If you work anywhere in the iGaming, sports betting, or affiliate marketing space in the Western Hemisphere, there is one event that anchors your entire calendar. SBC Summit Americas 2026 is the largest sports betting and iGaming conference in the Americas, and it is returning to the Broward County Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida from June 9-11, 2026.
This is not a small niche gathering. Last year’s edition drew nearly 10,000 delegates, close to 4,000 operators, and almost 1,000 affiliates — all under one roof. Those numbers alone should tell you something about the gravity of this event, but they only scratch the surface.
As someone who has walked that convention center floor, shaken hands with C-level executives over bad coffee, and watched real deals get sealed over drinks at the waterfront afterparty, I can tell you from experience: SBC Summit Americas is where the business actually happens. DailyWagerZone is a contracted media partner of SBC Events, and this year we will be on the ground covering every angle that matters to affiliates, operators, and marketers.
The timing in 2026 could not be more significant. The U.S. sports betting market continues its state-by-state expansion, with new legislation moving through states like Wisconsin, Massachusetts, and Tennessee pushing sweepstakes bans that reshape how operators and affiliates do business. Latin American regulation is accelerating at a pace few predicted. AI is disrupting everything from customer acquisition to content strategy. Prediction markets are exploding — we covered the Kalshi prediction market surge in detail — and that topic will absolutely dominate panel discussions this year.
If you are deciding whether SBC Summit Americas 2026 deserves a spot on your calendar, this guide is your definitive resource.
What Is SBC Summit Americas and How Big Is It Really?
SBC Summit Americas is the flagship Western Hemisphere event from SBC Events, the company that also produces SBC Summit Lisbon — the largest iGaming event in the world. The Americas edition focuses specifically on the North American and Latin American markets, bringing together the entire ecosystem under one convention center.
Here are the numbers that matter:
- 9,899 delegates attended the most recent edition
- 3,959 operators were in attendance
- 990 affiliates walked the floor
- 396 exhibitors and sponsors filled the expo
- 248 speakers across six simultaneous stages
- 22,000 square meters of exhibition space
These are not aspirational projections. Those are real figures from the last event, and 2026 is expected to be even larger thanks to the newly expanded Broward County Convention Center, which underwent a $1.3 billion redevelopment.
The event runs three days, with the first day focused on badge collection and evening networking, followed by two full days of expo, conference sessions, and deal-making.
What Makes SBC Summit Americas a Must-Attend for iGaming Affiliates?
I get asked this question constantly, and my answer is always the same: it is the density of decision-makers in one place. Nowhere else in the Americas will you find nearly 4,000 operators walking the same floor as you, wearing orange and yellow badges that make them easy to identify.
The Affiliate Leaders Summit
The Affiliate Leaders Summit runs as a dedicated component within SBC Summit Americas, and your main event pass covers it entirely — no separate ticket needed. It has its own stage with programming split across both days. Day 1 focuses on the North American affiliate landscape, while Day 2 shifts to Latin America.
The topics are exactly what you would expect from a summit designed for people who actually run affiliate businesses: branding strategy, AI-driven MarTech, mobile-first user acquisition, customer retention and reactivation playbooks, and the evolving compliance landscape.
The speaker roster reads like a who’s-who of affiliate leadership. Aidan Toolan, CEO of Fortuna Edge Media, will be speaking alongside Adam Fiske from Cipher Sports, Felipe Pastenes who runs Miela Digital, and Caleb Dykema from Vault Sports. On the operator side, you will hear from Jon Bowden, CMO at PlayStar Gaming Group, and Andrew Garven, Head of Affiliate Marketing at Bet99.
For anyone building affiliate operations in Latin America, Joaquin Gago from BETANDEAL and Marcos Oliveira from Clever Advertising Group bring perspectives you simply cannot get from reading industry news.
Free VIP Passes for Affiliates
Here is the part that makes the decision easy. SBC offers complimentary VIP passes to eligible affiliates. Let me repeat that: the full VIP experience — expo floor, all conference sessions, evening events including the Opening Party and the INFINITY closing party, a preloaded food card, and on-demand content access — all free.
You apply online, and if you qualify as an affiliate, you are in. There is no catch, no upsell once you arrive. SBC genuinely wants affiliates in the building because they make the event more valuable for every operator and platform provider paying for booth space.
DailyWagerZone Insider Tip: Apply for your complimentary affiliate VIP pass early. These passes go fast, and verification can take a few business days. Do not wait until May to apply for a June event.
The SBC Summit Americas 2026 Schedule: Day-by-Day Breakdown
Understanding the schedule is critical to maximizing your time. Here is exactly how the three days break down.
Tuesday, June 9 — Arrival and First Impressions
Badge collection opens at noon and runs until 5pm at the Broward County Convention Center. Do not skip this. Collect your badge Tuesday so you are not standing in line Wednesday morning when the floor opens.
The evening kicks off with two events running simultaneously. The SBC Leaders Americas Dinner runs from 6-11pm at Pier Sixty-Six — this is invite-only and targets C-suite executives. For everyone else, the Opening Party starts at 7pm at The Wharf and runs until midnight.
I cannot overstate how important the Opening Party is for affiliates. The conversations that happen there — relaxed, unscripted, away from the formality of booth meetings — are where relationships start. Last time I attended the Fort Lauderdale event, I watched two affiliate managers and an operator VP map out an entire partnership deal on a cocktail napkin at the waterfront bar. That is not an exaggeration.
Wednesday, June 10 — Full Throttle
The main expo and conference run from 8am to 6pm. Six stages are running simultaneously: Leadership, North America, Latin America, Marketing & Affiliates, Payments & Tech, and Player Protection. You cannot attend everything, so plan your priority sessions in advance using the SBC Connect app.
Wednesday evening features the SBC Awards Americas ceremony, which requires a separate ticket but is worth attending if you want to see who is being recognized across the industry.
Thursday, June 11 — Close Strong
The expo and conference run 8am to 5pm. This is the day when the floor thins out slightly in the afternoon, and honestly that is when some of the best conversations happen. Exhibitors are less rushed, operators have gotten through their planned meetings, and there is more room for the spontaneous connections that create real business.
The event closes with INFINITY Florida, SBC’s legendary closing party, running from 9pm to 3am at DAER Nightclub and Dayclub at the Hard Rock Hotel. If you have ever wondered what happens when you put thousands of iGaming professionals in a world-class nightclub in South Florida — the answer is exactly what you think.
DailyWagerZone Insider Tip:Thursday afternoon between 2-4pm is the hidden sweet spot. Booth traffic drops, but the serious decision-makers are still on the floor. This is when I have had my most productive conversations at past SBC events.
What to Expect on the Exhibition Floor
The expo floor at SBC Summit Americas spans 22,000 square meters with 396 exhibitors and sponsors. Walking it without a plan is overwhelming. Walking it with a plan is where the magic happens.
How to Navigate 22,000 Square Meters
Download the SBC Connect app before you arrive. Seriously, this is not optional. The app includes a full floor plan, exhibitor directory, and — most importantly — a meeting planner that lets you schedule sit-downs with exhibitors and attendees before the show even starts.
The badge color system is your cheat code for the floor. Orange and yellow badges are operators. Purple badges are affiliates. Blue badges are everyone else — platform providers, payment companies, media, and service providers. When you are scanning a crowd and trying to decide who to approach, those colors tell you everything.
The expo floor is organized thematically, so payment providers cluster together, platform companies are in one zone, and so on. My approach has always been to do one full walk-through on the first morning just to orient myself, then go back to targeted booths for real conversations.
Making Booth Meetings Count
Every major exhibitor has a meeting room or private space behind their booth. If you want a real conversation — not a two-minute pitch while someone else waits behind you — book a meeting in advance through the SBC Connect platform or reach out directly via LinkedIn before the event.
Come prepared. Know what you need from the meeting, bring your media kit or rate card if you are an affiliate, and have a clear ask. The people staffing booths at SBC Americas have hundreds of meetings across two days. You want to be the one they remember.
DailyWagerZone Insider Tip: When scheduling booth meetings, ask for the first slot of the day or the last slot before lunch. Those are the times when booth teams are freshest and most focused. Mid-afternoon is when fatigue sets in for everyone.
The Conference Stages: Where Ideas Meet Strategy
SBC Summit Americas 2026 runs six conference stages simultaneously, which means you need to be strategic about where you spend your time.
The Six Stages
- Leadership Stage — C-suite perspectives on market direction, regulation, and corporate strategy
- North America Stage — U.S. and Canadian market deep-dives, state-by-state analysis, tribal gaming developments
- Latin America Stage — Brazil regulation, Colombia growth, Mexico opportunities, regional affiliate strategies
- Marketing & Affiliates Stage — This is your home base if you are an affiliate. Acquisition strategies, SEO and content in the AI era, retention marketing, brand building
- Payments & Tech Stage — Payment processing, crypto integration, platform technology, fraud prevention
- Player Protection Stage — Responsible gambling, regulatory compliance, self-exclusion technology
For affiliates, the Marketing & Affiliates stage is obviously the primary draw, but do not sleep on the North America and Latin America stages. Understanding where regulation is heading directly impacts where you should be building. We have been tracking the Ohio mobile betting bill and similar state-level developments — the context you get from these stages helps you make smarter business decisions.
Notable Speakers to Watch
The speaker lineup includes 248 voices across the three days, but a few names stand out for affiliate professionals:
- Adam Fiske, CEO of Cipher Sports — One of the sharpest minds in sports betting content and affiliate strategy
- James White, Co-Founder and COO of HotTakes — Building at the intersection of engagement and wagering
- Bryan Bennett, Head of Americas at RPM Gaming — Deep operator-side perspective on what affiliates get wrong
- Andrew Garven, Head of Affiliate Marketing at Bet99 — Direct insight into what operators actually want from affiliate partners
The Latin American speakers are equally compelling if you are looking at emerging markets. Felipe Pastenes from Miela Digital and Joaquin Gago from BETANDEAL bring on-the-ground perspectives from markets that are growing at rates the mature U.S. market can only envy.
Networking Beyond the Expo Floor
The conference sessions and exhibition are the structured framework of SBC Summit Americas. The networking events are where the real culture of the event comes alive.
The Opening Party at The Wharf
Tuesday evening at The Wharf sets the tone for the entire event. The waterfront setting in Fort Lauderdale is stunning — South Florida does outdoor evening events better than anywhere else in the country. This is not a stiff industry cocktail hour. It is a genuine social event where the badges come off and people connect as people first, business contacts second.
INFINITY Florida at Hard Rock
The closing party is something else entirely. DAER Nightclub at the Hard Rock Hotel is a world-class venue, and SBC goes all out. The INFINITY series of parties has become legendary across the global iGaming circuit, and the Florida edition lives up to the brand. It runs from 9pm to 3am, and yes, business gets discussed on the dance floor at 1am. I have seen it happen more times than I can count.
The SBC Connect App and Meeting Planner
Beyond the parties, the SBC Connect app is a genuine networking tool. It includes advanced user search so you can find specific people by company, role, or market focus. The private chat function lets you arrange impromptu meetings, and the meeting planner helps you lock down sit-downs days or weeks before the event.
Use it. The people who come to SBC Summit Americas with a pre-loaded meeting calendar consistently walk away with more tangible outcomes than those who wing it.
What It Is Actually Like on the Ground: A First-Hand Perspective
I want to step away from the event details for a moment and tell you what SBC Summit Americas actually feels like when you are there.
The Broward County Convention Center sits in a part of Fort Lauderdale that feels distinctly different from the tourist-heavy strip. There is a waterfront energy to the area that makes the whole event feel less like a traditional convention and more like an industry gathering in a place people actually want to be. The South Florida vibe is real — you are grabbing lunch outside, networking on patios, and taking meetings with the sun on your face.
Walking the floor for the first time is genuinely impressive. Twenty-two thousand square meters of exhibition space, six stages of content, and nearly 10,000 people creates a buzz that is hard to describe until you have experienced it. The energy is different from other iGaming shows I have covered, including the IGA Digital Play Summit and other regional events. SBC has a way of attracting people who are there to do business, not just to be seen.
One moment that sticks with me from a past event: I was walking between the North America stage and a booth meeting when I literally bumped into someone I had been trying to connect with for months via email. We ended up grabbing coffee, had a twenty-minute conversation that would have taken weeks to schedule remotely, and it led to a content partnership that lasted over a year. That is the kind of thing that happens at SBC Americas, and it happens constantly.
The food situation has also evolved significantly. SBC provides preloaded food cards for VIP pass holders, and there are multiple food options throughout the venue. It is not gourmet dining, but it is far better than the sad conference sandwiches you get at most trade shows.
What I appreciate most is the concentration of affiliates. With nearly 1,000 affiliates at the last edition, you are surrounded by peers. The affiliate lounge areas become mini networking hubs where people trade strategies, share war stories, and compare notes on which operator programs are actually worth their time.
Practical Attendee Guide: How to Prepare for SBC Summit Americas 2026
1. Registration and Badges
Register online as early as possible. If you qualify as an affiliate, apply for the complimentary VIP pass — it gives you full access to everything including evening events. Operators also qualify for complimentary passes.
If you are not eligible for a free pass, the main options are the VIP Event Pass (full access, all networking events, food card) or the Expo+ Pass (expo floor and conference sessions, but no evening events or complimentary meals).
Badge collection opens Tuesday, June 9 from noon to 5pm at the Broward County Convention Center. Pick up your badge on Tuesday. Do not be the person fighting the Wednesday morning rush.
2. Hotels and Accommodation
SBC partners with Connections Housing for discounted hotel rates near the venue. Fort Lauderdale has plenty of hotel inventory, but the good properties near the convention center book up fast. My recommendation: book your hotel the moment you register.
The venue is at 1950 Eisenhower Blvd, and the surrounding area has a mix of waterfront hotels and chain properties. Staying within walking distance or a short ride of the convention center will save you significant time and stress.
3. Travel Tips
Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) is the closest airport, and it is a quick ride to the convention center. Miami International Airport (MIA) is also an option but adds transit time. If you are flying in from Latin America, both airports have strong international connections.
Rent a car if you plan to explore South Florida beyond the event. Rideshare works fine for getting between the hotel, convention center, and evening events, but surge pricing during event hours can add up.
What to Bring
- Business cards — Yes, people still use them. Have plenty.
- Portable charger — You will be on your phone constantly using the SBC Connect app.
- Comfortable shoes — 22,000 square meters of expo floor is a lot of walking.
- Light layers — The convention center air conditioning can be aggressive. South Florida outside is hot. Dress accordingly.
- A clear meeting schedule — Print it out as a backup. Phone batteries die at the worst moments.
DailyWagerZone Insider Tip: Bring a small notebook or use a dedicated notes app to jot down key takeaways after each meeting. By Thursday afternoon, the conversations start to blur together if you do not document them in real time.
The DailyWagerZone Perspective: What We Are Covering at SBC Americas
As a contracted media partner of SBC Events, DailyWagerZone will be on the ground at SBC Summit Americas 2026 covering the stories that matter to our readers — affiliates, operators, and anyone building in the iGaming space.
Our coverage priorities this year include:
- The U.S. state-by-state expansion and how new legislation is creating affiliate opportunities in previously closed markets
- Latin American market growth, particularly Brazil’s regulated market and its impact on affiliate strategy
- AI’s role in affiliate marketing — from content generation to programmatic acquisition
- The prediction markets boom and what it means for traditional sports betting affiliates
- Emerging operator programs that affiliates should know about
If you are attending SBC Summit Americas and want to connect with the DWZ team, reach out before the event. We are always looking to hear from affiliates with stories worth telling and operators who are doing things differently.
Is SBC Summit Americas Worth the Trip? The Bottom Line
Let me be direct. If you are an affiliate operating in North America or Latin America, SBC Summit Americas 2026 is the single most important event on your calendar this year. The combination of nearly 4,000 operators, a dedicated Affiliate Leaders Summit, free VIP passes for qualified affiliates, and world-class networking events makes this the place where your next twelve months of business gets shaped.
The online gambling market is projected to grow by $150 billion by 2027, and the people driving that growth will all be in Fort Lauderdale in June. The only question is whether you will be in the room with them.
I have been to enough industry events to know the difference between a show that fills a calendar and one that fills a pipeline. SBC Summit Americas fills pipelines.
Frequently Asked Questions
SBC Summit Americas 2026 takes place June 9-11, 2026 at the Broward County Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The venue address is 1950 Eisenhower Blvd, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316. Badge collection begins Tuesday June 9, with the main expo and conference running Wednesday and Thursday.
Eligible affiliates and operators can apply for complimentary VIP passes that include full access to the expo, all conference sessions, evening networking events including the Opening Party and INFINITY closing party, a preloaded food card, and on-demand content access — all at no cost. Paid options include the VIP Event Pass and the Expo+ Pass for those who do not qualify for complimentary passes.
The Affiliate Leaders Summit is a dedicated conference track within SBC Summit Americas that focuses specifically on affiliate marketing in iGaming. It features its own stage programming split across two days — Day 1 covers North American affiliate strategies and Day 2 focuses on Latin American markets. Topics include AI-driven MarTech, mobile-first acquisition, branding, and retention. Access is included with any SBC Summit Americas pass at no additional cost.
The most recent edition of SBC Summit Americas drew 9,899 delegates, including 3,959 operators, 990 affiliates, and 396 exhibitors and sponsors. The event featured 248 speakers across six simultaneous conference stages and 22,000 square meters of exhibition space, making it the largest sports betting and iGaming conference in the Western Hemisphere.
SBC Summit Americas 2026 includes multiple networking events. The Opening Party takes place Tuesday evening at The Wharf, a waterfront venue in Fort Lauderdale. The INFINITY Florida closing party runs Thursday night from 9pm to 3am at DAER Nightclub and Dayclub at the Hard Rock Hotel. VIP pass holders get access to all evening events. The SBC Awards Americas ceremony also takes place during the event but requires a separate ticket.
Affiliates can apply for a complimentary VIP pass directly on the SBC Summit Americas website. The free VIP pass includes full expo access, all conference sessions, evening networking events, a preloaded food card, and on-demand content. Eligibility is verified by SBC’s affiliate relationship team. Apply early as passes are limited and verification takes several business days.
Bring plenty of business cards, a portable phone charger for using the SBC Connect app throughout the day, comfortable walking shoes for the 22,000 square meter expo floor, light layers for the transition between air-conditioned convention center and South Florida heat, and a printed backup of your meeting schedule. Download the SBC Connect app before arriving to schedule meetings and navigate the floor plan.
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