SBC’s 2024 flagship Lisbon Summit didn’t just break records; it smashed them, setting new industry benchmarks for the fastest-growing event and cementing its position as “The Greatest Show in Gaming”.
Hosted for the first time in Lisbon, this year’s ambitious summit embraced a new chapter. And with a remarkable 70 percent year-on-year surge in attendance, the four-day event showcased its unrelenting growth, generating an estimated €100 million (£83.7m) in economic activity.
Road To Lisbon
Emerging from the challenges of COVID-19, SBC was the first major gaming event to be hosted in 2021. Since then, it has experienced explosive growth, doubling in size every year.
Moving from Barcelona to the Feira Internacional de Lisboa and MEO Arena for 2024—one of the largest indoor arenas in Europe—allowed SBC to go all out, accommodating eight stages, including the star-studded Super Stage , which featured a lineup of iconic speakers who have transformed their passions into global empires.
All-Star Lineup
Over 25,000 industry executives attended SBC Lisbon, and 600 speakers shared their cutting-edge insights on the world of iGaming.
Topics ranged from data privacy, user empowerment, and the future of the web, to the latest tech behind the bet and the Metaverse in iGaming. They were presented by the brightest minds and heavyweights in the industry, such as Alex Fonseca, CEO of Superbet Brazil; Gustaf Hagman, CEO of LeoVegas; Nils Andén, CEO of Kindred Group; and Per Widerström, CEO of Evoke, among others.
Responding to requests from stakeholders for more inspirational and entrepreneurial content from outside the industry, SBC’s iconic lineup on the Super Stage—new for 2024—included Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web; skateboarding legend Tony Hawk; former Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Inter Milan footballer Louis Figo; former Manchester United and Danish goalkeeping legend Peter Schmeichel, MBE; Ultimate Fighting Championship star and fan favourite Merab Dvalishvili, and Rubens Barrichello ex-Formula 1 racing driver.
Growing Global Footprint
It’s not just the event’s size that increased significantly—from 39,000 square meters in 2023 to 110,000 square meters in 2024—due to a strategic focus on boosting attendance from key geographic regions, so did the event’s international footprint.
Compared to the 2023 Barcelona Summit, Lisbon saw a 127 percent increase in attendees from North America, 126 percent from Latin America and the Caribbean, 80 percent from Asia and 45 percent from Africa.
With representation from 133 countries in total, SBC’s reach has undoubtedly gone global and in a big way. The event isn’t just growing – it’s dominating the international iGaming scene and facilitating knowledge sharing across rapidly expanding and emerging iGaming hubs.
Committed To Better Outcomes
So what’s the strategy behind the event’s success and seemingly unstoppable growth?
According to the SBC team, it’s all about actively listening to the industry and, where possible, providing what they request.
To guarantee that each SBC Summit provides more value than the last, the team continually reinvests in the show, meaning attendees, presenters, and partners trust that SBC will be the biggest and best event of the year.
Proving the point, other new additions to this year’s show, Super Stage aside, included new dedicated Payment Expert and Affiliate Leader Summits, a brand-new media hub for the press, operational masterclasses in sports betting and casino, and a female empowerment initiative to inspire future leaders.
Going Forward
SBC doesn’t end in Lisbon.
Going forward, they’re gearing up to consolidate their North American and Latin American events into one bigger and better summit, making it easier for attendees to get the most out of fewer but more significant events.
And with plans to further boost attendance from emerging regions like Africa and Asia, SBC is well on its way to achieving global gaming dominance.
If this year was any indication, “The Greatest Show in Gaming” will only get bigger, bolder, and better in the coming years.
