AFCON’s month of football did not lift iGaming demand

Blask data shows usual patterns held even in the top finishers’ countries

AFCON 2025 ended on 18 January. The tournament, hosted by Morocco, started on 21 December, and packed 52 games into 19 matchdays. That kind of schedule should show up in iGaming demand, particularly in the favourites’ markets. But Blask data suggests the tournament had minimal impact.

Senegal, Morocco, Nigeria and Egypt, which went all the way to the final weekend, were among the main pre-tournament outright picks in betting books. Yet even in these countries, iGaming demand showed only occasional deviation.

Pinned to the weekly rhythm

Blask data reveals that the tournament schedule did not override usual calendar patterns. Spikes were rarely connected to the country’s team matchdays.

With rare exceptions, day-to-day swings in Blask Index look similar across most of the markets. Morocco, as host, had more viewer-friendly slots: five of seven kick-offs fell on Sundays or Friday evenings. That may help explain Morocco’s  largest day-to-day move in Blask Index on 26 December, when group stage game against Mali kicked off at 21:00 local time.

Competition

The relative weakness of iGaming demand during big football tournaments can also be explained by the competition among verticals. While watching an exciting match can motivate users to place live bets, it also diverts their attention from casino games.

This pattern is consistent with hourly Blask Index data. It clearly shows that iGaming demand in a particular market often fell, or at least did not rise, during that country’s national-team matches.

Due to very high domination of 1-4 brands in most African markets, they compete for attention by shifting emphasis across verticals. Blask data shows that AFCON did not change daily market shares of the leaders much.

The exception is Nigeria, where two brands that control over 70% of audience attention constantly swap positions. Bet9ja was the leader in 2025. But during AFCON its rival, SportyBet, was first on most days, including all Nigeria team matchdays.

The calendar is king

AFCON is a big tournament, attracting a lot of attention across the continent. Yet Blask’s daily data suggests it does not translate into a broad iGaming uplift. The calendar still runs the market, and football mostly rearranges attention.