In 2026, iGaming suppliers are being told clearly by operators that marketing built around pipe dreams is actively costing them partnerships and credibility.
The message from the buy-side is consistent and direct: stop promoting fantasy outcomes and start delivering realistic, evidence-backed promises that operators can actually act on.
John Cook and Martyn Elliott have co-authored a joint op-ed examining why supplier campaigns are failing to resonate with operators across the European iGaming landscape.
Martyn Elliott serves as Media Director at SBC and is often one of the first points of contact that suppliers have when engaging with the media team.
His position gives him a direct line of sight into the pain points operators experience, making him well-placed to identify where supplier messaging consistently falls short.
One of the key findings from the SBC Media Marketing Buyers Report is that suppliers need to start listening to what the market actually needs and solve the real bottlenecks their prospective partners are facing.
A recurring problem identified by Cook and Elliott is that suppliers tend to focus heavily on what their product does rather than explaining why it exists in the first place.
Press releases celebrating a new UI or game mechanic, alongside banner ads listing countless features, miss the fundamental point that operators buy solutions to specific, often messy, headaches.
Assuming that “new” equals “needed” is described as one of the costliest mistakes a supplier can make in today’s saturated and heavily regulated market.
The European iGaming landscape in 2026 is under siege from tightening regulations, tax hikes, and mounting compliance costs, meaning operators must account for every penny on their books.
A product that cannot demonstrably drive lifetime value or boost player retention simply adds noise, and if it creates operational complexity, it becomes an outright liability rather than an asset.
When suppliers market their product as disruptive, they must ensure it genuinely makes an operator’s existing operations more efficient, more profitable, and worth the investment in both time and cost.
Cook and Elliott argue that the winning strategy in 2026 is not a bigger budget or louder graphics, but a truthful conversation backed by factual, data-driven insights.
Suppliers are urged to stop turning basic product specifications into empty superlatives and instead give operators truth, transparency, and meaningful utility.
In a saturated market, the supplier who respects the buyer’s intellect is, according to the authors, the only one who ultimately wins the partnership.
