During the reporting period from July 6 to July 12, regulatory developments took precedence over any activities associated with the World Cup in leading the demand for global iGaming.
Although the World Cup continued its journey toward the end, the greatest changes in the market happened due to legal reviews, enforcement campaigns, and new legislative acts related to gambling as opposed to the World Cup-related events.
The dip was brought about mainly as a result of event-induced hangovers and mean-reversion tendencies. For instance, Bolivia, Japan, and Paraguay experienced a reversal of their spikes that happened before in connection with the World Cup. Mali recorded the largest drop of the week with no specific trigger on the local level, whereas Costa Rica continued to show a declining trend without any apparent reason.
Top 5 Gainers of the Week
South Korea (+90.8%)
South Korea achieved the most remarkable weekly rise in Blask-tracked markets as a result of continued regulatory uncertainty regarding prediction markets.
On July 10, the Broadcasting, Media and Communications Review Committee announced that it will look into the legal status of Polymarket before deciding whether the platform is subject to National Gambling Control Commission Act.
Turkey (+49.0%)
Turkey showed the second consecutive appearance in the leading gainers after increasing by +28.4% the previous week. The market reaction indicates that enforcement actions may lead to an increased gambling-related search activity in the short term due to market players seeking information regarding regulatory changes.
Malaysia (+24.5%)
Malaysia demonstrated its second consecutive week of growth after last week’s +24.8%. The primary driver was Operation Op Soga XI, a countrywide enforcement campaign against illegal betting activities in the World Cup.
Bangladesh (+20.9%)
Bangladesh made its way into the leading gainers after the implementation of the Gambling Prevention Act, 2026 on July 1. Opposite to conventional sports-driven increases, the growth in Bangladesh is entirely attributable to the regulatory environment and the demand for information tied to the market transformation.
Ukraine (+20.4%)
Ukraine was influenced by the progress in the regulatory sphere instead of the participation in the World Cup.
Top 5 Decliners of the Week
Mali (-55.2%)
Mali achieved the biggest drop for the week. No direct country-related trigger was found during the July 6–12 reporting period. The drop appears to be just a part of ongoing function and does not reflect any specific event.
Bolivia (-42.9%)
Bolivia has reversed its previous week figure of +51.7% following the end of the World Cup demand cycle. Bolivia’s AJ regulatory authority’s raid in Cochabamba on July 6 and the seizure of five illegal machines contributed to the change but cannot explain the movement of the entire country.
Japan (-29.9%)
Japan’s decrease took place after the previous week’s +47.5% increase that followed the memorable Round of 32 game against Brazil. With Japan knocked out of the World Cup and no exciting matches scheduled, there is no psychological justification for such a spike.
Paraguay (-27.6%)
Paraguay has experienced a similar change following the last week’s gain related to the World Cup. After defeating Germany and reaching Round of 16, Paraguay’s interest in betting soared, but after the defeat against France on July 4, the country’s World Cup run is over.
Costa Rica (-25.5%)
Costa Rica showed decline despite the absence of any specific trigger event.
The drop seems to be a natural after-effect of the earlier World Cup-related gain with no significant event occurring during the time frame in question.
Market Spotlight: South Korea (+90.8%)
The biggest movement has been recorded in South Korea with both the legislative ambiguity and the stricter gambling enforcement playing an important role.
The actual trigger happened on July 10 when the authorities initiated the evaluation of Polymarket to determine if it falls under the gambling regulations in South Korea. At the same time, South Korea was working towards a nationwide crackdown on unlawful betting structures in relation to the World Cup, such as website blocking and public reports.
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.
