DATA.BET Q1 2026 esports surge: GGR nearly doubles, prediction markets roll out
2026-08-07
DATA.BET's Q1 2026 esports GGR nearly doubled year on year, with turnover up 70.6%, while niche titles drove a 245% profit jump and the company launched its prediction markets product.
DATA.BET has reported a sharp acceleration in esports betting for Q1 2026, with gross gambling revenue nearly doubling year on year and turnover rising 70.6%. The sportsbook solutions provider shared the figures alongside an interview at iGB L!VE, where it also discussed the rollout of its new prediction markets product.
Growth metrics
The company said placed bets climbed 33.2% in Q1 versus the same period last year, while combo bets jumped 72.1%. Esports head Bohdan Holovnov put the active player base growth at more than 56% and said the average single bet size also increased, signs of higher user confidence and more sophisticated betting behaviour. DATA.BET attributed the combo-bet surge partly to UX improvements in its Single Page Application (iFrame) that make building multiples easier, with higher-value bets from premium-segment partner platforms also lifting the average ticket size.
Title-by-title trends
Among the top four disciplines — CS2, Dota 2, League of Legends and Valorant — all posted double-digit growth across profit, turnover, bet counts and active users. Niche disciplines were the standout, delivering a 245% increase in profit against Q1 2025. Rainbow Six was a particular success, helped by new markets such as combined Total Over + Win and Win First Half + Win Map plus broader match coverage, and the discipline has found its audience in Latin America. Rocket League also grew quarter on quarter despite Q4 2025 having hosted the FIFAe World Cup, with turnover up 85.3%, bet counts up 18.7% and active players up 50.1%, supported by a 94% live coverage conversion rate.
Valorant EMEA Clash 2026, a new format Riot Games introduced between the regional VCT Kickoff and Masters Santiago, proved a driver of new-player acquisition: newcomers represented 68.6% of all new players and 55.4% of total bets placed on the event.
Event calendar and trading
The official data events count was up 5.2% year on year, while the overall event calendar rose 10.8%. Top-tier events outperformed lower-tier ones by a wide margin in turnover, profit and bet count, but low-tier volume also grew, particularly in CS2, as Valve's restructured Major qualification system has encouraged organisers to add new qualifying events. Holovnov said high margin efficiency had been a real catalyst, with partners scaling promotional campaigns after recognising esports' commercial returns.
Prediction markets
Alongside the esports momentum, DATA.BET has launched V1 of its prediction markets product, a standalone betting vertical operators can integrate with existing sportsbook offerings. Head of sales Otto Bonning argued that operators without prediction markets today are “losing out a bit” as the company continues to diversify beyond its esports heritage.