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AFCON 2025 wrapped up on January 18 after nearly a month of play in Morocco, with 52 matches spread across 19 days. The packed schedule was expected to push betting activity higher, especially in countries whose teams were tipped as favorites. Yet Blask’s data shows the tournament had little effect on online gambling.
Senegal, Morocco, Nigeria, and Egypt all reached the final weekend, yet betting demand in those markets stayed mostly steady, with only small changes here and there. Daily patterns looked much the same as usual, and matchdays rarely matched up with spikes in activity.
Morocco had more fan-friendly kickoff times as hosts, with most games played on Fridays or Sundays. That timing explains the one clear jump in Blask’s index on December 26, when Morocco faced Mali in a late evening group stage match. Outside of that, the tournament did not change the normal demand for online gambling.
Nigeria’s betting market sees leadership change during tournament
Blask data shows that gambling demand often dropped or stayed flat when national teams played. Fans placed live bets during matches but spent less time on casino games, which kept overall activity from rising.
In most African countries, one to four brands dominate the market, and their shares barely moved during AFCON. Nigeria broke that trend.
Two companies there control more than 70% of players and often switch places. Bet9ja led before the tournament, but during AFCON, SportyBet took the top spot on most days, including every match involving Nigeria.
Overall, Blask confirmed that while AFCON brought lots of attention to the continent, it didn’t reflect in its iGaming market.
