Blask analysis reveals that despite high viewership and national-team excitement, the month-long continental football tournament did not significantly lift overall online gambling demand across key African markets.
The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), hosted by Morocco and staged between 21 December and 18 January, delivered 52 matches across 19 matchdays and captured the attention of millions of football fans across the continent. With powerhouse teams such as Senegal, Morocco, Nigeria and Egypt in action, industry observers widely expected the tournament to translate into a surge in online betting and wider iGaming activity. However, new data from market intelligence platform Blask suggests that the competition failed to generate a meaningful uplift in overall iGaming demand.
According to Blask’s demand index, fluctuations in user activity during the tournament were largely in line with normal weekly patterns, rather than being driven by national-team fixtures. While isolated spikes were recorded around certain high-profile matches, these increases were short-lived and did not alter the broader demand curve. In most markets, user engagement continued to follow its usual rhythm, with weekends and traditional peak hours remaining the primary drivers of traffic.
Morocco, as host nation, recorded the most notable single-day movement in the Blask Index on 26 December, when the Atlas Lions faced Mali in a prime-time evening kickoff. The more viewer-friendly scheduling appeared to draw increased attention, yet even this surge failed to translate into sustained growth across the wider iGaming ecosystem. Similar patterns were observed in Senegal, Nigeria and Egypt, where patriotic interest did not produce a lasting rise in betting volumes.
Blask’s hourly data further indicated that live football may, in some cases, divert attention away from other gambling verticals such as online casino and virtual games. During key match windows, overall iGaming demand was sometimes flat or even lower than on ordinary days, suggesting that users were watching matches rather than actively engaging across multiple products. In effect, AFCON appeared to redistribute existing activity rather than expand the total market.
Market leadership dynamics also remained largely unchanged throughout the tournament. Dominant operators in most jurisdictions retained their positions, highlighting the resilience of established brand hierarchies. Nigeria stood out as a partial exception, where Bet9ja and SportyBet, together accounting for more than 70% of online attention, alternated in the top spot during various stages of the competition. SportyBet, in particular, led on most Nigerian matchdays, including those featuring the Super Eagles.
Blask concluded that while AFCON 2025 generated intense fan engagement and strong broadcast audiences, its commercial impact on the iGaming sector was more muted than anticipated. The findings underscore that major sporting events do not automatically expand overall gambling demand; instead, they often shift user focus between products and time slots. For operators, the data highlights the importance of long-term retention strategies and diversified offerings, rather than relying solely on tournament-driven traffic spikes.
