LISBON, Portugal — We’re back here for the next round at SBC Summit, the biggest show in in the industry. Yesterday kicked off with Michael Jordan and today, headliners include Charles Oliveira and Fabrizio Romano as the show rolls on well.
SBC Americas Editor Adam Candee here, reporting live from SBC Summit in the capital of Portugal. We will follow along with the news of the day here from the industry’s premier event throughout the three-day lineup.
Stay with us throughout the afternoon and evening for the most interesting notes and quotes from the keynote, as well as panel discussions with industry leaders. We’re here all day so come join in!
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5 pm: How can the black market be stopped?
Representatives from throughout Europe and the United Kingdom talked about the difficulty of competing with black-market operators who offer enticing options.
On the panel “Regulations are getting tighter: What it means for the black market”, speakers from Flutter, GamStop, iGaming.com and the European Gaming & Betting Association highlighted the primary reasons why players seek out illegal and offshore operators:
- No regulation
- No personal data exchanged
- No limits
- Fear that banks take their information
- No taxes
“Apart from the product, taxation is a big issue,” said Andreas Ditsche, CEO of iGaming.com, later continuing, “In the online world, the non-tax offer is just one click away and the risk of getting caught in almost zero.”
Ditsche said that in Germany, one study of gamblers found that only 15% specifically sought out a legal, regulated option for gaming.
Hayley Doherty, Head of Compliance for Flutter, expounded on the black-market topic to include the responsibilities of both sides of the regulated equation.
“We have to look to more than regulation here,” Doherty said. “It’s very easy to go there and blame that. We have to look at enforcement.” Doherty said operators need to look at themselves as well.”
4 pm: Playing ‘chicken’ with gaming advertisement
In the panel “The ethical tension in gaming advertisement”, panelists from across the world discussed the challenges in advertising the gaming industry in a responsible manner while still competing in the marketplace.
Jesper Karrbrink, CEO of iGaming company Immense Group, summed up a primary challenge quite well: will any company be willing to step forward first when its competitors might not do the same?
“No one chickens out first. That’s the problem,” Karrbrink said. “And it works. That’s the problem.”
He later continued, “Advertising can never protect players. The only one who can protect players is operators.”
Karrbrink further added that at one point, he stopped watching TV because of the advertisements.
“I couldn’t take it anymore,” Karrbrink said.
3:30 pm: Please appreciate lunch at SBC Food Festival
Y’all. Y’ALL. Check out this giant, delicious serrano ham and creamy cheese sandwich from the Food Festival at SBC Summit. There is so much selection but if you select something other than this beauty, I am afraid I just cannot help you.
2:45 pm: Advice from investors to startups
Staying in the same room for the following panel, Betting Startups Podcast host Jesse Learmonth guided three early-stage founders through “Investor Office Hours” with high-level investors and advisors in the gaming industry.
Founders taking part brought questions to the panel, with each founder already backed by at least one of the investors taking part. The founders included:
- Tyler Amirault, CEO, Hot Take Sports
- Fraser Dunk, CEO, Jurmil
- Andrew Gonzalez, CEO, Parlay X
Gonzalez won the First Pitch startup competition at SBC Summit Americas in June, taking with him a package worth more than $100,000.
1:30 pm: What investors want in the next great product
In the panel session “The View From Here: Global Investor Perspectives”, three investors with deep roots in the gaming sector discussed a pair of topics in-depth: defense from AI and the ability to pivot, specifically in reference to prediction markets.
“Most of the products that are in prediction markets now, three or four years ago, they weren’t in prediction markets,” said Tom Waterhouse, Chief Investment Officer, Waterhouse VC.
Mark Robinson, Head of Investor Relations and Capital Formation for Yolo Investments, earlier summarized the view of all three panelists on AI: are you building something smarter than the machine?
“If AI can build it, then you haven’t got much of a product,” Robinson said.
12:30 pm: UFC star Charles Oliveira takes the stage
MMA fighter Charles Oliveira joins the Super Stage at MEO Arena in Lisbon for a talk titled “Record Success: Leadership & Partnership with Charles Oliveira”.
Oliveira’s agenda included discussion of his daily routine, as well as the future evolution of the UFC, MMA and other sports.
12:15 pm: A video look at Day 1 in Portugal
12 pm: Reflections on the first day in Lisbon
If you have attended an SBC show, you already know the velocity at which business moves on the show floor, at the networking lounges, and in the conference sessions.
But even with that advance knowledge, I never seem to recall how much energy goes into the excitement. The coffee this morning went into my body not as a treat, but as needed fuel for another big day on the floor.
Thoughts strewn about my head as we ramp up the conference agenda for the second day …
- The presence of Michael Jordan truly cannot be overstated. Sure, it might sound like marketing hype (and maybe subconsciously it is) but the energy in the crowd for MJ felt different. His conversation with Sportradar CEO Carsten Koerl and DraftKings CEO Jason Robins covered a wider swath of ground than I anticipated, especially when Jordan dove in with Koerl on the PlayRadar product that attempts to gamify sports betting in a more casino-style experience.
- The panel discussion about identifying fraud risks in the ever-dynamic sports betting environment was fascinating. My biggest takeaway is the need for collaboration not just among operators, but with regulators and leagues. It is one issue to accurately identify malicious actors trying to use their edge, but another issue entirely for those with the responsibility to act on that information in a timely fashion. In shorter form: penalizing those who try to game the system is as important as finding the gamers in the first place.
- What a busy show floor here in Lisbon. Just getting around to where I needed to be throughout four halls proved challenging with the amount of people taking in the show, a positive sign for the energy here and beyond.
