Changes Afoot for 2026 Canadian Gaming Summit
Posted on: July 10, 2025, 07:05h.
Last updated on: July 10, 2025, 07:05h.
- SBC moving 2026 Canadian Gaming Summit from June to May to accommodate World Cup
- Over 3,000 delegates and 1,000 operators at this past June’s CGS
Next year’s FIFA World Cup in Mexico, the U.S., and Canada is going to have huge impacts in the communities where matches will be played. But the world’s premier soccer event is also impacting the annual Canadian Gaming Summit in Toronto, according to SBC.
SBC Moving 2026 Summit Date
The World Cup gets going in Mexico City on June 11, 2026, with the first match in Toronto the next night. The tournament wraps up at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, July 19.
This past year, the Canadian Gaming Summit was held June 17-19 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.
Next year, SBC, which runs the event with the Canadian Gaming Association, will move it to May. That’s to accommodate the soccer event. The exact dates have yet to be set.
World Cup Matches in Toronto
“This was the final event on our calendar that hadn’t yet carried the ‘SBC Summit’ name,” said Rasmus Sojmark, CEO and Founder of SBC. “Given its growing impact, it was only natural to bring it into the fold. We’re really proud of how far this event has come. After three successful years with SBC and a rich legacy behind it (28 years), the Canadian Gaming Summit has truly reached a point where its future clearly belongs within the SBC Summit series.
The rebranding isn’t just symbolic. It reflects the quality, scale, and consistency that the Canadian Gaming Summit now shares with all other SBC Summit events globally.”
At the event last month, more than 3,000 delegates, 1,000 operators, 200 affiliates, 75 exhibitors and 150 speakers took part in a series of panel discussions over the two days. The Canadian Gaming Summit has been held annually for 28 years.
Show Continues To Expand
“This is a chance for the industry to get together,” said CGA President and CEO Paul Burns told Casino.org. “It’s the one time of the year that you see most of the Canadians [in the industry] in one room, at one time. In this industry, it’s a chance to share and learn. And I remarked this year in particular, for the first time, we had three ministers responsible for various parts of the gambling sector from this country – two from Ontario, Doug Downey [Attorney General of Ontario] and Minister [Stan] Cho [Minister for Tourism, Culture, and Gaming] – and Minister Dale Nally, who is leading the regulated market in Alberta. We never had that before.
And so the event shows where the gaming industry is in Canada, where it’s growing, and how it’s expanding. I think those are the things I take away from this week. Where we are as an industry, where we’re growing. This show is probably one of the best attended ones we’ve ever had. It continues to grow. SBC has been a great partner with us. We’ve seen the growth in the sector and suppliers and people still wanting to see how they can do business here. So, it’s a great week for them.”
No comments yet