SBC Awards 2026 distribute 39 awards at MEO Arena in Lisbon
Four companies left Lisbon with two statuettes each. Kaizen Gaming, Pragmatic Play, Sportradar, and BetConstruct AI led the distribution of the SBC Awards 2026, whose thirteenth edition concluded on October 1st at the MEO Arena, on the final day of SBC Summit, with 39 categories awarded among operators, suppliers, and industry professionals.
The ceremony was hosted by presenter Kirsty Gallacher and former Dutch footballer Edgar Davids, who presented awards grouped into business leadership, player protection, payments, and product innovation. Rasmus Sojmark, founder and CEO of SBC, said his favorite part of the ceremony is seeing the teams behind each achievement on stage.
Among operators, Vegas Legends won as best small company and Coolbet as best medium company. Kaizen Gaming retained the two categories it already held, best large company and sports betting, while Betsson Group kept the casino category. Novibet repeated in casino innovation and entertainment, and 1xBET defended its marketing campaign award.
On the supply side, Gameburger Studios won as best small developer and Pascal Gaming as best medium developer. Pragmatic Play secured its third consecutive year among large casino and slots developers, and also added the live casino award. BetConstruct AI achieved its double win in sports betting and land-based product, and Sportradar earned its own in marketing and services and in live betting product, an award it had already won in 2024.
The platforms and verticals block was distributed among specialists. White Hat Gaming won in white label, Amusnet in multichannel, SOFTSWISS in aggregation, and Digitain in platforms. Playbook Fusion took virtual sports, Oddin.gg esports, and Stats Perform sports data. Soft2Bet chained its third consecutive award in casino entertainment, and Aviator, the title from SPRIBE, was chosen as the best crash game of the year. Xtremepush won in acquisition and retention, Kanggiten in mobile, and Optimove in industry innovation.
In payments and compliance, Yaspa won for solutions, OKTO Payments for innovation, and Incode for anti-fraud, while EPIC Global Solutions received recognition for social responsibility. The awarded startups were Interplay Tech in casino, Megapari in sports betting, Insightplay AI in sports software, and TaDa Gaming in casino software. ALEA and Allwyn Hellas were named best employers among suppliers and operators. Individually, the leadership of the year went to Vladimir Dokov, CEO of EGT Digital, and Alina Mihaela Popa, CCO of ICONIC21, and David Natroshvili received the Nico Jansen Vision to Reality Award.
The map of winners once again shows an industry with a strong presence in Europe. No brand with an operational base in Latin America is among the awardees, although several names on the list are now central suppliers to the region's regulated markets, from the platforms supporting Brazilian operators to the aggregators distributing content in Peru and Colombia. The ceremony also took place in the same week that Brazil shut down its regulated market, the biggest regulatory blow the sector has received on the continent, a contrast that did not appear on stage but defines the year for a good portion of the award winners.
Tags: SBC Awards 2026, SBC Summit, Kaizen Gaming, gaming industry awards