Blask highlights AFCON 2025 fails to spark igaming surge
Even host Morocco and tournament favourites saw only minor deviations in betting demand, Blask data shows.
Morocco.- Despite Africa’s biggest football tournament gripping fans across the continent, the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2025 barely moved the needle in online betting, according to Blask, an AI-powered platform providing real-time igaming market data and insights.
The Morocco-hosted tournament ran from December 21, 2025, to January 18, 2026, packing 52 games into 19 intense matchdays, but igaming demand largely “stuck to its usual rhythm”, said Blask.
AFCON 2025 featured 24 national teams, with Senegal, Morocco, Nigeria and Egypt among the tournament favourites. In a thrilling finale, Senegal claimed the championship, triumphing over host nation Morocco to lift the coveted trophy, while Nigeria and Egypt secured the other semi-final spots.
Countries tipped as pre-tournament favourites, including Senegal, Morocco, Nigeria and Egypt, all of which went all the way to the final weekend, saw only occasional spikes in betting activity.
“Blask data suggests the tournament had minimal impact on igaming demand, even in the favourites’ markets,” Blask analysts said. “With rare exceptions, day-to-day swings in Blask Index look similar across most of the markets,” they added, underscoring that spikes were rarely tied to a country’s matchdays.
Minor betting spikes
Even Morocco, benefiting from five of seven kick-offs scheduled at viewer-friendly times on Sundays or Friday evenings, saw limited surges. Its largest day-to-day move in the Blask Index came on December 26, when the host nation faced Mali at 9pm, African time.
“AFCON’s packed calendar did not override usual betting patterns,” Blask added, highlighting the resilience of standard igaming demand cycles.
Blask’s data suggests that, even in the tournament’s most anticipated markets, the spectacle of football did not automatically translate into a spike in online betting, a finding that could reshape operator expectations for future continental competitions.
