iGB L!VE 2026 kicks off today: networking, innovations and market insights at ExCeL London

Operators, affiliates, technology vendors, gaming providers and innovators come together to discuss the future of the industry.

UK.- iGB L!VE 2026 has officially opened its doors today at ExCel London. The event brings the igaming community together in one place for two days of conferences, product and innovation showcases, and networking.

The venue’s doors opened at 9.30 am, and the first visitors quickly began to arrive to explore the exhibition halls, which this year feature more than 200 exhibitors, including: 1xBet, Affigates, Alea, Altenar, Amusnet, BC. GAME, BetConstruct AI, Boomerang Partners, Digitain, EGT Digital, EvenBet Gaming, Fast Track, GR8_TECH, Greentube, MelBet, Merkur Partners, N1 Partners, PopOK Gaming, Pragmatic Play, Slotegrator, Soft2Bet, SOFTSWISS, TaDa Gaming and Uplatform, amongst others.

This year, the organisers of iGB L!VE 2026 expect more than 15,000 people to attend over the two days of the event, breaking the attendance record set at the 2025 edition, the first to be held in London.

Exclusive forums for industry leaders

One of the main additions to this year’s edition is a stronger emphasis on early-stage businesses and market expansion. The agenda includes the Africa Summit, a one-day forum bringing together operators and regulators from Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Ethiopia and Ghana to discuss the path towards a more unified pan-African gaming market, while the event’s WorldGaming M&A Summit brings together some of the industry’s most influential dealmakers for a focused afternoon of insight, networking and opportunity.

Highlights include the iGB Startup Accelerator, designed for ambitious igaming startups as an exclusive summit where founders, investors and industry leaders get together for a day of practical advice, profound conversations, and high-value networking. This year’s iGB L!VE also includes the Pitch iGB, featuring five leading start-ups seeking investment and strategic partnerships; the Sustainable Gambling Zone, dedicated to best practices and tools for player protection; and the iGB Affiliate Awards, which recognise leading affiliates across the sector.

What is the agenda for the conference sessions and networking events at iGB L!VE 2026?

Some of the featured panels that are taking place over the two days at iGB L!VE 2026 are:

• Towards Cooperative African Gaming Markets: Enabling Growth through Best Practice: Bashir Are, CEO of the Lagos State Lotteries and Gaming Authority; Lungile Dukwana, CEO of the National Gambling Board of South Africa; Olabimpe Akingba, head of responsible gaming at PawaTech & AiA Board Member; and Peter Kestilwe, CEO of the African iGaming Alliance (AiA) will discuss the current state of regulatory fragmentation and AIA’s role in driving regulatory cooperation and best practice throughout the continent, how to develope regulatory standards that can be adapted and integrated into different jurisdictions, and how efforts to combat excessive taxation are being combatted across the continent.
• Securing the Ecosystem: How players, Operators and Suppliers can Reduce the Power of the Illegal Market: 2026 research by Entain has shown an undeniable fact: the illegal market is an ecosystem-wide threat, and understanding the causes, drivers and challenges to avoiding illegality in igaming are now imperative, if the illegal market is to be meaningfully limited. Presenting data from customer, operator, policy and supplier perspectives, Entain’s research highlights the issue that threatens the sustainability of our shared industry.
• Inside the UK Gambling Commission: Priorities, Pressures and the Path Forward: Opening the Sustainable Gambling Zone at iGB L!VE, this in-conversation session with Tim Miller, former executive director of the Gambling Commission, will explore how regulatory priorities are evolving in response to growing challenges around illegal gambling, financial risk and cross-border enforcement.
• France in focus: Detecting excessive gambling, a regulatory approach: In this presentation, a data analyst from the French regulator (ANJ) will bring you backstage and show you how the algorithm was built and validated, starting with the selection of the best behavioural variables to real-life use of the algorithm.
• The Future of Taxation, Channelisation and Sustainable Market Growth: Dan Thomson, chief commercial officer at PawaTech; Ed Birkin, managing director at H2 Gambling Capital; John Mutua, CEO of the Association of Kenyan Gaming Operators; and Mary Baine, executive secretary at the African Tax Administration Forum will discuss what is the impact of excessive taxes on channelisation, and how do we balance revenue with market sustainability.
• The Future of Affiliate Marketing: Adapt & Win: What forces will determine who are the winning and losing affiliates in 2026 and 2027? Mastering first-party data, going mobile-first, using AI strategically, leveraging compliance for competitive advantage and diversifying traffic sources are just some of the priorities and opportunities affiliates, and the wider igaming industry, are navigating. In the face of strong regulatory and technological headwinds, reactive and short-term fixes are no longer enough for affiliates to be truly competitive. What are the strategic step changes needed to future-proof the affiliate ecosystem?
• Digital Platforms and the Black Market: Tackling Illegal Gambling Online: This panel will explore how affiliates, influencers and creator networks can collaborate with regulators and operators to identify risk exposure pathways and steer users away from illegal gambling markets.
• Prediction Markets: Digital Engagement or Gambling Without the Safeguards? Prediction markets sit between gambling and financial trading, but the same question increasingly applies to other high-engagement digital products, such as videogames, social media, pornography, crypto trading and more. While the gambling sector is often heavily scrutinised, it has developed an advanced set of consumer protections that many other digital industries still lack. If prediction markets can generate gambling-like harms, should protection standards be based on behavioural risk rather than legal classification?

iGB Affiliate Awards

The iGB Affiliate Awards will take place on July 2, bringing together the global igaming community for it’s 19th edition, with headline sponsor PartnerMatrix.

The shortlist for the 2026 iGB Affiliate Awards is as follows:

Affiliate Campaign of the Year: Brian Christopher x BetMGM; Checkd Group – No Tippy Tappy Football; Hub Affiliations – DerbyDerbyDerby.it; iGamingNuts; MoveUp Media – Lebi launch; OLBG’s Principal Partner sponsorship of Dorking Wanderers FC; SlotCatalog.com – CrossyRun™ campaign with Evoplay; Sporting Life/Sporting Life Plus

Best Bingo Affiliate:

BingoPort; FTD Digital; TopRatedBingoSites.co.uk; WhichBingo

Best Casino Affiliate:

Brian Christopher’s FlipTheSwitch.com; Casino Guru; Catena Media; Gambling.com Group; Kasinoseta.com; Kongebonus; OLBG; SlotCatalog.com

Best Poker Affiliate:

Big4Play; GipsyTeam; PokerListings; PokerNews; Worldpokerdeals

Best Sports Betting Affiliate:

Better Collective; Checkd Group; Gambling.com Group; Hub Affiliations; JohnnyBet; MightyTips; MoveUp Media; OLBG; Skores Media; Spotlight Sports Group

Best Streaming Affiliate:

Brian Christopher Slots; Clever Advertising; Famesters; Fruity Slots; Kingbet Media

Safer Gambling Initiative of the Year:

Casino Guru; Gamblers Connect; Hub Affiliations; WagerWire

Individual categories*

Best Affiliate Manager:

Darren Newmark – Red Edge Partners for PricedUp

Gennaro Fiorito – Hub Affiliations 

Giovanni Galantino – BetAffiliation 

Jonathan Chirico – Income Access 

Jussi Säkö – Coolbet Partners 

Kasper Jensen – Entain 

Kshitij Gupta – Venture Affiliates 

Muhil Arunachalam – Fair Sky Partners 

Nika – Big Betty Partners 

Shakyra Jonsson – Betsson Group

*Affiliate Idol is selected by an in‑house panel and does not have a published shortlist.

Programme / Network categories

Best Affiliate Network:

BetAffiliation; DT9 Group Srl; Hub Affiliations; LGaming; Matching Visions; Titans; Touchdown Traffic by Cape Media; Vault Network

Best Affiliate Programme:

Aff Republic; bet365 Partners; Betsson Group Affiliates; Boomerang Partners; Excel Affiliates; Gamesys Group Partners; Linebet Partners; N1 Partners; Novi Affiliates; VL Partners

Best New Programme:

Coolbet Partners; Evo Affiliates; JungleAff

Programme / Network Campaign of the Year:

BetAffiliation; Big Betty Partners; Hub Affiliations – Creator‑Powered Live Streaming Rollout; N1 Partners – N1 Puzzle Promo

Supplier categories

Best Affiliate Management Platform:

Affiliate platform by GR8_TECH; Affilka; Income Access; MAP™; MyAffiliates; RavenTrack; ReferOn

Best Digital Agency:

Basher Agency; BetAffiliation; Famesters; SEOBrothers; TAG Media; Toucan International

Game of the Year:

3 Hot Chilli Peppers (1X2 Network); 3 Luxor Pots Hold and Win (Playson); Buffalo Hold and Win Extreme 10000 (Booming Games); Gates of Olympus Super Scatter (Pragmatic Play); Hot Slot 777 Gold Crown (Wazdan); Le Viking (Hacksaw Gaming); Legion Gold Victory! (Play’n GO); Race Track (Evolution Gaming); The Tipsy Tourist Beach Bonanza Hold and Win (Betsoft Gaming); Tropicool 4 (ELK Studios)

For all sector companies

Best Newcomer:

JungleAff; Master Affiliates Network; tablrr

Best Tech:

BetAffiliation; Better Collective; Blask; FairPlay Sports Media; First Look Games; G.A.I.N. by Hub Affiliations; Kadam; PayDo; Traffic Nomads – FTD Magnet AI

Employer of the Year:

01.tech; C24; Clever Advertising; iAffiliate; iGamingAffiliates.io; JohnnyBet; MoveUp Media; RedCore

Innovator of the Year:

Better Collective; Blask; Clever Advertising; DataRankr by SlotCatalog; Famacs Agency; Hub Affiliations; MoveUp Media; Onlyplay; Pepper Partners

Rising Star:

Big Betty Partners; Blask; Fortuna Edge Media; iGamingAffiliates.io; Media 24; MoveUp Media; Rocks Partners; Trident Media