The Sheraton Grand Tbilisi Metechi Palace hosted the launch of SBC Summit Tbilisi’s 2026 edition on July 15. The first day of the two-day event was extremely busy. More than 2500 attendees from Eastern Europe, the Balkans, the Baltics, the Caucasus and Central Asia are attending this year’s Summit.
The event has been organized with SMH Global as the regional partner, a repeat from last year’s partnership. Interestingly, more than 2000 delegates from 44 countries had participated in 2025. Day One was all about the questions operators are actually fighting with: how to enter new markets where AI is really paying off and how to compete with the black market that often moves faster than regulation does.
Setting the tone for market entry and regional growth
The first day conference agenda opened with a session called Regional Growth Lab Market Entry playbooks, which got directly to the point: how do companies break into fast-growing markets without losing their grip on compliance, payments or day-to-day operations?
Moderator Nika Gigashvili, CEO of SMH Global, was joined by Giorgi Gvenetadze, COO of Flutter CEE; Kaido Ulejev, CEO of Mindcraft; and David Japaridze, CCO of Setanta Sports, to discuss the trade-offs associated with the rapid regional growth.
Crypto’s shifting role in iGaming
Next in this session was a chat with Toby Gilbert, CEO and Founder of OnRamp, moderated by Giorgio Andrews. The conversation was all about crypto’s role in gaming. They discussed how crypto has moved from being a simple payment option to something closer to a strategic growth tool for operators.
Topics varied from easy payment frictions and reaching underserved markets to reshaping loyalty programs and building more flexible borderless player experiences. The discussion did not shy away from the tough questions. On the other hand, it also touched upon the regulatory and trust issues that will likely define crypto’s next chapter in the iGaming industry.
What comes after crash games?
The panel on the next casino hype turned their attention to what might come next after the crash game. In this discussion Dositej Kosanovic, Casino Director of Maxbet; Miranda Guliashvili, Head of Regional Growth, SOFTSWISS; Denis Karpovich, CTO EGT Georgia; and Luka Kobalia, Chief Production Officer at Smartsoft, discussed crash games, arcade-style formats, AI-driven personalization, and region-specific content; the session was moderated by Ilya Machavariani of 4H Agency.
The takeaway from this track was that operators are looking for the next wave of game mechanics that would keep players engaged without losing sight of responsible gaming.
AI in iGaming
One of the best sessions of the day was AI that actually works in iGaming. Speakers Madlen Silagave, Head-Digital Marketing at Betlive; Lasha Jojua, Head of AI & Innovation at Flutter CEE; Ketevan Potova, Machine Learning Engineer at CROCOBET; Roxana Dinescu from Super; and Jeroen Bruyland from FastTrack tried to separate genuine AI use cases from fraud detection.
They also discussed about risk modeling and personalization from tools that sound impressive but do not move the needle. It was a theme that keeps coming up across iGaming events this year and Tbilisi was no exception. The discussion ended with plenty of appetite for AI but growing impatience with unclear promises.
Georgia’s regulatory story
The Summit being hosted at Tbilisi; it made sense when you hear directly from a local regulator. Vakhtand Katamadze, a supervisory Board member at RSG, who mentioned about Georgia’s position as one of the world’s oldest regulated online gaming markets.
“August will be an opportunity for Georgia to present itself to the global industry not simply as another licensing jurisdiction but as a long-term investment destination.”
“We believe the foundations are already in place. Now it is time to demonstrate that Georgia can offer the regulatory certainty and institutional confidence international businesses expect.”
The conversation covered how the country has built a mature regulatory framework while still adapting to new tech and knowing more about consumer habits and Georgia continues to position itself as a regional hub for both B2C operators and B2B suppliers.
Regulated Growth vs the Black Market
In this event there were few topics that would cause as much debate as this one. The panel Regulated Growth vs. the Black Market. The real battle brought together Bill Pascrell, Partner of Princeton Public Affairs; Anna Agu, Founder and CEO of Lex Law Office OU; Ella Hakobyan, Legal Counsel of Totogaming; and Dan Ilivici, VP of Rombet, with Quirino Mancini of WH Partners Italy moderating the session.
The core problem they discussed was that unlicensed operators often outperform licensed ones on products, payments and user experience simply because they are not slowed down by compliance. The panel looked at how operators, regulators, and payment providers could close that gap without sacrificing the standards that regulation exists to protect.
After the conclusion of summit affairs for Day 1, the delegates headed to the Rolling Stone Rooftop Bar, Telegraph Hotel; the venue for SBC Summit, Tbilisi event opening party. With the city’s skyline in the backdrop, it provided for a relaxed and more comfortable environment to unwind, carry on the conversations, complemented by music and drinks adding on as a lively element.
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