SBC Summit AI Academy 2026: What to Expect in Lisbon

SBC Summit's new AI Academy launches in Lisbon on Tuesday, September 29, 2026, as part of a four track Education+ program running alongside the main SBC Summit conference. The 90 minute session, held at Sala Tejo inside the MEO Arena, covers generative AI, AI agents, deepfake fraud and human AI collaboration, with named speakers from Sportradar, Entain, Betsson and other operators and suppliers. It costs 249 euros as an add on to a standard SBC Summit or Affiliate Leaders Summit ticket.

Updated July 2026.

Key facts

• SBC Summit 2026 runs September 29 to October 1, 2026, at Feira Internacional de Lisboa and the MEO Arena in Lisbon, Portugal (source: SBC Events).
• The event is on track to draw 40,000 attendees from more than 150 countries, with over 800 exhibitors and sponsors (source: SBC Events).
• The AI Academy runs September 29 from 13:30 to 17:00 and is priced at a 249 euro Education+ add on (source: SBC Events, Tech Academies page).

What is SBC Summit's AI Academy?

The AI Academy is a dedicated, hands on training track inside SBC Summit 2026's new Education+ program, built to teach delegates how to actually apply artificial intelligence rather than just hear about it in keynote form. According to SBC Events' Tech Academies page, the track focuses on generative AI and predictive analytics, including how operators use machine learning to understand player behaviour and lift engagement. Sessions are billed as a mix of live demonstrations, workshops, case studies and audience Q&A rather than one way presentations.

When and where does the AI Academy take place?

The AI Academy is scheduled for Tuesday, September 29, 2026, from 13:30 to 17:00, inside Sala Tejo at the MEO Arena, one of the venues hosting SBC Summit's wider six stage conference program in Lisbon. That places it on day one of the four day event, which runs through October 1.

What sessions are on the AI Academy agenda?

Confirmed sessions span player analytics, autonomous AI agents, physical AI and fraud prevention, according to SBC News. The published agenda includes "Data and AI: Limits and Lessons" on player behaviour analysis and sports data enrichment, "When Agents Speak for You and the Future of Interaction" on voice agents and autonomous AI representatives, "AI Wearables, Robotics and Human Augmentation" demonstrating smart glasses and exoskeletons, "Trust Test: Deepfakes, AI Fraud and the New Era of Impersonation" on voice cloning and AI generated identities, and an interactive workshop titled "Build Your Own AI Assistant" for marketing, CRM and analytics use cases.

Who are the confirmed speakers at the AI Academy?

SBC News names a specific speaker for each session. Behshad Behzadi, Chief Technology Officer at Sportradar, leads the data and AI session. Javier Troncoso, CEO and co founder of Insightplay.ai, and Jeffrey Haas, Managing Director of the ID8 Global Gaming Business Accelerator, cover AI agents. John Caldwell, co founder of i3Soft, leads the wearables and robotics session. The deepfake and fraud panel brings together Shelley Langan-Newton, co founder and CEO of SQR, Lluis Mora, Chief Security Officer at Entain, Donald Tabone, Chief Information Security Officer at Betsson, and Roberta Nicholls, Head of Chapter at the AI Collective. Mayank Pachauri, founder and CEO of FalconDive, runs the closing AI assistant workshop.

How much does the AI Academy cost and how do I get access?

The AI Academy is not included in a standard SBC Summit pass. It is unlocked through the Education+ upgrade, priced at 249 euros, which is exclusive to Education+ Pass holders and stacks on top of an SBC Summit or Affiliate Leaders Summit ticket, according to SBC Events.

What other Tech Academies are running alongside it?

The AI Academy is one of four Tech Academies inside Education+. The table below compares all four, based on SBC Events' official program.

Academy	Date and time	Focus
AI Academy	September 29, 13:30 to 17:00	Generative AI, AI agents, deepfake fraud, predictive analytics
Gamification Academy	September 29, 13:30 to 17:00	Gamification design, customer psychology, player retention (presented by Soft2Bet)
Marketing Academy	September 30, 13:30 to 17:00	Performance, brand and content marketing, influencer strategy, campaign ROI
Web 3.0 Academy	September 30, 13:30 to 17:00	Blockchain fundamentals, tokenization, decentralized platforms, crypto payments

Why is SBC Summit doubling down on AI education in 2026?

SBC founder and CEO Rasmus Sojmark framed the push around a specific risk, telling SBC News: "The biggest mistake businesses can make with AI is treating it like a shortcut." That comment underlines why the AI Academy is structured around applied skills and named practitioners rather than general AI hype, at a moment when operators are under pressure to show real returns on AI spending in player analytics, marketing and fraud prevention.

How does the AI Academy fit into SBC Summit's six stage conference?

SBC Summit 2026's main program is split into six conference stages, covering Global and Emerging Markets, Technology and Innovation, the Payment Expert Summit, the Affiliate Leaders Summit, Regulation and Compliance, and the Super Stage, according to SBC News' coverage of the 2026 agenda. The Tech Academies, including the AI Academy, run as a paid, ticketed layer on top of that stage program rather than replacing any of it, giving delegates a smaller, workshop style room instead of a keynote hall.

Why does deepfake fraud training matter for iGaming right now?

Putting Entain's and Betsson's security chiefs on the same deepfake panel signals that AI generated fraud has moved from a theoretical concern to an operational one for major operators. Voice cloning and synthetic identity fraud threaten know your customer checks, customer support channels and account takeover defences, all systems that regulated sportsbooks and casinos rely on to meet licensing obligations. A dedicated session pairing a security vendor founder with in house CSOs suggests operators want practical detection tools, not just awareness.

What does 40,000 attendees and 150 countries tell us about SBC Summit's scale?

SBC Events puts expected attendance at 40,000 people from across the gaming industry, with more than 800 exhibitors and sponsors and delegates from over 150 countries. That scale is why a paid, capacity limited track like the AI Academy matters: with tens of thousands of delegates spread across six stages and a 135,000 square metre show floor, a focused 90 minute workshop room is one of the few formats built for direct access to named experts rather than crowd viewing.

How does this compare to SBC Summit's past AI content?

SBC Summit has run AI focused talks on its main stages in prior years, but the 2026 edition is the first to package AI into a standalone, paid Tech Academy alongside Gamification, Marketing and Web 3.0 tracks. Structuring it as one of four specialist academies, each with its own day, room and named host organisation such as Soft2Bet for Gamification, points to SBC treating applied AI skills as a distinct commercial product rather than a single conference session.

What should operators and affiliates do before SBC Summit 2026?

Delegates who want the AI Academy need to budget for the 249 euro Education+ upgrade in addition to their SBC Summit or Affiliate Leaders Summit pass, and should expect to choose between the AI Academy and the Gamification Academy since both run in the same September 29 slot. Anyone focused on marketing or Web 3.0 topics has a separate choice to make on September 30, when those two academies overlap instead.

Frequently asked questions

When is SBC Summit 2026?

SBC Summit 2026 runs from September 29 to October 1, 2026, in Lisbon, Portugal, at Feira Internacional de Lisboa and the MEO Arena.

When is the AI Academy specifically?

The AI Academy runs on the first day of the event, September 29, 2026, from 13:30 to 17:00, at Sala Tejo inside the MEO Arena.

How much does the AI Academy cost?

Access requires the Education+ upgrade, priced at 249 euros on top of a standard SBC Summit or Affiliate Leaders Summit ticket.

Who is speaking at the AI Academy?

Confirmed speakers include Behshad Behzadi of Sportradar, Javier Troncoso of Insightplay.ai, Jeffrey Haas of ID8 Global Gaming Business Accelerator, John Caldwell of i3Soft, Shelley Langan-Newton of SQR, Lluis Mora of Entain, Donald Tabone of Betsson, Roberta Nicholls of the AI Collective, and Mayank Pachauri of FalconDive.

What other Tech Academies run at SBC Summit 2026?

Alongside the AI Academy, SBC Summit is running a Gamification Academy on September 29 and Marketing and Web 3.0 Academies on September 30.

How big is SBC Summit 2026 expected to be?

SBC Events expects around 40,000 attendees from more than 150 countries and over 800 exhibitors and sponsors.