iGaming market weekly report | Sep 14–20, 2026 [Special edition]

Finland led the week at +29.3% as Eurojackpot rolled from a ~€48 million Tuesday pool into a ~€59 million Friday draw in Helsinki. Ireland’s smaller +9.3% still matters commercially: Stake GEO-blocked Irish users after GRAI engagement, with the story landing mid-window. Turkey’s Blask Index jump tracked a Super Lig round packed with shock results.

🔥 This week, several African countries dropped simultaneously! Only Kenya posted a growth.

Top gainers

Finland +29.3%

Eurojackpot, the multi-country lottery drawn in Helsinki under Finnish operator Veikkaus, carried a ~€48 million jackpot into the Tuesday 15 September draw. No ticket hit the top tier, and the Friday 18 September pool was advertised at about €59 million. 

Cyprus +26.1%

Joker, the number lottery shared by Greece and Cyprus and run locally via OPAP Cyprus, staged a Sunday 20 September draw marketed for €9.6 million after a jackpot carry. 

Football added a domestic derby: Apollon Limassol 2–2 APOEL on 19 September in the Cyprus League by Stoiximan. 

Turkey +25.9%

Super Lig traffic spanned Gaziantep FK 0–0 Fenerbahçe (14 Sep), Trabzonspor’s 4–0 win over Galatasaray on 19 September (Mohamed Salah hat-trick), Fenerbahçe’s 8–0 over Eyüpspor on 20 September, and Amedspor’s 3–2 win over Beşiktaş the same evening that put Amedspor top. 

Moldova +23.9%

Liga 7777 — Moldova’s top flight, titled for the national lottery/betting brand behind 7777.md — ran matchday 13 on 19 September, including the Chișinău derby Dacia Buiucani 1–0 Zimbru. 

Poland +20.6%

PKO BP Ekstraklasa matchday 9 ran 18–20 September inside the window: headline results included Jagiellonia 1–3 Legia Warszawa and Lech Poznań 5–1 Radomiak, plus high-scoring ties such as Korona–Raków and GKS Katowice–Cracovia (both 3–2). Earlier September BLIK/UOKiK stories sit just before the window. The fresh mid-week signal is the league round.

Kenya +15.3%

Existing gambling licences expire 24 September, with High Court submissions around 21 September and judgment on 2 October.

FKF told clubs on 16 September that the SportPesa Premier League would kick off 19 September, then postponed all Saturday fixtures the same day amid conflicting court orders. Licensing deadline plus league-start chaos both sit inside the Index week.

Ireland +9.3%

Stake GEO-blocked Irish users after engagement with the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland. Stake said it would seek a GRAI licence. GRAI also said other operators, including prediction markets, had restricted Irish access. 

Weekend Premier League and Club GAA traffic on TG4 remains a secondary colour.

Mexico +8.7%

Liga MX Apertura Jornada 9 ran Friday–Sunday inside the window, including América 2–2 Guadalajara (Clásico Nacional), Monterrey 1–0 Cruz Azul, and Juárez 2–0 Tigres. Midweek leftovers from Jornada 8 (e.g. Guadalajara 3–0 Pumas on 14 September) add calendar weight. 

Top decliners

Belarus −32.6%

Vysshaya Liga fixtures continued (e.g. Vitebsk 6–0 Torpedo-BelAZ on 20 September), so domestic football was active while the Index fell.

The regulatory-review of gambling advertising influenced iGaming interest more than domestic football.

Myanmar −28.6%

Authorities published further illegal online gambling enforcement: a 14 September report on seven senior agents arrested in Yangon and Mandalay, and mid-September coverage of a Yangon syndicate case with 36 arrests and MMK396.8 million frozen across 12 accounts. Search interest often rises with crackdown headlines.

African countries dropped for one reason

African countries dropped although current news must have lifted Blask Index.Africa’s decline sits in the same pre-AFCON waiting pattern. CAF’s AFCON PAMOJA 2027 qualifier Matchdays 1–2 are scheduled from 24 September, after this Index window.

Mali −28.9%

Inside 14–20 September the only dated football noise was late call-ups — Sékou Koïta and Mamadou Doumbia replacing Touré/Sylla, covered around 18 September. 

Gabon −27.1%

On 17 September Sébastien Migné named his first Panthères squad for Morocco (25 Sep) and Niger (29 Sep), without Aubameyang. That is in-window build-up, not an in-window result. No GDJ/regulator move dated mid-September. Gabon’s −27.1% tracks the empty qualifier week before Matchday 1.

Liberia −25.5%

Lone Star’s Rwanda (25 Sep) and Mali (29 Sep) games are after the window. Inside it: Mohammed Kamara withdrew, and on 19 September Emmanuel Flomo took a late call-up. LFA First Division listed no high-salience fixtures for 19 September that would offset a national Index slide. 

Ivory Coast −24.8%

Hervé Renard’s Côte d’Ivoire squad for Ghana (24 Sep, Bouaké) and Somalia was published on 16 September — the cluster’s clearest dated squad story — while Ghana ticket sales ran 17–23 September. 

Sierra Leone −24.7%

On 17–18 September Leone Stars named a 25-man squad for Zimbabwe (24 Sep) and Equatorial Guinea (28 Sep). On 14 September Mercury International paid an NLe114,068 football-winner cheque in Kenema.

Rwanda −24.4%

BK Pro League did play inside the window — Kiyovu 1–0 Bugesera (15 Sep); Rayon Sports 1–1 Sunrise and Police 1–0 Mukura (17 Sep) — while Amavubi’s Liberia/Cape Verde provisional squad had mostly landed ~9–10 September. 

Senegal −24.2%

On 18 September Patrick Vieira named his first Senegal squad without Sadio Mané (fitness), for Mozambique (25 Sep) and Ethiopia (29 Sep). On 20 September Dakar hosted the UFOA A U-17 final (Senegal–Gambia). 

No clear in-window catalyst

Slovenia +21.1%, Montenegro +12.9%, Peru −30.1%.

Market spotlight: Finland | +29.3%

Finland’s week is still primarily a lottery-mechanics story. Eurojackpot draws run Tuesday and Friday from Helsinki. The 15 September draw left the top tier unmatched in a ~€48 million pool. By 18 September the advertised jackpot sat near €59 million. The unpaid jackpot is what rolls the advertised prize and concentrates search.

Sports added ambient noise: SM-liiga attention around Jokerit’s early-season slump at Veikkaus Arena, and Veikkausliiga Championship Group games. Those are secondary for a +29% national move next to a multi-country jackpot cascade.

Whether next week’s Index holds depends on the following Eurojackpot cycle: another unpaid top tier would keep lottery salience high. A jackpot hit would usually compress the multi-day search hook even if winner coverage spikes briefly.

Regional snapshot

Europe 

This region mixed lottery, football and one clear regulatory enforcement story. Finland and Cyprus moved on to jackpots (with Cypriot and Finnish domestic football in support). Turkey’s absolute gain tracked Super Lig shock results. Poland and Slovenia had concrete league rounds inside the window. Ireland’s GRAI/Stake geo-block is the week’s sharpest licensed-market enforcement note. Moldova combined Liga 7777 branding with a still-pending vice-tax draft. Belarus’s −32.6% sits against a presidential review while domestic league football continues.

Africa

Africa split. Kenya stacked a GRA licensing countdown with SportPesa Premier League kickoff-then-postpone chaos on 19 September. Seven of the ten decliners are African markets whose AFCON qualifier Matchday 1 starts after the window.

Asia-Pacific 

Only one Asia-Pacific country is in this weekly digest. Myanmar’s −28.6% coincides with published gambling-enforcement coverage; causation stays open.

Latin America

Mexico’s +8.7% fits Liga MX Jornada 9 (including the Clásico Nacional). Peru’s −30.1% has busy Liga 1 fixtures but no verified trigger that explains the decline.

Next week watchlist

Kenya — licensing cliff and league restart

Licences expire 24 September; High Court judgment is still set for 2 October. A confirmed SportPesa Premier League start date would add a second spike risk. Sustained elevation would confirm dual demand. A fade after the expiry would reclassify this week as deadline/chaos noise.

Ireland — GRAI enforcement follow-through

Watch whether more offshore brands geo-block or whether Stake’s licence talk produces further search. A one-week spike that fades would mark this as an enforcement news-cycle. Continued elevation would suggest lasting channelisation interest.

Nations League window — Slovenia, Montenegro, Cyprus, Moldova

League-phase fixtures begin 24–29 September, including Montenegro–Cyprus and Slovenia–Scotland. Match-day spikes would validate pre-window builds.

AFCON qualifiers — West Africa cluster

Côte d’Ivoire–Ghana (24 Sep) and other MD1 ties land immediately after this report. A rebound would argue this week’s declines were a pause before kickoff; continued falls would point away from qualifier anticipation.

Eurojackpot — Finland follow-through

The next Tuesday/Friday Helsinki draws test whether Finland’s +29.3% was a one-week rollover effect or a multi-draw plateau.

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.