New York, Oct. 06, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Optimove, the creator of Positionless Marketing and the #1 Player Engagement Solution for iGaming and sports betting operators, announces that Optimove AI has been named Industry Innovation of the Year at the SBC Awards 2026. The award was presented on October 1 at the MEO Arena in Lisbon, on the final day of SBC Summit.
Now in its thirteenth year, the SBC Awards recognize and celebrate the very best in the betting and gaming industry. The prestigious awards honor the achievements of operators and suppliers across all major disciplines, including payments, marketing, platform providers, and data. This year's ceremony spanned 39 categories.
Optimove AI, the Industry Innovation of the Year, is the only AI suit built for the three places CRM marketing happens: inside Optimove's platform, outside the platform connected to AI tools marketers already use, and in custom-made applications built on top of the platform by Optimove's team.
- Inside Optimove's platform. Native AI agents surface insights, create assets, and make decisions across audiences, journeys, offers, content, and send time, while OptiGenie, and internal conversational agent, can coordinate all the work from simple prompts.
- Outside Optimove's platform, through the Optimove MCP. Unlike integrations that only read data, the Optimove MCP connects with AI tools such as Claude and ChatGPT to act on it building segments, drafting campaigns, getting insights, connecting with other data sources, and answering platform questions
- On top Optimove's platform, through Optimove Custom Apps. When an operator's needs go beyond off-the-shelf features, Optimove's Forward Deployed Engineers, together with CS teams, build tailored, fully integrated applications that amplify optimization capabilities
One example: through the Optimove MCP, an operator can generate a branded, playable minigame for players from a simple prompt, with no code or developer support.
"Marketers no longer work in one place, so their AI can't live in one place either," said Rony Vexelman, SVP of Marketing at Optimove. "We built Optimove AI to meet operators wherever they work: in our platform, in the AI tools they already rely on, and in applications built for their specific needs. This award belongs to our product and engineering teams, who built Optimove AI and keep us on the leading edge, and to the operators we partner with, who give us a clear view of the issues and opportunities in front of them today."
Optimove has a long history of AI innovation. AI has been part of the Optimove platform since 2012, laying the groundwork for Positionless Marketing, the movement Optimove CEO Pini Yakuel introduced in 2025 at Optimove Connect. That foundation has positioned Optimove to lead the CRM marketing industry in generative and agentic AI today.
Optimove AI is part of the Optimove Positionless Marketing Platform, which removes the marketing "assembly line" of handoffs between data, creative, and engineering teams. It is also included in Optimove Ignite+, the program that gives startup operators access to the complete platform, under preferential commercial terms adapted to operators’ early stage.
The award adds to a year of recognition for Optimove. In the 2026 Gartner Magic Quadrant and Critical Capabilities for Multichannel Marketing Hubs, the company ranked #1 for Real-Time Personalization and Decisioning and was named a Visionary for the third consecutive year. Optimove is used by 56% of the iGaming operators ranked in the EGR Power 50, including 70% of the top ten.
About Optimove
Optimove is the creator of Positionless Marketing and the #1 Player Engagement Solution for iGaming and sports betting operators. Positionless Marketing frees marketing teams from the limitations of fixed roles, giving every marketer the power to execute any marketing task instantly and independently. Positionless Marketing has been proven to improve campaign efficiency by 88%, allowing marketing teams to create more personalized engagement with existing customers.
For three years running, Optimove has been positioned as a Visionary in Gartner's Magic Quadrant for Multichannel Marketing Hubs. In the 2026 edition, it is ranked #1 for Real-Time Personalization and Decisioning among the 12 vendors evaluated.
Its Positionless Marketing Platform includes Optimove Engage and Orchestrate for cross-channel campaign decisioning and orchestration; Optimove Personalize, a digital personalization engine; and Optimove Gamify, a loyalty and gamification platform.
All are powered by Optimove AI, the marketing AI suite that brings AI everywhere marketers work: inside the platform through Native AI agents for decisioning, analysis, and creation, outside it to external AI tools like Claude and ChatGPT through the Optimove MCP, and into custom-built applications on top of the platform through Optimove Custom Apps. Optimove has embedded AI in its platform since 2012, paving the way for Positionless Marketing.
Today, its comprehensive AI-powered suite is at the leading edge of empowering marketers to streamline workflows from Insight to Creation and through Optimization. Optimove provides industry-specific and use-case solutions for leading consumer brands globally.
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Rob Wyse Optimove 2129201470 rob_w@optimove.com