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iGaming market weekly report | Oct 12–18, 2026
The NFL kept moving the United States: five states rose on Week 6, led by South Carolina at +61.9%, after six had risen on Week 5. Alberta reversed from −14.2% to +47.5% as the 13 October grey-market cutoff closed.
Market spotlight: CA-Alberta | +47.5%
Alberta was a decliner at −14.2% in the 5–11 October digest, with the transition cutoff still ahead of it. This week the cutoff fell inside the window and Blask Index rose 47.5%.
The Alberta iGaming Corporation, AiGC, opened the regulated market on 13 July and said about 70% of online gambling had been on unregulated platforms before launch. On 6 October, Stake Canada got a full licence and went live before the deadline for grey market — 13 October.
A 16 October Blask data story put PlayAlberta at 15.6% of provincial demand in June and 15.2% in September, while Stake, still offshore that month, led September CEB, Blask’s projected revenue, at $32.2M against PlayAlberta’s $14.1M.
Top gainers
United States +36.1% to +61.9%
The NFL and other sports leagues put five states on the gainer list for a second week:
- South Carolina +61.9%,
- North Carolina +42.4%,
- Massachusetts +37.9%,
- Kansas +37.3%,
- Pennsylvania +36.1%.
Only North Carolina repeated from last week’s six, and the move steepened from +27.5% to +42.4%.
Week 6 opened on 15 October with Denver’s 17–14 overtime win over Seattle. On 18 October the Panthers beat the Eagles 25–14 in Philadelphia, the Patriots beat the Jets 26–19 at home, and Pittsburgh beat Tampa Bay 26–19 in overtime.
CA-Alberta +47.5%
On 13 October the grey-market grace period ended, and unlicensed operators had to stop taking bets. Blask Index reversed last week’s −14.2%.
Top decliners
Singapore −23.8%
Turkey posted the week’s largest drop. On 13 October the Interior Ministry said gendarmerie teams, with MASAK and the Batman prosecutor’s office, detained 102 suspects across 13 provinces and found ₺8.5B (USD$171.5) in account flows tied to illegal betting.
Turkey −34.9%
Singapore gave back last week’s +42.3%. The Singapore Premier League had Matchweek 4 scheduled for 16–18 October: Tanjong Pagar against Hougang on Friday, Balestier against Geylang on Saturday, then Tampines against Young Lions and FC Jurong against Lion City Sailors on Sunday. Although the domestic calendar did not stop, Blask Index fell.
South Korea −12.7%
The KBO postseason opened on 17 October with the Kia Tigers beating the LG Twins 5–1 in Gwangju. Kim Do-yeong homered twice and drove in four runs, James Naile pitched seven innings of one-run ball, and Yonhap reported a sellout crowd.
KBO is South Korea’s top professional baseball league.
No in-window trigger found
No dated country-specific event in 12–18 October links cleanly to the markets below.
Saudi Arabia +59.3%, Panama (+52.6%), Haiti (+44.3%), Guatemala (+43.1%), Pakistan −18.9%, Mali (−12.4%), Laos (−8.9%), AR-Mendoza (−6.1%), Uzbekistan (−3.6%).
Although Saudi Arabia posted the largest absolute gain on the board. National-team dates found for Haiti, Panama and Guatemala sat on 1–4 October, outside this window, and the next Concacaf Nations League ties are in November.
Mali reversed last week’s +43.4% with no new fixture inside 12–18 October.
Laos is a third straight decliner, after −27.9% and −11.6%, and the weekly drop keeps getting smaller.
Regional snapshot
North America
This region split into two mechanisms. The NFL and other sports leagues kept five US states rising together for a second week, and only North Carolina repeated from the Week 5 list. Alberta’s +47.5% tracked the 13 October licensing cutoff.
Europe
Europe’s sharp move was Turkey’s −34.9% through the 13 October illegal-betting operation. Sweden (−4.5%) and Bulgaria (−3.5%) had domestic fixtures and small declines.
Asia-Pacific
Asia-Pacific gave back two prior spikes. Singapore fell 23.8% after +42.3%, with SPL Matchweek 4 still scheduled. South Korea fell 12.7% as the KBO postseason opened. Saudi Arabia’s +59.3% had no verified betting-market catalyst. Pakistan’s −18.9% had a youth cricket match and no enforcement date.
Latin America and Africa
Latin America and Africa supplied large moves without an in-window national-team fixture: Panama +52.6%, Haiti +44.3%, Guatemala +43.1%, and Mali −12.4% after +43.4%.
Next week watchlist
Alberta — onshore share after the cutoff
The 13 October grace period is now behind the market. A second up week would look like a new search baseline around licensed brands. A fade would reclassify +47.5% as deadline noise.
NFL Week 7 — 22–26 October
Week 6 kept a US-state cluster on the board and rotated the names. Week 7, opening Thursday 22 October, is the test of whether the cluster stays or the list turns over again.
Turkey — raid week versus the next Süper Lig round
The −34.9% landed on both a 102-person operation and matchday 8. Another sharp drop would point at the enforcement print. A rebound on the next league weekend would look more like a one-week block in search.
Methodology note
Blask Index tracks real-time iGaming player interest via AI-analyzed Google search data, updated hourly and filtered to remove low-intent noise (scams, complaints). WoW% measures momentum: positive indicates growing attention; negative indicates declining attention.