Lisbon, Sunsets and Signed Handshakes: Groove at SBC Summit 2026

Every iGaming conference season has its own rhythm, but Lisbon always stands out by setting its own tempo. This year, Groove arrived in Portugal a little ahead of the crowds and left days later with a full notebook, lots of follow-ups to do, and a clear understanding of the exciting things to come. 

It began at Sunset 

The week kicked off on Monday, September 28: The Summit doors had not even been opened yet, and with Ace Alliance, we organized Sunset Connections at SUD Lisboa. The venue is one of the most famous waterfront venues in Lisbon, and many industry players attended the meeting.

Everything started with cocktails and open views of the water, shifted to a good meal accompanied by live music, and moved into a lounge where nobody wanted to leave. It was the kind of event where business meetings take place automatically: people get to know each other, exchange ideas, and agree to meet again the next day. As Majduca Aydin, Managing Director at Ace Alliance, said, it was the most powerful room in Lisbon, and with the guest list consisting of both established and new players, one can easily understand why.

The best part was the tone. Less formality, more real conversation. It set the mood for everything that followed.

Three days, six stages, Meetings that ran over 

SBC Summit ran from 29 September to 1 October with a reworked six-stage agenda covering Global & Emerging Markets, Technology & Innovation, Payments, Regulation & Compliance and the Affiliate Leaders Summit, plus headline sessions on the Super Stage at the MEO Arena. You could feel how connected these topics have become: payments shape where players choose to play, regulation shapes product, and technology shapes how quickly operators can respond to both.

Our team was in the middle of it for all three days. We met new operators and potential partners, caught up with clients we usually only see on video calls, deepened long-standing relationships and explored opportunities across several markets. Many meetings began with a booked slot and ran well past it. That is how we like it.

The Groove Story 

Regardless of the start of the conversation, it somehow ended up in one conclusion: operators don’t want to deal with too many things; they need it to be simple. Groove offers them over 20,000 games from over 150 providers in the framework of one integration, so that the partners can access and manage high-quality content without making much effort. It was nice to see that the message has been well received everywhere.

What we brought home  

• Simplicity is the advantage - Today’s operators want fewer integrations as there are too many markets to take into account and manage.

• New regions have come to life -  Africa, Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East and Latin America were given special attention, and people showed interest in them throughout the event.

• Payments and compliance have become a part of the product - The topic was brought up in conversations independently on the specialist blocks.

• Relationships still win -  Although the industry is filled with dashboards, the idea of actual communication is still alive.

Lisbon, as it happened

We also took our audience along with us. Through reels, interviews, partner appearances, photos, stories and live posts, we shared the week as it unfolded, including the people and partnerships behind the platform. If you followed along, thank you. If you appeared in a reel, you made it better.

Groove’s CEO - Yahale Meltzer 

,,Lisbon reminded us why we do this. Sunset Connections with Ace Alliance gave our partners space for real conversations, and that energy carried through the whole Summit. We're coming home with new ideas, stronger relationships and a clear picture of where our partners want to grow next.’’

What's next

Lisbon was a great start to the autumn season, and we're already carrying its momentum forward. The conversations we started there don't end when the Summit does. If we missed you in Lisbon, or you'd like to pick up where we left off, contact us, our team would love to hear from you.