The company’s annual Sportsbook Report of the Year 2026 uses 2025 internal data across sports, esports, and virtual sports. Its headline finding is that cross-product players delivered up to four times higher lifetime value compared to users who played only casino games. In addition, cross-product users appear to deposit more and play more often throughout the week.
Cross-Product Users Stand Out
According to DATA.BET, players active in both casino and sports betting also showed a 40% higher average deposit size. Weekly sessions were nearly 350% higher, while revenue increased by 12% without extra acquisition costs.
This insight matters for operators, as the extra value does not depend only on bringing in new players. It suggests that a broader product mix can change how existing users behave after joining.
That helps explain why sportsbook integration is becoming more attractive for casino-led brands. As for DATA.BET, the company notes that the fastest iFrame integrations can cut time to revenue to about one week. In contrast, API integration usually takes around one month.
Esports Growth Was Led by Core Titles
DATA.BET’s report shows that active users in its esports vertical rose by 141% year on year, while GGR increased by 78.2%. Stake volume rose by 77%, and the number of bets grew by 41.7%. Distribution of user engagement by esports discipline looked as follows:
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Counter-Strike 2 accounted for the largest share of esports engagement at 42.7%;
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Valorant followed with 28.3%;
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League of Legends at 17%;
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Dota 2 at 10.2%.
Big tournaments were no exception to the trend either. StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 outperformed Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024 across the metrics tracked by DATA.BET, recording GGR 210% higher, the user base 203% larger, turnover 149% greater, and the number of bets 148% higher.
DATA.BET also highlights lower-tier and semi-professional coverage. In Valorant, semi-pro matches represented 89.1% of events, 43.3% of turnover, 43% of profit, and 35.7% of bets in 2025.
Low-Tier Events Filled the Calendar
The same logic appeared in sports. DATA.BET launched its sports vertical in June 2025 and said the division recorded 56.4% GGR growth between June and December. Total user growth reached 81% over the same period.
Football led betting share with 39.2%, followed by tennis at 18.9% and basketball at 18.5%. Table tennis made up 8.6%, while American football and baseball accounted for 4.2% and 3.8%, respectively.
The report also points to the value of lower-tier sports events. Low-tier events accounted for 38% in the report’s event and margin distribution, compared with 36% for top-tier events and 26% for mid-tier events. DATA.BET argues that such events run more often and are spread more evenly across the year, while top-tier tournaments cluster around peak periods.
Virtual Sports Added Habitual Activity
Engagement patterns were different with virtual sports. According to DATA.BET, there was 74% growth in virtual sports events coverage, with annual active users rising by 68%.
The dominant category was e-football, with a share of 89.2% in betting volume. E-basketball came next, accounting for 10.5%, whereas e-hockey remained small at 1.2%.
Key Takeaways
Based on the report findings, operators may want to think beyond headline events and single-product journeys. Tournaments are still relevant, but the data suggests that coverage depth and product variety are where value comes from.
Adding a sportsbook, and potentially deeper esports coverage, is not only about opening a new tab on the website. The product should be stable enough and easy to use. That is when it can start to influence player frequency, deposit behavior, and long-term commercial value.
