their ability to demonstrate tangible business value.
Next Steps or Impact
SBC Summit Lisbon will seek to turn its scale into a practical tool for accelerating meetings, learning, product discovery and commercial relationship-building.
With 40,000 attendees, more than 800 exhibitors and sponsors and an exhibition footprint exceeding 135,000 square metres, SBC will once again stage one of the industry’s largest international gatherings.
The organisation’s objective is for those numbers to translate into a more important measure: companies returning from Lisbon with opportunities, knowledge and relationships capable of justifying their investment.
Editó: @fonta
