June 9–11, 2026 | Broward County Convention Center, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
If there is one must-attend event in the Americas iGaming calendar that most Operators, Suppliers, Affiliates, and Regulators will not miss, it’s SBC Summit Americas. With the 2026 summit taking place on June 9 - 11 at the newly expanded Broward County Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, it promises to be bigger than ever before.
We are headed to South Florida, and before to our arrival, we wanted to provide you with an in-depth explanation of SBC Summit Americas: what it is, what is taking place this year, why it matters for a company operating anywhere in the Western Hemisphere, and what you need to do before you even start packing your bags.
What Is SBC Americas? And Why Does It Exist?
The Sports Betting Community (SBC) has been organising industry events for over a decade. They used to host separate summits for North America and Latin America, but they combined them into one co-hosted event for the first time in 2025, which was extremely successful. The first event in Fort Lauderdale was attended by over 10,000 people from 400+ exhibitors establishing Fort Lauderdale as the leading hub for the gaming industry throughout the Americas.
The reason for merging the two events was not simply one of convenience, but rather to reflect reality - namely that there is increased crossover between the two regions. Latin American operators have been closely watching the developments of US regulations as they seek to utilise it as a template and American companies are looking to LatAm as their next growth opportunity. Payment providers, technology suppliers and affiliates are all looking to serve clients in both regions simultaneously. By having everyone in the same room, it just made sense.
The 2026 version of the event will take everything that was learned from the last two editions and build on them. It will follow the same format, but with larger ambitions, a new venue and the conference agenda will have been refined from what delegates indicated they wanted to see more of based on their feedback from last year.
How the Three Days Are Structured
Before arriving at SBC Summit Americas, it’s essential to have some structure in place as many things are happening at once, and if you do not know what to do, don’t spend your first day figuring it out, but instead use your first day to explore.
June 9 (Tuesday) is Leaders Day as well as the Opening Party
The SBC Leaders Summit Americas is by invitation only and will kick off the conference at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, followed by the Opening Party at The Wharf in Fort Lauderdale. The Leaders Summit is an exclusive invitation-only event; thus, only C-level executives can attend. The format of this structured event differs from the general SBC Summit due to the need for executive decision-makers to hold high-caliber conversations in a forum where they can network and have a structured panel format to allow for meaningful networking opportunities amongst top industry executives.
The first day also serves as the day everyone can pick up their badges to enter the conference, and the event will wrap up with the evening's festivities at the Opening Party. The Opening Party is held at a waterfront venue, offers a laid-back social atmosphere, and provides one of the better opportunities to have informal conversations and/or network with others before the main room becomes more crowded, thereby making it harder to connect post-event.
Wednesday, June 10 - Exhibition Opens, Conference Begins, Awards Evening
During the two main days of the show, we will have the exhibition from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m., with all six conference stages running at the same time and the side summits (described below) going full out.
The SBC Awards Americas will be held on Wednesday evening - an awards ceremony recognising the industry in the Americas region. The awards include a three-course dinner and a full awards programme, and are open to everyone, if your company is nominated or planning on attending, this is one of the major social events on the calendar. Make sure to book early as well as separately.
Thursday, June 11 - Full Day, Then INFINITY Florida
The format for the third day of the show is basically the same as day two. The conferences will both finish on the exhibition floor and the summit will finish with INFINITY Florida at DAER Nightclub inside the Hard Rock Hotel. Last year's event featured Steve Aoki as the headliner, and this year, we will bring you an even bigger and better show. Entry to the event is for VIP Pass Holders and equivalent, and it will run from 9 p.m. until 3 a.m. It is the type of closing party that you will hear people talking about for years to come.
Why the Americas Market Makes This Event So Relevant Right Now
The timing for SBC Summit Americas 2026 is no accident and correlates to both major regions' inflection points. Following the PASPA repeal, the expansion of regulated sports betting in the USA has reached a new level of maturity - most major states launched their sports betting operations within the last year.
The focus now is on competing for market share, optimising operations, navigating stricter advertising regulations, and addressing new product categories such as sweepstakes and prediction markets that are growing rapidly but still exist primarily in grey areas of regulation. This is a sophisticated and competitive marketplace where the operators who will be successful will be those who make well-informed and intelligent decisions regarding the allocation of their resources.
Latin America tells a different but equally compelling story with the ongoing regulation of Brazil, continued development in Chile, and the explosive commercial development of sports betting in Mexico. The whole region is unified in being mobile-first and has fundamentally changed the way products will be designed and delivered to the marketplace.
What iGaming Companies Should Focus On at This Event
We have attended many of these events in the past, and we have found that attendees who get the most out of these events share a few habits:
- Bring market-specific questions to the event rather than generic ones such as “What is happening in LatAm.” - “How are operators in Brazil adjusting their player acquisition costs post-regulation?” are examples of questions worth your time and effort to travel for. The amount of value you receive from the SBC Americas conference will depend on the specificity of your desire for knowledge.
- Treat side summits as first class, not second class - The Affiliate Leaders and Payment Experts Summits do not provide overflow content; they are two of the most commercially beneficial and targeted sessions of the entire conference. If your business includes an affiliate or payments, then these sessions should form a part of your core agenda and not your fall-back plan.
- Do not ignore the North America/LatAm crossover - The dual-region nature of this conference is one of the largest differentiators between this conference and any other in the Americas, and as such, companies looking to operate in either region (or those operating in one but interested in the other) should be moving freely between the North America and LatAm stages rather than limiting themselves to one track.
- Be at The Wharf on Tuesday for the best chance to meet potential contacts before opening day - This is especially true considering the venue is outdoors, laid back, and most people will not have built up the walls they usually do once the show opens on Tuesday night. This makes Tuesday night more valuable for starting conversations than almost any other time during the week.
- Know what you want - If you want to find a payments partner, or if you are trying to identify specific rules governing a specific market, or if you are interested in doing technology integration, know what you want out of this event and how you are going to get it before you arrive. The agenda, list of exhibitors, and SBC Connect app will all be more valuable once you know what you are looking for.
See You in Florida!
Groove will be present in Fort Lauderdale at the SBC Summit Americas 2026 to engage in real conversations that will drive change, NOT to collect badge scans and distribute flyers.
If you plan on attending and would like to discuss game aggregation, content strategy for North or Latin American markets, platform infrastructure, or sweepstakes solutions, please schedule a meeting with our team or reach out to us directly prior to the event.
The Americas are evolving rapidly with Fort Lauderdale being the place to meet the people responsible for the evolution in June - hope to see you in Fort Lauderdale!
