SBC Awards 2026: Pragmatic Play Wins Both Slot Developer and Live Supplier Categories

A roundup of the SBC Awards 2026 results at the SBC Summit in Lisbon. Pragmatic Play won Casino/Slot Developer – Large and Live Casino Supplier, while Spribe’s Aviator took the Crash Game category.

Ai lionsAI Slot Magazine

Published2026.10.02

Reading time5 min

ProvidersPragmatic Play

On the evening of October 1, at the MEO Arena in Lisbon, Portugal, Pragmatic Play took the stage twice at the SBC Awards 2026, held on the final day of the industry event SBC Summit. The ceremony, now in its 13th year, was hosted by former footballer Edgar Davids and broadcaster Kirsty Gallacher.

Pragmatic’s Two Wins

Pragmatic Play won “Casino/Slot Developer – Large” and “Live Casino Supplier.” That means industry recognition in both its slot and live businesses. This year Pragmatic launched Gates of Olympus 2500 to coincide with the event, and on the live side it was preparing a collaboration with Kevin Hart.

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Three Slot Developer Categories

Gameburger Studios, in the small category, is an exclusive partner studio of Games Global. This year alone, it released a new entry in the “12 Masks of Fire” series with Games Global in September. It is a case of a small studio under a large distributor earning independent recognition.

The Crash Game category went to Spribe‘s Aviator, the game where the multiplier climbs while the plane flies and you have to cash out before it crashes. The fact that Hacksaw and Maxilabs have both released similar crash games this year is also due to the success of Aviator, which opened up the genre.

The SBC Summit is one of the biggest industry events, held in Lisbon every autumn. Operators, suppliers, and payment and regulatory people all gather in one place. Providers use the event to announce new games and roadmaps, and the awards on the last day wrap up the year. This year’s ceremony covered 39 categories.

Operator Winners

In the operator categories, Greece-based Kaizen Gaming swept both the large operator and sportsbook operator categories. The casino operator category went to Betsson Group, and the mid-size operator to Coolbet. Kaizen Gaming is also Yggdrasil’s partner for entering Romania this year.

Elsewhere, the aggregator category went to SOFTSWISS, platform supplier to Digitain, and marketing and services supplier to Sportradar. “Casino Innovation Rising Star,” one of the supplier-side innovation awards, went to Tada Gaming.

In the leadership categories, EGT Digital CEO Vladimir Dokov and Alina Mihaela Popa of Iconic21 were named Leaders of the Year. The Employer of the Year on the supplier side went to Alea, which also added Shady Lady games to its aggregation platform in August.

What stands out about Pragmatic’s wins is that both its slot and live sides were evenly recognized. This year Pragmatic launched the POP brand and expanded its 1000 and 2500 lines in slots, and in live it rolled out the Kevin Hart collaboration and Latin America localized game shows. It also timed its entry into Alberta, Canada, to the opening day. With so much done over the year, winning both categories at the industry awards seems a natural result.

What the Awards Tell Us

Industry awards are, in the end, a place where industry people evaluate one another. For players, an award name doesn’t guarantee a game is fun. Still, the fact that one company won in both slots and live suggests operators see Pragmatic Play as an important supplier in both businesses. You can try Pragmatic games for free in the Pragmatic Play free slots collection.

Source: SBC News