SBC Canada, which runs from May 19-21 in Toronto, will obviously cover the impending legalization of gambling in Alberta. The presence of World Cup games in Canada is also an issue, having caused the conference to be moved to May.
But Aidan Brain, SBC Vice President Conference Production, Americas & Europe, says there’s more to be discussed.
“There’s still so much going on in Ontario, so we will be talking a lot about that,” Brain said during an interview with CDC Gaming. “And beyond state or provincial level regulation and legalization, we’ll be talking about affiliates, about advertising, about responsible gambling, about cyber security.”
Organizers expect that more than 3,000 gaming industry professionals will attend the conference for three days of business, learning, and networking at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. According to a news release, the 2025 edition saw operator registrations rise by 22.9%, representing 41.5% of attendees, while affiliate registrations grew by 63.7%, making up 12.7% of the audience.
Notable will be the forthcoming World Cup games in Toronto and Vancouver. On Wednesday, the session “World Cup, Endless Possibilities” will focus on how operators can carry the momentum generated by the matches forward and sustain interest in football (soccer) wagering.
“I really think that this will be a tentpole event that will generate a lot of interest,” Brain said. “We have a couple of panels on the agenda where we’ll be talking about that and talking about how operators have really been able to build some great marketing around this and turn it into a real tentpole event.”
The Canadian gaming landscape is nothing if not diverse. In sessions including “Beyond Regulation: Understanding Who’s Most at Risk in Canada’s Evolving Gambling Market,” “Omnichannel Opportunities: Land-Based and Lottery Domination on the Horizon?” and “Fragmented Rules, Hidden Risks: Tackling Grey-Market Gambling in Canada” will cover the scope and diversity of gambling in Canada.
“Canada is unique in its provincial structure and in the fact that provinces have had very different approaches towards online gambling,” Brain said. “Obviously Ontario was the first one to fully open up to commercial online gambling with international liquidity. Alberta is now following suit with a very similar, but not exactly the same, model. And then you have British Columbia, which is charging ahead with a platform which is being used in other provinces, such as Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and then you have lots of Quebec doing its own thing as well.
“You really do have a very varied gambling landscape in Canada, and that always makes it very unique for us when we’re trying to build a pan-Canadian event.”
During the summit, attendees will hear from 150 industry speakers. Among them will be OLG President Duncan Hannay, who will deliver opening remarks, followed by Ethics Net/Creed Space Chief Scientist Nell Watson, who will deliver a keynote speech on autonomous AI is reshaping cybersecurity, trust and human oversight in gaming.
In anticipation of Alberta’s launch in June, Dale Nally, Minister of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction, Government of Alberta, will share insights about the development of the province’s regulated igaming framework.
Canadians, Brain noted, share with the rest of the world an enthusiasm and interest in gambling that makes the SBC Summit worthwhile.
“People have a passion for it whether you’re in a regulated market or an unregulated market. The differences are at the regulatory and legislative level,” Brain said. “But I would say anywhere there are sports, there’s gambling, and people are passionate about it.
