Lebull nearly doubled its gross gaming revenue (GGR) year-on-year, growth the Portuguese operator puts down to its casino vertical and a brand strategy built on distinctiveness over discounting. The company has since been shortlisted in three categories at the SBC Awards 2026, which takes place at the MEO Arena in Lisbon on 1 October.
The iGaming Europe sat down with Lebull to go through the numbers behind that growth, what the operator is doing differently in a market dominated by larger incumbents, and where it plans to spend next.
Casino drove the growth
Lebull is a licensed online casino and sportsbook operator regulated by Portugal’s Serviço de Regulação e Inspeção de Jogos (SRIJ), holding licences 027 and 028. Casino accounted for most of the growth over the past year, with the vertical behind the near doubling of GGR against the prior 12 months.
Most of that growth has come from brand identity rather than bonus spend, led by its bull mascot, Cornélio, and the signature line “Aposta sem Bullshit”. That is an unusual position in Portugal, where acquisition costs are high and the largest brands have both scale and long retail histories behind them.
On product, Lebull pairs that identity with exclusive custom-built slots, daily jackpots, instant withdrawals and native apps for iOS and Android.
Three shortlists on home soil
Lebull is shortlisted for Operator of the Year (Small Organisation), Rising Star in Casino, and Innovation in Casino and Gaming Entertainment at the SBC Awards 2026. The shortlists were published in late July, roughly two months before the ceremony.
The timing puts the operator in front of an international field on its own market. With the SBC Summit and the awards ceremony both hosted in Portugal this year, Lebull is the homegrown name among the finalists rather than a visiting one. Winners are announced at the MEO Arena on 1 October.
Football as the acquisition channel
Lebull has put money into football to widen its reach. The operator is the main sponsor of three Liga Portugal clubs: CF Estrela da Amadora, CD Santa Clara and Rio Ave FC.
Three top-flight shirt deals is a sizeable commitment for an operator of Lebull’s size, and it gives the brand weekly national broadcast exposure that would otherwise cost far more to buy through media alone.
What comes next
Tiago Pereira, Country Manager at Lebull, told The iGaming Europe the company intends to keep spending on the same two things that got it here, the brand and the product.
“Being shortlisted at the SBC Awards, here in Lisbon, is a proud moment for the whole team. We set out to build something genuinely different in a crowded market, a brand people actually enjoy, backed by real operational rigour. Our plan from here is clear: solidify the Lebull brand in Portugal and keep investing in a strong team and our product. That combination is what will allow us to challenge the market leaders and keep closing the gap. We are only getting started.”
The gap Pereira refers to is still wide. Portugal’s online market is led by a small group of operators with far larger marketing budgets, and one year of casino growth does not change that position. Lebull now has a second year to test whether a brand-first strategy holds up once the novelty of a challenger name wears off, and whether the football spend converts into retained players rather than one-off signups. Sponsorship buys attention quickly. Holding the players it brings in is the harder part, and it is what the next set of numbers will show.
The SBC Awards 2026 winners will be announced at the ceremony in Lisbon on 1 October.
The iGaming Europe is an official media partner of SBC.
Source: Lebull
