SBC Summit Reveals Western Europe Track Agenda Probing Regulatory Complexity and Technology Applications
TL;DR — SBC Summit’s Western Europe track on 30 September 2026 will convene operators and regulators to examine tightening rules, black-market growth, and technology for retention across the UK, Netherlands, Italy, Scandinavia, and Portugal. Panels feature executives from LeoVegas, Playtech, and Danish authorities plus over 40,000 expected attendees overall. Sessions include dedicated regulatory meetups by jurisdiction.
SCCG Take — The track equips operators to identify workable strategies against tax hikes and compliance burdens while surfacing regulation’s unintended effects on licensed competition. Attendance allows direct comparison of responses across similar mature markets.
SBC News has outlined plans for the SBC Summit’s dedicated Western Europe track, scheduled for Wednesday, 30 September on the Global & Emerging Markets Stage in Lisbon. The sessions will assist operators in addressing pressures within the region’s mature gambling markets, specifically tighter regulation, expansion of black-market activity, and obstacles to player retention.
Discussions will extend to specific developments in the Netherlands, UK, Italy, Scandinavia, and Portugal. Additional topics encompass the rise of prediction markets and technology applications for protecting revenue alongside long-term commercial sustainability.
Rasmus Sojmark, CEO and Founder of SBC, said: “This track is about understanding what operators can actually do next. By comparing how mature markets are responding to similar pressures, delegates can see which strategies are working, where regulation may be creating unintended consequences, and what those lessons mean for sustainable growth across the region.”
Technology, Black Markets, and Regional Regulatory Sessions
The opening panel, titled The Impact of Tech on Operator Revenues and Player Retention in Europe, includes Andrew Cochrane (Chief Commercial Officer, Soft2Bet), Paddy Desmond (Group Chief Operating Officer, Tote), Eberhard Dürrschmid (CEO, Golden Whale), Elena Rousseva (CEO of Managed Services, Playtech), and Marinos Shiapanis (CEO, Campeon Gaming). The discussion will weigh innovations that deliver genuine player value and retention against those that add operational complexity without sufficient return.
Subsequent sessions address The Dutch Dilemma: Deposit Caps, Ad Bans and the Black-Market Boom with Cristiano Blanco (Chief Executive Officer, Spincore Group), Björn Fuchs (Chairman, VNLOK), Eric Olders (Chairman & CEO, JOI Gaming / JVH Gaming), and Frank Op de Woerd (CEO, CasinoNieuws.nl). Further panels cover Scandinavia: High Tax, High Standards, High Stakes featuring Fredrik Wastenson (Managing Director Nordics, LeoVegas), Pascal Chaffard (Chief Online Betting & Gaming Officer, FDJ United), Anders Dorph (Director, Danish Gambling Authority), Jesper Eliasson (Director, PAF), and Gustaf Hoffstedt (CEO, BOS.NU). UK, Italian, Portuguese, and prediction market sessions round out the track with corresponding expert panels.
Event Details and Ancillary Meetups
The full SBC Summit runs from 29 September to 1 October 2026 at Feira Internacional de Lisboa and the MEO Arena, drawing more than 40,000 industry professionals. Regulatory Gaming Meetups will supplement the main programme, offering jurisdiction-specific sessions on Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, the UK and Ireland, France, Spain, Portugal, and the Nordics for operators, regulators, and legal specialists.
Reporting: SBC News
Generated by SCCG’s automated editorial system from published source reporting. SCCG Management holds editorial responsibility.
Side-by-side market comparison reveals which compliance strategies preserve revenue — and which accidentally fuel the underground.
We're navigating these pressures daily with operators in the UK, Netherlands, and beyond. September's track offers rare direct comparison of regulatory response across similar markets — the kind of intelligence that separates adaptation from erosion. When retention meets rising friction, you need pattern recognition across borders, not guesswork.
- Netherlands, Scandinavia, UK, Italy sessions plus black-market growth and deposit cap fallout
- 40,000+ attendees, speakers from LeoVegas, Playtech, Danish authorities, and Dutch operator groups
- Technology panel weighs real retention gains versus complexity without ROI
SCCG angle: SCCG partners already work compliance, technology, and licensing providers across these exact markets. We connect operators to the vendors and jurisdictional specialists who've solved the deposit-cap playbook in practice — not theory. If the track surfaces a workable Dutch or Scandinavian model, we broker the introduction the day after.
Gaming, betting and prediction markets — the desk’s read, every weekday.
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