In his latest article for SBC News, John Cook shares his insights on the campaigns that actually resonate with iGaming operators in 2026, exploring why honesty and transparency is the key to cutting through the noise.
However, this time, there’s a twist. To demonstrate a point that he’s discussed throughout his previous articles, it is vital to lean on the experts within a business – and when you don’t know, you go to those who do. Martyn Elliott is the Media Director here at SBC.
As Media Director, Martyn is one of the first points of contact that suppliers have with our media team – it’s important that he not only understands the pain points that our audience feels, but can then use those insights to create informative, impactful content for our clients.
In a joint op-ed, John and Martyn take a look at what operators actually want from suppliers, and why campaigns may be failing to cut through the noise.
In the iGaming industry, we’re very fond of good old buzzwords. If you were to believe every press release that hits your inbox on a morning, then every supplier and game developer is “revolutionary,” every platform is “seamless”, and every AI tool is a “silver bullet” for profitability.
And maybe some of these companies are truly redefining how we approach the gambling industry. But talk to any tier one operator executive – those that actually have to sign off on a new tech stack – and you’ll find a growing sense of cynicism towards supplier marketing.
The glossy sales decks and expo booths covered with promises of ‘24 hour integration’ no longer cut it; operators are looking for honesty, transparency and – above all – a realistic understanding of operational boundaries.
As part of his role as Media Director of SBC, Martyn Elliott must ensure that the content we build for our clients has a genuine commercial impact. One of the ways that he achieves that is by living and breathing the exact pain points that our audience feels. He must keep his finger firmly on the pulse of what the buy-side actually wants.
In 2026, the buy-side is telling us that if you want to sell to operators and stand out from other suppliers, you need to stop marketing a pipe dream and instead focus on delivering a realistic promise. One of the findings from the recent SBC Media Marketing Buyers Report is that suppliers need to start listening to what the market actually needs and solve the real bottlenecks your prospective partners are facing.
What do operators actually want?
The most common trend that we see when suppliers start their sales process is that they focus very heavily on what their product does, not why it exists in the first place.
From press releases shouting about a new shiny UI or game mechanic, to banner advertisements that list the countless features available. But the reality on the ground is that operators don’t buy new add-ons; they buy solutions to specific, often messy, headaches.
When everyone is on the same mission to deliver the same, monotonous PRs and banner advertisements, why would an operator select you as a partner? They should be coming to you because you’re able to deliver value and tangible results.
New doesn’t equal needed
One of the costliest mistakes a supplier can make is assuming that “new” equals “needed.” In 2026, the European iGaming landscape is saturated, mature, and under siege from tightening regulations, tax hikes and mounting compliance costs. In other words, operators need to make sure that every penny on their books is accounted for.
A product that is not proven to drive lifetime value or boost player retention just creates more noise. Worse, if that feature adds complexity to an already strained operational process, it’s no longer a ‘nice to have addition’, but an outright liability.
So when suppliers are marketing their product as being ‘disruptive’, they need to make sure that it is something that can actually make an operator’s existing operations more efficient, more profitable and worth the investment both in terms of time and cost.
If your marketing fails to address the specific bottlenecks in their workflow, you aren’t an educator; you’re just another salesperson adding to the noise.
Be the educator, not the echo chamber
Those that are able to disrupt the industry and actually deliver something new are those that can become synonymous with reliability, efficiency and a worthwhile partnership. But to be able to achieve that in the first place, the supplier sales and marketing chains need to undergo a fundamental shift.
Your teams should be the educators of the business, both internally and externally. This requires independent verification. As a marketer, you cannot simply memorise a compliance checklist; you need to go out into the marketplace and sense-check the pain points yourself. You have to understand why an issue exists before you can explain how to resolve it.
Once you have that data, get the client to be a participant in the solution:
Audit the gaps: Ask prospective partners about their genuine operational bottlenecks.
Listen first, pitch second: Understand what your clients actually require from a provider, rather than assuming your current roadmap fits.
Sense-check the tech: Verify your solutions with the end-user’s technical capacity in mind before you even think about booking an ad campaign.
Rather than simply focusing on marketing a specific product or solution, your goal should be to identify the real gaps in the operator’s ecosystem and present a clear, evidence-based understanding of the market.
And no, you cannot risk being economical with the truth; you need to provide a realistic solution to a realistic problem.
One of the most common examples we see of this is during events when an exhibitor promises that their platform can be integrated within 48 hours. Is it possible? Quite possibly. But do certain technical and operational conditions need to be met first for that to be a possibility? Also yes.
However, it’s rarely mentioned that the integration time may be considerably longer to account for operational changes.
Be honest with your clients, explain the reality of working together and address any potential operational limitations. Providing a realistic solution to a realistic problem is not only going to help you build trust with your client, but also sets a realistic expectation for the partnership going forward.
Don’t over-promise and under-deliver
The iGaming industry has evolved more in the last three years than it did in the previous ten. Caught between shifting regulatory frameworks, technical overheads and changing player behaviours, operators have become completely tone-deaf to the superlatives that have long dominated marketing strategies.
One of the biggest concerns flagged by suppliers is that operators are often searching for some sort of ‘panacea’ – a catch-all solution that promises the moon but leaves them stranded in the dark.
In reality, they have far more respect for a supplier who has the gall to admit that a “fix-all” solution doesn’t exist.
Tier-1 operators expanding into complex, locally licensed jurisdictions want partners who can look at their specific operational capacity and say, “These are the parameters we can operate in.”
They don’t want to hear another generic pitch about a “groundbreaking” launch. They want a partner who can show them how to save time, navigate compliance smoothly and protect their bottom line.
The bottom line
In 2026, the strategy that will make your marketing stand out from the crowd isn’t a bigger budget or louder graphics. It is a truthful conversation backed by factual, data-driven insights.
Stop turning basic product specifications into empty superlatives. Give operators something that actually means something: truth, transparency, and meaningful utility.
In a saturated market, the supplier who respects the buyer’s intellect is the only one who wins the partnership.
For more information, contact [email protected] or [email protected]
To register your interest in the SBC Media Marketing Buyers Report, which will be released on 18 June, sign up here.
Closing the credibility gap: why operators are ignoring your PR fluff
You’ve shared it!
In his latest article for SBC News, John Cook shares his insights on the campaigns that actually resonate with iGaming operators in 2026, exploring why honesty and transparency is the key to cutting through the noise.
However, this time, there’s a twist. To demonstrate a point that he’s discussed throughout his previous articles, it is vital to lean on the experts within a business – and when you don’t know, you go to those who do. Martyn Elliott is the Media Director here at SBC.
As Media Director, Martyn is one of the first points of contact that suppliers have with our media team – it’s important that he not only understands the pain points that our audience feels, but can then use those insights to create informative, impactful content for our clients.
In a joint op-ed, John and Martyn take a look at what operators actually want from suppliers, and why campaigns may be failing to cut through the noise.
In the iGaming industry, we’re very fond of good old buzzwords. If you were to believe every press release that hits your inbox on a morning, then every supplier and game developer is “revolutionary,” every platform is “seamless”, and every AI tool is a “silver bullet” for profitability.
And maybe some of these companies are truly redefining how we approach the gambling industry. But talk to any tier one operator executive – those that actually have to sign off on a new tech stack – and you’ll find a growing sense of cynicism towards supplier marketing.
The glossy sales decks and expo booths covered with promises of ‘24 hour integration’ no longer cut it; operators are looking for honesty, transparency and – above all – a realistic understanding of operational boundaries.
As part of his role as Media Director of SBC, Martyn Elliott must ensure that the content we build for our clients has a genuine commercial impact. One of the ways that he achieves that is by living and breathing the exact pain points that our audience feels. He must keep his finger firmly on the pulse of what the buy-side actually wants.
In 2026, the buy-side is telling us that if you want to sell to operators and stand out from other suppliers, you need to stop marketing a pipe dream and instead focus on delivering a realistic promise. One of the findings from the recent SBC Media Marketing Buyers Report is that suppliers need to start listening to what the market actually needs and solve the real bottlenecks your prospective partners are facing.
What do operators actually want?
The most common trend that we see when suppliers start their sales process is that they focus very heavily on what their product does, not why it exists in the first place.
From press releases shouting about a new shiny UI or game mechanic, to banner advertisements that list the countless features available. But the reality on the ground is that operators don’t buy new add-ons; they buy solutions to specific, often messy, headaches.
When everyone is on the same mission to deliver the same, monotonous PRs and banner advertisements, why would an operator select you as a partner? They should be coming to you because you’re able to deliver value and tangible results.
New doesn’t equal needed
One of the costliest mistakes a supplier can make is assuming that “new” equals “needed.” In 2026, the European iGaming landscape is saturated, mature, and under siege from tightening regulations, tax hikes and mounting compliance costs. In other words, operators need to make sure that every penny on their books is accounted for.
A product that is not proven to drive lifetime value or boost player retention just creates more noise. Worse, if that feature adds complexity to an already strained operational process, it’s no longer a ‘nice to have addition’, but an outright liability.
So when suppliers are marketing their product as being ‘disruptive’, they need to make sure that it is something that can actually make an operator’s existing operations more efficient, more profitable and worth the investment both in terms of time and cost.
If your marketing fails to address the specific bottlenecks in their workflow, you aren’t an educator; you’re just another salesperson adding to the noise.
Be the educator, not the echo chamber
Those that are able to disrupt the industry and actually deliver something new are those that can become synonymous with reliability, efficiency and a worthwhile partnership. But to be able to achieve that in the first place, the supplier sales and marketing chains need to undergo a fundamental shift.
Your teams should be the educators of the business, both internally and externally. This requires independent verification. As a marketer, you cannot simply memorise a compliance checklist; you need to go out into the marketplace and sense-check the pain points yourself. You have to understand why an issue exists before you can explain how to resolve it.
Once you have that data, get the client to be a participant in the solution:
Audit the gaps: Ask prospective partners about their genuine operational bottlenecks.
Listen first, pitch second: Understand what your clients actually require from a provider, rather than assuming your current roadmap fits.
Sense-check the tech: Verify your solutions with the end-user’s technical capacity in mind before you even think about booking an ad campaign.
Rather than simply focusing on marketing a specific product or solution, your goal should be to identify the real gaps in the operator’s ecosystem and present a clear, evidence-based understanding of the market.
And no, you cannot risk being economical with the truth; you need to provide a realistic solution to a realistic problem.
One of the most common examples we see of this is during events when an exhibitor promises that their platform can be integrated within 48 hours. Is it possible? Quite possibly. But do certain technical and operational conditions need to be met first for that to be a possibility? Also yes.
However, it’s rarely mentioned that the integration time may be considerably longer to account for operational changes.
Be honest with your clients, explain the reality of working together and address any potential operational limitations. Providing a realistic solution to a realistic problem is not only going to help you build trust with your client, but also sets a realistic expectation for the partnership going forward.
Don’t over-promise and under-deliver
The iGaming industry has evolved more in the last three years than it did in the previous ten. Caught between shifting regulatory frameworks, technical overheads and changing player behaviours, operators have become completely tone-deaf to the superlatives that have long dominated marketing strategies.
One of the biggest concerns flagged by suppliers is that operators are often searching for some sort of ‘panacea’ – a catch-all solution that promises the moon but leaves them stranded in the dark.
In reality, they have far more respect for a supplier who has the gall to admit that a “fix-all” solution doesn’t exist.
Tier-1 operators expanding into complex, locally licensed jurisdictions want partners who can look at their specific operational capacity and say, “These are the parameters we can operate in.”
They don’t want to hear another generic pitch about a “groundbreaking” launch. They want a partner who can show them how to save time, navigate compliance smoothly and protect their bottom line.
The bottom line
In 2026, the strategy that will make your marketing stand out from the crowd isn’t a bigger budget or louder graphics. It is a truthful conversation backed by factual, data-driven insights.
Stop turning basic product specifications into empty superlatives. Give operators something that actually means something: truth, transparency, and meaningful utility.
In a saturated market, the supplier who respects the buyer’s intellect is the only one who wins the partnership.
For more information, contact [email protected] or [email protected]
To register your interest in the SBC Media Marketing Buyers Report, which will be released on 18 June, sign up here.