What do Arab sheikhs bet on? Latest Blask data

The Middle East is quite Tier-1 in terms of income and motivation of players. Competition is much lower than in Europe or the US. To know what to pour on, here is a summary of Blask's September 2025 reports.

Saudi Arabia

The Blask Index for September is 50,46K. That's less than in LatAm or an average European country. But rate of increase (screen 1).

Top 5 brands

1. 1. 1xBet;
2. 2. Bagi;
3. 3. Betika;
4. 4. betPawa;
5. 5. Betway is the fastest growing (screen 2).

Motivation of players

• To win (without regard to amount) is 36%;
• Make Money - 33%;
• Convenient, easy, no need to leave the house to have fun - 30%.

What's at stake

• Traditional Sports - 40%;
• Casino - 30%;
• Cybersports - 25%;
• The rest is 5%.

Arab Emirates

The Blask index is 121.2K, The dynamics is positive, albeit with small declines (screen 3). This means that the market is even more active than in Saudi Arabia.

Top 5 brands

1. 1. betPawa;
2. 2. TrueWin;
3. 3. SportyBet;
4. 4. ForteBet;
5. 5. 1xBet (screen 4).

Motivation of players

• Betting makes sports more exciting - 65%;
• Make Money - 50%;
• To pass the time when you're bored - 45%.

What's at stake

• Traditional Sports - 60%;
• Cybersports - 50%;
• Casino - 45%.

Bonus: Top 5 brands in Qatar

1. 1. Betika;
2. 2. betPawa;
3. 3. SportyBet;
4. 4. SportPesa;
5. 5. 1xBet (screen 5).

Here the motivation of the players has not yet had time to be studied and the status collected. But something tells us that the desire to make money is not at the top of the list. And Blask Index is still higher than that of the Saudis (screen 6).

Conclusions

Despite the fact that Islam forbids gambling, the Blask Index in the region is constantly growing - although it is smaller than in LatAm or Europe. But here, if not in volume, then in the size of deposits.

Key brands you now know, and if your recls are embracing cross-branding - stay tuned.