How May performs across global iGaming markets

The last month of the spring rarely shows highest iGaming demand, but it avoids the bottom.

May is the only month in the iGaming calendar that, on a three-year average, never ranks as even second-weakest by iGaming demand. But it is not strong either — only one country has it as its number 1 month, and that is a clear exception to the pattern.

A month in the lower middle

At first glance May can seem like a weak month for iGaming. Among 133 countries currently tracked by Blask, in 100 it sits in the lower half of the rank table by Blask Index in the 2023–2025 average. The most popular place for May is 10th (in 35 markets). It is followed by 9th (26 markets) and 8th (24 markets).

The total share of the lower half is 75.2%, but in Asia & Oceania May is relatively much stronger.

That picture would confirm the weakness of May, but there is one hidden detail — the lower half of the ranks actually ends with 10th place. May is the only month of the year that does not rank 11th or 12th in any of the countries in the world. The closest competitor to this pattern is December, which also has no country placing it last on a three-year average, but it has Ukraine, where the last month of the year ranks 11th.

Where May leads

Where December beats May is the very top. The year-ending month ranks 1st in over half of all markets, which makes it the strongest iGaming month. May has only one such country — Rwanda.

The African country’s market has been booming since 2023, and May was an ordinary month there, ranking 6th both in 2023 and 2024. The highest-ranking months were September-December. In 2025 the pattern was disrupted by tax reform — the iGaming demand peaked in May 2025, and then it broke, dragging the market into an ongoing multi-month downtrend.

Rwanda is not the only country with such a pattern. Another market belongs to a small group, where May ranks as the second-strongest month on the 2023-2025 average.

The markets where May is close to the top

Seven markets place May in 2nd place on the three-year average: India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Kuwait, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Ukraine. Only four among them had May as the strongest month of the year — all in 2024, but for different reasons.

In India, May is traditionally a strong month. It was ranked 2nd in 2023 and 3rd in 2025, as the country’s iGaming demand follows the cricket calendar. The most important event, the IPL, usually runs in the last two months of the spring, with occasional extensions to June.

In the Czech Republic and neighbouring Slovakia, the iGaming demand in May 2024 was probably lifted by the Ice Hockey World Championship. It was co-hosted by the Czech capital Prague and the city of Ostrava, located close to the Slovak border.

Ukraine is the country that had a Rwanda-like pattern. May 2024 was the peak of iGaming demand there, then it dropped as the advertising ban was imposed and a wider regulatory reset started.

What the pattern reveals

May is the only month in the iGaming calendar that combines a near-empty top with a completely clean bottom. Occasional strong rankings are typically connected to specific sport events or a regulatory moment.