SBC Summit Americas is a great event because it gives us the opportunity to connect North America with Latin America

As SBC Summit Americas gathered industry leaders from across North and Latin America in Florida last week, key conversations quickly emerged around prediction markets, regulation, responsible gambling, and the evolving landscape of licensed gaming markets. Against the backdrop of one of the industry’s busiest networking events, the show floor reflected both the opportunities and uncertainties shaping the sector today.

Following the first day of the event, Yogonet caught up with Rasmus Sojmark, CEO and Founder of SBC, to discuss the major themes driving discussions among attendees, the growing prominence of prediction markets, and what participants can expect from the remainder of the summit and beyond, including how these conversations are expected to continue at SBC Summit in Lisbon later this year.

What are your takeaways from this edition of SBC Summit Americas?

SBC Summit Americas is always a great event because it gives us the opportunity to connect North America with Latin America. It’s fantastic to see so many representatives from both regions coming together to do business, network, exchange ideas, and share experiences as a connected industry.

Overall, it’s been a very positive first day.

You’ve probably spent a lot of time walking the exhibition floor today. What have you been hearing? What are the main topics of conversation?

Obviously, we’re in the middle of the World Cup, and that has had a major impact on discussions here. We’re in Florida, in the United States, where matches are taking place, so naturally people are talking about the tournament. Some attendees are fully focused on the event, while others have teams back at their offices working around the clock because it’s such a significant moment for the industry.

Beyond that, sweepstakes remain a hot topic. Prediction markets are also generating a huge amount of discussion. People are still trying to answer fundamental questions: Is it gambling? Is it trading? What exactly is it? Should companies invest in platforms to support what could become a growing industry, or is it still too early to tell? There’s still a lot of uncertainty.

I can already tell you that at SBC Summit in Lisbon this September, we’re going to dedicate considerable attention to this subject. We’ll continue the conversation and hopefully provide more clarity around it.

Anything else worth singling out?

Player protection and responsible gambling are also prominent themes. We’re also seeing more licensing activity across multiple jurisdictions. In Canada, Alberta is moving forward. In the U.S., regulation continues to evolve on a state-by-state basis. Latin America is experiencing similar developments. Markets such as Chile and Peru are progressing on the licensing side, while Brazil continues to navigate its regulatory framework.

I think there’s broad recognition of the benefits that a regulated industry can bring, but regulation also requires greater collaboration among governments, regulators, operators, and other stakeholders. Events like this play an important role by bringing those groups together and facilitating stronger conversations about creating effective regulatory frameworks.

Prediction markets were brought up repeatedly throughout the event, even in panels that weren’t specifically focused on the topic. You mentioned this discussion will continue in Lisbon. Do you see SBC’s events as interconnected platforms where these conversations evolve over time across different jurisdictions?

Absolutely. Prediction markets are clearly one of the industry’s hottest topics right now.

Lisbon is one of the largest industry events in the world. Alongside ICE, SBC Summit has become one of the major global gatherings, with around 40,000 attendees expected this year. It brings together stakeholders from across the industry and from all regions of the world.

The discussion around prediction markets is currently very U.S.-focused, but the bigger question is whether this model can succeed and expand into other markets. Lisbon is the natural place to explore that because it attracts such a diverse range of industry leaders and decision-makers.

More broadly, I think there’s a strong continuity between our events. The topics often remain relevant from one conference to the next, even if the audiences vary slightly depending on the region. In the case of prediction markets, I expect we’ll see significant developments over the next three months that will further fuel the debate.

So Lisbon will be a very timely opportunity to revisit the issue.

What do you hope the overall takeaway for SBC Summit Americas will be once everything concludes?

We always gather feedback and assess the overall experience attendees have throughout the event.

Beyond the conference itself, we also have the evening events, including the SBC Awards Americas and the INFINITY Florida party at the Hard Rock. We aim to create a complete experience rather than simply a two-day exhibition and conference.

Hopefully, attendees will have another productive second day, and when they leave, they’ll feel satisfied with the business opportunities they’ve had, the connections they’ve made, and the overall experience SBC has provided.

Ultimately, we want people to leave thinking: “SBC delivered a great event for us, and we definitely want to come back next year.”