SBC Summit launches direct regulator access

• SBC Summit will host Regulatory Gaming Meetups across more than 20 jurisdictions from 29 September to 1 October.
• Confirmed hosts include regulators and legal experts from Malta, Portugal, Cyprus and Bulgaria.
• The initiative stems from a new tripartite partnership between SBC, IAGR and IMGL.

SBC Summit has launched the Regulatory Gaming Meetups, a new networking initiative connecting delegates with regulators, market experts and industry leaders from more than 20 gaming jurisdictions.

The sessions will run daily at the Regulatory Gaming Meetup Lounge (F4-17) during SBC Summit 2026 in Lisbon, from 29 September to 1 October. The programme is designed to give attendees direct access to the officials shaping their markets.

Jurisdiction-led sessions

Sessions will be organised by jurisdiction and region, letting attendees focus on the markets most relevant to their business. Regional discussions will cover Eurasia, Latin America, Africa, Asia and North America, alongside European clusters including the Balkans, Central and Eastern Europe, and the Nordics and Baltics.

Europe carries particular weight in the programme, with dedicated sessions on Italy, Malta, Finland, Portugal, Spain, France, Germany and DACH, the UK and Ireland, Greece and Cyprus, and the Netherlands and Belgium. Further sessions will examine the Emirates, Curaçao and India.

Each meetup will be led by a regulator, industry association or subject-matter expert with direct experience of the jurisdiction in question, keeping discussions practical rather than theoretical.

Confirmed hosts

Confirmed hosts include Charles Mizzi, chief executive of the Malta Gaming Authority, who will lead discussions on Malta’s regulatory landscape. Ricardo Domingues, president of APAJO, and Luis Carvalho, partner at Lektou, will host the Portugal Regulatory Gaming Breakfast.

Paul Burns, chief executive of the Canadian Gaming Association, and Jared Beber, chief executive of Bet99, will join the North American cocktail hour. Panagiotis Trisokkas, president of Cyprus’s National Betting Authority, will lead the Greece and Cyprus meetup.

Alexander Popov, director of supervision of gambling activities at Bulgaria’s National Revenue Agency, and Ionut-Valeriu Andrei, chief executive of Loteria Romana, will host the Central and Eastern Europe session.

Dr Martin Talian, chief executive of Kenya’s National Lottery Board, Omer Mohaban, official representative of Liberia’s Online Gaming and Casino Commission, and Ivo Bosukov, chief strategy officer at SportPesa Group, will lead the Africa cocktail hour.

Zaza Baramidze, chief executive of Random Systems Georgia, will head the Eurasia discussions. Karen Marcela Sierra-Hughes, vice president of Latin America, Caribbean and Spain at Gaming Laboratories International, will join the Latin America and Brazil cocktail hour.

International partnership

The meetups sit alongside other new formats at SBC Summit 2026, including speed networking and guided show-floor tours, both trialled at SBC Summit Americas earlier this year.

They also mark one of the first initiatives from SBC’s tripartite partnership with the International Association of Gaming Regulators (IAGR) and the International Masters of Gaming Law (IMGL). The three organisations plan to expand access to regulatory expertise through educational and networking initiatives across SBC’s global portfolio.

Rasmus Sojmark, founder and chief executive of SBC, said:

“What we’re creating with the Regulatory Gaming Meet Ups is direct access to the people responsible for shaping, interpreting, and navigating these markets every day. That gives delegates the opportunity to ask better questions, gain practical insights that can’t be found in a report or presentation, and make more informed business decisions.”

Access details

Delegates wishing to attend the Regulatory Meet-ups will need a Networking, Business or VIP pass. Access to the wider conference programme is included with a Conference, Business or VIP pass.

Attendees can also explore regulatory developments through SBC Summit’s conference programme, across the Global & Emerging Markets Stage and the Regulation & Compliance Stage. The latter includes the Player Protection Symposium and compliance technology tracks, alongside the Global Regulations track covering shifts in Poland, Finland and Canada.

SBC Summit will welcome 40,000 industry professionals to the Feira Internacional de Lisboa & MEO Arena for 3 days of networking, exhibition and education.

SBC Summit 2026 now offers five pass types: VIP, Conference, Networking, Business and Expo Only, with the Expo Only pass free of charge.

iGaming Republic readers can save 30% on VIP, Conference, Networking and Business passes using code IGRPARTNERVIP at checkout.

SBC’s regulatory push extends beyond Lisbon, with IAGR and IMGL support continuing into October’s IAGR Annual Conference in Lima and further events over the next 3 years. Delegates weighing market entry or compliance strategy gain a rare chance to question the people drafting the rules directly, rather than wait for guidance to filter through advisories and panel sessions.

Full ticket options for SBC Summit 2026 are available now.