SBC Summit North America expects increased attendance at Meadowlands this July

March 6, 2022 11:03 PM
  • Rege Behe, CDC Gaming Reports
March 6, 2022 11:03 PM
  • Rege Behe, CDC Gaming Reports

Last year’s SBC Summit North America, billed as the leading sports betting and igaming event in North America, drew 2,000 attendees to the Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus, New Jersey. This year? SBC Vice President of Marketing North America Cristian Robalino expects attendance to grow by 50% to 3,000.

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Contessa Brewer and Bill Miller at the 2021 event. Photo by Rege Behe.

Robalino cites the event’s dates, July 12-14, during a gap in the international gambling industry conference schedule, as one reason for his optimism. And the Summit’s core segments, igaming and sports betting, are among the most talked about in the gaming industry.

“And, of course, there’s the weather,” Robalino says via email to CDC Gaming Reports. “Who isn’t going to enjoy a trip to New Jersey and the chance to head over the state line to enjoy New York’s rooftop bars and restaurants in July’s evening temperatures!”

The show floor at the Meadowlands Exposition Center is already sold out, Robalino noting that vendors were “overwhelmingly positive” about last year’s event.

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SBC Vice President of Marketing North America Cristian Robalino

“We have many North American-based vendors coming, together with some big names from Europe,” Robalino says. “As one of them told us last year, the Summit is the place for international companies to show their commitment and desire to become a leading supplier of sports betting services and technology across North America.”

“You only have to look at the data from the launch of betting in New York and the consistently high handle figures from markets such as New Jersey and Pennsylvania to understand the excitement of these industries,” he adds. “What that has generated is a real thirst for knowledge about the next steps for the industry, a desire to tap into the expertise of successful operators from around the world, and a real interest in game-changing technology. And that is not just coming from operators and industry tech companies. There’s also huge interest from the worlds of professional sport, broadcast, print and online media, entertainment, and politics.”

The theme for this year’s event is “Converging Worlds.” Many conference sessions will examine how sports betting, professional sports, entertainment, media, and igaming sectors fit together and how stakeholders can build mutually beneficial relationships.

Another area of convergence is the integration of mainstream technology into online gambling.

“Expect to hear a lot about opportunities created by the development of the metaverse, the growth of NFTs, the role of blockchain, and practical applications for AI-driven personalization in marketing, payments, and safer gambling,” Robalino says.

Other scheduled sessions include “The Roadmap Toward Creating a Better Collegiate Sports Experience,” “The Rise of Women’s Sports – Identifying Shared Goals,” and “Digital-First vs. Omnichannel Strategy.”

“We have unrivaled expertise and connections in the sports betting and online casino spaces,” Robalino adds. “This ensures that our conference agendas focus on the issues that are genuinely important to the industry and helps us to put together speaker lists that feature both big names and specialists from around the world who can provide insights not available anywhere else.”

Returning this year is the Player Protection Symposium, which last year was held at Jay Z’s 40-40 Club in Manhattan and featured an inspirational appearance by radio personality Craig Carton, who spoke at length about his gambling addiction. The site for this year’s Player Protection Summit has not yet been announced.

“What the Player Protection Symposium will again do is bring together stakeholders from across the betting and gaming industry,” Robalino says. “Which includes experts from Europe (where there is greater experience of the fallout from widespread access to 24/7 online gambling), the media, and those involved in professional and college sports to share experiences of best practices and identify ways in which they can collaborate on initiatives that can make real improvements to player protection.”