20 intriguing and thought-provoking offerings from SBC North America 2023 that attendees should have in their schedule.
The upcoming SBC Summit North America is set to host a record-breaking 3500 iGaming industry experts and some of the most recognizable brands as they share their knowledge on the flourishing iGaming and sport betting industry in North America.
The extensive conference agenda, which this year will display a stronger focus on iGaming, will tackle a variety of topics such as technological innovation, state-by-state regulations and marketing strategies. The core conference agenda’s far-reaching scope will take place over five stages and 10 dedicated tracks, including iGaming Americas, Sports Betting Product, Marketing/Affiliates and Emerging tech that will host the First Pitch start-up competition. But where should you be focusing your attention?
With topics available to suit every branch of the industry, we’ve picked out 20 of the most intriguing and thought-provoking offerings so that attendees can plan their time effectively and not miss out on the conversations being had amongst some of the industry leading experts.
Day 1
Managing Player Risk through Technology – 1-2pm
Speakers: Keith Whyte, Tammi Barlow & Bill Pascrell III
One of the most important questions for gambling operators is how to use technology to mitigate player risk ie. What technologies are available to monitor and identify player trends in real time? What are the flaws in the present and future solutions? What are the new and near-future regulatory requirements?
Navigating regulatory nuances: Strategies for achieving operational compliance across markets – 1-2pm
Speakers: E. Lauren Lemmer, Sarah Brennan, Cory Fox, Antonio Zanghi & Samantha Haggarty
Moderator: Grace Flanagan
Operators trying to achieve high standards across multiple strands of compliance, must now also consider various regulatory nuances to the requirements across markets in newly-opening states.
Operational Compliance teams need to ensure jurisdictional gaming regulations are adhered to while optimizing organizational integrity, efficiency, and scalability.
The panel discusses strategic solutions to improve efficiencies and ways in which collaboration across operators could benefit the industry.
Maintaining a sustainable player base through an effective player protection strategy of detection and targeted early intervention – 3:30-4:30pm
Speakers: Marlene Warner, Shelley White, Paul Foster, Rachel Gundy & Brianne Doura-Schawhol
Moderator: Paula Murphy
Responsible gambling is often associated with regulatory compliance. As well as being the ethically sound thing to do, there are many other benefits of having a comprehensive player protection strategy – from player retention to effective resource management. Our panel will discuss them all.
Imagine being able to accurately pinpoint the customers who might be at risk of gambling-related harm and engage with them early enough to bring their gambling under control. During this session, we will explore what a sustainable player base actually looks like and how it is possible to achieve a situation where you are proactively protecting all of your players and meeting regulatory requirements.
Safe Bet Show – 14:30 – 5:30pm
Speaker: Amani Toomer
Moderator: Martin Lycka
The latest episode of Martin Lycka’s Safe Bet Show will be hosted live and in person in front of the conference audience. Martin will be delving into all aspects of safer gambling and its impact on gaming legislation across the world.
Day 2
A macro look at micro-betting – 10:50-11:40am
Speakers: Joe Levy, Scott Kaufman-Ross, Andrew Bimson, Mark Hughes & Kevin Fulmer
Moderator:Dan Zucker
In a world that demands more ‘instantaneousness’, sports betting follows that curve. This panel will explore the challenges that surround live betting including general immediate-focused problems such as the latency that comes with a live feed.
iGaming Launch models – Follow sports betting or forge own path – 10:50-11:40am
Speakers: Matthew Sunderland, Joseph Bunveith, Matt Para, David Senior & Eric Nyman
Moderator: Allison McCoy
36 States have launched Sports Betting and, with a sample size that large, there are now lessons that can be learned for new market roll-outs of iGaming.
At the heart of sports betting launch models was a strong emphasis on customer acquisition, but iGaming is starting from a different position. Retail casinos will already have a customer base so an online expansion could see alternative launch models used.
SBC Leaders Panel – How long until iGaming emerges from sports bettings shadow? – 10:50-11:40am
Speakers: Adam Greeblatt, Richard Schwartz & Christian Genetski
Moderator: Yaniv Sherman
Out of the gray, and into the light?
The panel of leaders discusses how the industry can combine a wealth of institutional sports betting knowledge and a short history of success stories with regulators, and how to apply that to create a healthy and prospering iGaming market in the US and Canada.
The panel will debate the timeframes, hurdles and challenges that are occurring as iGaming begins its move to be the second titan in online gambling in North America.
NFT-powered fantasy sports – Exploring the world of Knights of Degan – 11:40am-12:20pm
Speaker: Drew Austin
Moderator: Rick Wolf
Knights of Degen is a web3 sports and gaming company, building NFT-powered RPG Fantasy Sports Games. KOD games bring the thrill of sports betting and fantasy into an on-chain environment with NFT and token rewards, powered by a decentralized community DAO and token.
Revealing US sports bettors buying habits 2023 – 1:20-1:50am
Speaker: James Deaville
The online sportsbook market is one of the most competitive in the world. The pace of change is rapid, and ever-evolving regulations make marketers’ lives difficult. Because of this, it’s important to keep our understanding of customers – and what makes them tick – fresh. This presentation summarizes the results of a survey around past and future spending, the personas betting today, which brands are first choice and why, how US bettors differ from their UK counterparts, the emergence of eSports betting, and key takeaways for sports betting brands to improve their marketing in 2023.
Esports – Turning pro and here to stay – 2:00-2:40pm
Speakers: Amir Mirzaee, Michele Fischer, Hai Ng, Roger Quiles & Vlastimil Venclik
Moderator: Anthony Gaud
As younger generations’ mindsets change, so do their interests and expectations. There’s a straightforward, decreasing correlation between youth and watching slower ‘legacy’ sports. Attentions are focused on gamified experiences and products, such as esports. Numerous talking points arise: How does esports differ from sportsbooks? Should we market betting on esports to the wider public? If so, how do we convince/educate hardcore bettors esports is not just for Gen Z?
A far larger pool of investment was made available for the esports betting industry internationally as markets in Connecticut, New Jersey and Nevada flung open the doors for esports betting in the US. Is this the time for esports betting to live up to its potential, with more funding entering the market than ever, the consolidation of the esports industry and a more robust integrity framework emerging?
In-Arena Sports Book: The driver of omni-channel? – 3:00-3:40pm
Speakers: Bryan Bennett, Scott Warfield, David Grolman, Todd Sims & Deb Krupinski
Moderator: Eben Novy-Williams
Sportsbooks in stadiums are fast becoming commonplace – but how important is it to create a completely new experience for a bettor in situ?
Over 90% of betting happens on a mobile device, creating a seamless omnichannel experience from being in the betting room to betting at their seat. Can a retail environment use automation more effectively?
iGaming – State of play in the playings States – 4:00-4:40pm
Speakers: Brandt Iden, Tres York, Jon Ford & Terry Brenner
Moderator: Evan Davis
A session to discuss and debate where we are on legislation between differing states and provinces.
While we won’t know the full complement until elections have happened, there’s plenty to dissect as regulations are at different stages in different places. Where markets are already live & how they are growing will be at the top of the agenda – and from that will come the lessons for the newly opened states.
Day 3
Facilitating player loyalty and retention with payment strategies – 11:00 – 11:30am
Speaker: John Parsons
The complexities around player retention are becoming more prevalent as competition and player choice increases. Operators are looking for retention tools with low barriers to entry that are complementary to their core product. Improving payment strategies and reducing friction during the deposit and withdrawal process can help facilitate an experience with retention and loyalty in mind. Join us as we discuss real-time payouts, VIP programs, and other payment strategies that can help operators keep their players in an increasingly competitive market.
Sports betting, teams and media – Forensic analysis of converging relationships – 11:00 – 11:40am
Speakers: Sam Sadi, Joseph Solosky, David Highhill & Steve Krombolz
Moderator: Shaun Koiner
This panel is a melting pot of ideas and backgrounds to discuss how partnerships and purchases can help drive the industry together.
Innovations within physical venues & arenas, maximizing digital landscapes for sporting audiences, how content is created, distributed and analyzed, the future of cable, and reflection on convergence and the new business model’s success will all be on the agenda.
Teams & leagues – What’s next for betting partnerships? – 12:00-12:40am
Speakers: Owen Welsh, David Adams, Catherine Carlson & Paris Smith
Moderator: George Harborne
Now that leagues and teams have embraced the positive effect that betting partnerships have on fan engagement, it’s time to look at the next stage on how to drive revenue and increase the productivity of these partnerships.
Should your marketing partnerships focus on new customer acquisition, or double down on retaining your current customer base? With new technology, should you be looking for newer, more relevant operational partnerships?
Studio innovation: Game creation – 12:00-12:40pm
Speakers: Daniel Sahl, Oliver Bartlett, Jason McCulloch, Anthony Singer & Magnus Olsson
Moderator: Maria Healey
A session to discuss or showcase some of the most interesting innovations happening right now within the iGaming world.
Frank Abagnale keynote: Cybercrime, identity theft & scams – 12:40 – 1:10pm
Speaker: Frank Abagnale
Frank Abagnale takes you behind the scenes to show you how simple strategies can thwart today’s cyber criminals. With vivid examples, Abagnale reveals how identity thieves work, why passwords are not keeping you safe, and why safeguarding yourself is particularly important today. Audiences praise his entertaining and informative sessions brimming with practical takeaways for attendees wanting to better protect themselves and their organizations from ever-increasing fraud.
The importance of gambling education and protection of college athletes – 3:00-3:40
Speakers: Jon Steinbrecher, Becky Harris & Dan Trolaro
Moderator: John Millington
Gambling education and protection are important for college athletes to prevent negative consequences such as addiction and financial problems. Providing education and support programs can help them make informed decisions, identify warning signs of addiction, and seek help when needed. Additionally, sports organizations and universities must enforce strict regulations and monitor their behavior to protect them from illegal gambling activities.
Integrity’s role in sports and betting – 4:00-4:40pm
Speakers: Alexandra Roth, Leonardo Villalobos, Jason Van’t Hof, Kelly Pracht & Stacie Stern
Moderator: Matthew Holt
Most people automatically think of match-fixing when they hear the word ‘integrity’, however, it is a much more robust program at most leagues and sports books than many expect it is.
Integrity rolls up into things like illegal betting, past posting, misuse of insider information, officiating, prohibited bettor policies, education, e-sports, data, and a wide array of other issues.
This panel will explore how the most prominent sports leagues and sports book operators are approaching all the different integrity-based issues head-on now and how they are proactively approaching issues expected to come in the future.
Betting on women – 4:00 – 4:40pm
Speakers: Nicole Pawlak, Jessi Coffield & Matt Ellentuck
Moderator: Sue Schneider
With the popularity of the recent Women’s Final Four and the upcoming Women’s World Cup, the focus on women’s sports is growing. Increasing high-profile ownership of women’s professional teams is also on the rise.
We’ll explore how this is changing the offerings at sportsbooks, the increased interest in these products and how things like the lack of data are inhibiting growth. The “Bet on Women” campaign will illustrate how growing this vertical of sports betting may pan out in the future.
