SPARK 2026 opens in Sofia with regulatory and commercial focus

The first edition of SPARK 2026 (Software, Payments, Affiliates, Revenue Kickoff) opened in Sofia on 19 October and runs until 20 October at Hotel Marinela Sofia. The event brings together operators, affiliates, regulatory experts, payments specialists and technology managers.

Reportedly, operators in the region are being asked to do more under stricter rules and a more crowded market. A consultation on gambling rules, centred on advertising, will give participants material for discussion at the event. Over the two days the programme moves from regulation and compliance to payments, affiliate partnerships, artificial intelligence and commercial strategies for sustainable growth.

The first session on 19 October was titled “Fidelizzazione al posto dell’acquisizione: stiamo ripensando abbastanza in fretta le strategie di crescita?”. A round table spanning payments, marketing, technology and communication featured Georgi Stoianov of PaymentIQ, Henk Wolff of iGaming Consultant, Nikolay Tonev of Noreeva Technology Group and Uliana Korobeynikova of iGaming. A session followed on the online gambling regulatory framework of Nevis, with Hristo Koevski, commercial director of the Nevis Online Gaming Authority, presenting the framework. The day continued with a session on reconciling regulatory compliance and user experience in multi-jurisdiction markets, with Atanas Valov (Valov & Licheva), Liliya Tsoncheva (LT Law Bulgaria) and Martin Yakimov (Velchev & Co. Law Office).

On 20 October the day opens with a session titled “Il giocatore zero-click: come le nuove dinamiche del web e l’AEO stanno ridefinendo il percorso dell’utente nell’iGaming”. Dimitar Dimitrov, CEO of SocialScore.io, gives the keynote. A session on post-SEO acquisition strategies follows with Kalin Karakehayov (Seo.Domains), Radoslav Georgiev (Gambling SEO Services) and Temelko Dechev (ExpandX Marketing & Web). The final session, “Trasformare la strategia in ricavi: cosa funziona nelle operazioni iGaming moderne”, features Atanas Popivanov (ImperiaBet), Georgi Stoianov (PaymentIQ) and Nikoleta Hristova (Vegas Legends).

Other speakers listed by Agimeg include Georgi Kanev, co-founder and partner at Kanev Lukaev Tech Law; Hanna Plachkova, CEO of The Persona Lab; Martin Georgiev, Safer Gambling Business Execution Manager at Flutter Bulgaria; Olga Polishchuk, an iGaming regulatory compliance consultant; and Robert Stoica, COO of WinBet.

Liliya Tsoncheva, a lawyer at LT Law Bulgaria, said compliance should be considered at the product design stage rather than added at the end, and that the challenge is how to integrate it to protect the user without creating unnecessary friction. Temelko Dechev, managing partner at ExpandX Marketing & Web, said digital acquisition is no longer only about ranking first on Google but about becoming the answer recommended by artificial intelligence and the brand customers trust. Vasil Stumbov, director of iGaming Bulgaria Ltd., said modern predictive analytics technologies can help identify compulsive gambling and help operators meet compliance goals while preserving profitable VIP players.