Europe saw a significant increase in betting activity during the NBA 2025-26 European tour, according to data from Entain.
The NBA has hosted regular season games in Europe regularly since 2011, with matches being held on the continent last season.
Starting in January 2025 in Paris, the San Antonio Spurs and Indiana Pacers played a double-header in the French capital.
The Paris Games of January 2025 saw a 241% surge in stakes in France versus a typical NBA week in the market, where Entain runs the bwin brand.
The Paris-based games also saw stake uplifts in Italy (+119%) and Germany (+72%) as Europe-based basketball fans engaged with the action on a more favourable timezone.
Berlin played host to the German capital’s first regular season NBA tie on 15 January 2026, as the Memphis Grizzlies and Orlando Magic went head-to-head.
The game was accompanied by a 274% surge in stakes for Germany, alongside a 110% increase in Italy and a 68% bump in Greece.
The presence of the Magic’s Franz and Moritz Wagner, both born and raised in the city, was a “major driver”, said Entain.
London, which has hosted NBA regular season games since 2011, staged the Grizzlies versus Magic follow-up game on 18 January.
However, London did not replicate the trend seen in Paris and Berlin, with Entain describing the growth in the UK as “modest”.
The 18 January games only saw a 19% rise in stakes in the UK, while France experienced a 35% increase and Germany 28%.
Rene Simanovic, Entain’s head of European basketball, said: “Conversations around long-term expansion, including the possibility of placing full-time NBA franchises in European cities, continue to resurface whenever engagement surges in major markets like Germany and France.
“As a result, this data not only measures betting interest, but also acts as an indicator of where the NBA’s brand is resonating most strongly – and where the fans are.
“This surge in engagement underscores a significant and accelerating shift in customer behaviour.
“These fixtures are clearly resonating with audiences across our markets, and we are witnessing basketball establish itself as a major growth driver within the sports betting ecosystem.
“By contrast, the UK’s more subdued response highlights a key opportunity for future growth.”
The post Entain: NBA Europe Games delivering “significant and accelerating shift” in betting trends first appeared on EGR Intel.
Some European countries saw three-to-four-fold increases in betting activity when NBA games were hosted in their respective capital cities, as per the London-listed operator
The post Entain: NBA Europe Games delivering “significant and accelerating shift” in betting trends first appeared on EGR Intel.