SBC Hall of Fame 2026 Names Five Inductees for Lisbon Ceremony
On 28 August 2026, SBC revealed the five individuals whose achievements have earned them a place in the SBC Hall of Fame 2026. The class will be inducted on Monday 28 September at 15:30 at the Palácio Estoril Hotel in Lisbon, as part of the invite-only SBC Leaders Summit, the C-level gathering that runs the day before SBC Summit 2026 opens.
It is a milestone year for the award, which reaches its tenth edition. What stands out about this class is its range, with recognition spread across integrity, regulation, entrepreneurship and operator leadership rather than sitting in one lane.
Who is in the SBC Hall of Fame 2026
Five names make the list. Khalid Ali, CEO of the International Betting Integrity Association. David Natroshvili, founder of Spribe. Jason Robins, co-founder and CEO of DraftKings. Karen Marcela Sierra-Hughes, Vice President of Latin America, Caribbean and Spain at Gaming Laboratories International. And Mor Weizer, CEO of Playtech.
Look at that group and one thing stands out. It isn’t five operators, or five founders. It’s a deliberate mix.
Why SBC runs the Hall of Fame award
The award launched in 2016 as the Sports Betting Hall of Fame, at a time when the industry looked very different from the one it recognises today. A decade on, SBC frames this year’s induction as a celebration of five careers that helped shape the global betting and gaming industry as it now stands.
Rasmus Sojmark, CEO and Founder at SBC, put it this way: “When I look at this year’s five inductees, what strikes me is how much ground they cover between them. Entrepreneurship, technology, integrity, regulation, operator leadership. You don’t often get that in one room. Celebrating them in Lisbon isn’t just about five great careers. It’s a chance to recognise how far our industry has come, and the people who got us here.”
The read on that quote is straightforward. SBC is treating the class as a snapshot of the disciplines the sector now leans on, not a ranking of any single one.
Past SBC Hall of Fame inductees
This year’s names join a well-known group of past honorees. The 2025 class included Esmeralda Britton, President of the Junta de Protección Social in Costa Rica; Chad Millman, co-founder of The Action Network; Scotty Schettler, former Director of Race & Sports at Stardust; and Shelley White, former CEO of the Responsible Gambling Council.
Earlier inductees run deeper still, among them John Anderson (former CEO, 888 Holdings), Victor Chandler (founder, BetVictor), Chris Christie (former Governor, New Jersey), Denise Coates (founder and CEO, Bet365), Fred Done (founder, Betfred), Carsten Koerl (founder and CEO, Sportradar), Pontus Lindwall (CEO and founder, Betsson) and Norbert Teufelberger (co-founder, Bwin). Set the 2026 five against that roster and the throughline is clear enough. These are the careers the industry keeps returning to when it defines its own history.
Inside the SBC Leaders Summit in Lisbon
The ceremony sits inside the SBC Leaders Summit, which brings together more than 500 C-level executives for closed-door networking, presentations, panel discussions and regional and regulatory roundtables. Come evening, the setting shifts to Estoril itself, with a cocktail reception, gala dinner, poker tournament and after-party at Casino Estoril, the historic venue that inspired Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale.
For anyone attending, the practical draw is access. Attendees also receive full entry to SBC Summit and the Affiliate Leaders Summit, running from 29 September to 1 October at FIL and MEO Arena.
What the tenth-year class signals next
The induction takes place on 28 September, and the class is now set. From here, the natural marker is the Summit itself, where the same senior audience that gathers for the Leaders Summit converges for the wider event. The Hall of Fame reaching ten years gives the sector a moment to take stock, and this class, spread as it is across the industry’s core functions, is the shape that stock-taking has taken.
Source: SBC News
