There’s something the best betting traffic buyers have known for years, but that few platforms have been able to prove with their own data: the sports bettor and the adult traffic user are, to a large extent, the same person.

Same gender profile. Same age range — 25 to 44. Same mobile behaviour. And, most importantly, the same peak activity hours: sportsbook peaks and adult traffic peaks overlap almost perfectly, every day, across every GEO.

“When someone isn’t watching the match, they’re on TrafficStars inventory.”

This isn’t a sales pitch — it’s why betting became the second largest vertical on TrafficStars, the world’s leading adult advertising network, with 300B+ impressions served every month across 240+ GEOs. The audience operators need is already there, active every day of the tournament.

And now, for the first time in its history, TrafficStars is opening its data to the market.

  See the Traffic World Cup live →  

The Traffic World Cup: real data turned into a tournament

During the FIFA 2026 World Cup, TrafficStars launched the Traffic World Cup: a parallel tournament where 32 of the top betting GEOs on its network compete in a knockout bracket. The winner isn’t decided by any referee — it’s decided by the Efficiency Index, a real-time composite index combining impressions served, clicks generated, CTR, and actual advertiser spend in that market.

The GEO with stronger performance advances. The one that falls short is eliminated. Results are published round by round, from the Round of 32 all the way to the Grand Final on July 19. It isn’t a static ranking — it’s 39 days of real-time betting performance data, organised with the structure of a World Cup so it’s easy to follow and act on.

Predict the winner before the data drops.

Alongside the bracket, there’s a Fan Zone where any traffic professional can vote on which GEO they think will win each matchup — before the real data drops. You vote based on your experience and instinct. Then, real platform data reveals who was right and why.

It’s the most direct way to calibrate your market view against what’s actually happening on the network.

  Make my prediction now →  

Win the match before it starts: your World Cup strategy

Each match has four distinct behavioural windows

The research phase (T-24h to T-12h), when the bettor searches for odds and builds accumulators. The anticipation phase (T-12h to T-3h), when intent rises. The decision phase (T-3h to T-30min), when formations are announced and odds move. And the last call (T-30min to kickoff), when conversion is at its absolute peak and the right format can be the difference between a conversion and a bounce.

The format combination is the campaign

The best betting advertisers on TrafficStars don’t pick a single format. They work with a layered strategy: Popunder for cold reach during off-match hours, Video Pre-Roll in the pre-match research window, Native to build retargeting audiences at low cost, and IFP — Interstitial Full Page, full screen, mobile-first — in the final 30 minutes before kickoff, when conversion intent is at its highest.

LATAM is the highest-opportunity region on the network right now

Brazil opened its regulated online betting market in 2025. Mexico is a co-host of the tournament. Argentina, Colombia, Venezuela and Chile have active audiences and competitive CPMs compared to Tier 1. These markets are significantly under-bought on TrafficStars — the inventory exists, the audience is there, and competition for that traffic hasn’t yet taken off. The Traffic World Cup shows, round by round, which of these GEOs are starting to break out.

TrafficStars: the platform where the audience lives

7 ad formats. 240+ GEOs. 184 languages. 300 billion impressions per month. Over 10 years of performance ad tech experience. Betting-ready compliance controls. Real-time bid management and account teams that can rebalance GEOs and swap creatives in hours, not days.

The Traffic World Cup is built on the platform’s own live data. Every bracket result is a direct read of real betting traffic performance right now — available to everyone following the tournament.

The FIFA World Cup has kicked off. So has the Traffic World Cup. First data drops June 28. Grand Final is July 19. Enter, make your predictions, and launch your campaigns on the network where the betting audience is already active.

Partnership to focus on fan travel experiences for BLAST events in 2026 and 2027, including the BLAST Premier Hong Kong Rivals 2026

BLAST, one of the world’s leading esports entertainment companies, today announced a new strategic partnership with MATCH, a globally renowned leader in premium sports experiences with extensive expertise spanning product development, production, marketing, sales and customer service.

The one-year agreement will see MATCH work alongside BLAST to deliver premium fan travel experiences and commercial opportunities across BLAST’s global esports events portfolio, with an immediate focus on the upcoming BLAST Premier Hong Kong Rivals in November.

MATCH, and its associated group of companies, are internationally recognised for delivering world-class hospitality and accommodation programmes at some of the globe’s biggest and more commercially successful sports events, including four consecutive FIFA World Cups between 2010 and 2022, multiple Ryder Cup tournaments, Formula 1 Grand Prix and ATP tennis tournaments.

The partnership comes amid continued global growth and demand for elevated live esports events. In 2025 alone, BLAST delivered 15 arena shows across 10 countries spanning five of the world’s leading esports titles, selling 194,421 tickets to fans worldwide as esports continues to establish itself as one of the fastest-growing sectors in live entertainment.

James Woollard, VP of Destinations and Market Development for BLAST, said: “We’re thrilled to partner with MATCH, a company with an unrivalled track record in delivering top-tier fan travel experiences at the biggest sporting events in the world. As BLAST continues to grow globally and attract growing numbers of travelling fans, this partnership represents an exciting opportunity to further elevate the live event experience for fans and audiences across esports.”

Richard Parker, Director of UK Events and Business Strategy for MATCH, said: “Esports is one of the most exciting growth frontiers in live entertainment, and BLAST stands out as a world-class platform with incredible potential. At MATCH, we see a tremendous opportunity to bring our expertise in creating premium fan experiences into the esports arena. We are very enthusiastic about the possibility of working together with BLAST to deliver innovative, unforgettable experiences for esports fans worldwide.”

Through the partnership, MATCH will bring its extensive global network of clients, sponsors, international sports federations, agents and media partners to BLAST events, helping expand international attendance, elevate fan experiences and further position esports within the premium live entertainment landscape.

The collaboration will also leverage MATCH’s proven technology, infrastructure and operational expertise that has supported some of the world’s largest sporting events, creating scalable fan travel solutions tailored for esports audiences and commercial partners.

MATCH’s integrated model combines rights-holder expertise with full-service delivery capabilities, enabling efficient setup, operational consistency and premium guest experiences across global events. The company’s proven international reach attracted attendees from more than 150 countries during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, demonstrating the scale and effectiveness of its worldwide hospitality and marketing network.

The partnership reinforces BLAST’s continued ambition to innovate and expand the esports event experience globally, creating new opportunities for fans, brands and commercial partners alike.