Entain: Basketball betting achieves new milestones with NBA’s expansion into Europe
Entain’s latest data reveals a significant surge in betting activity across Europe during the NBA’s 2025–26 European tour, with games in Berlin, Paris and London driving widespread customer engagement.
The NBA has made no secret of its ambition to deepen its presence in Europe through international games and significant spikes in betting activity around these games suggest that their strategy is gaining real traction.
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 said Rene Simanovic, Entain’s Head of European Basketball.
The NBA’s Paris stop in 2025 was a sign of the strong performance to come, particularly in the host market. France recorded one of the most impressive uplifts in stakes across the entire tour. Compared with a typical NBA week: France: +241%, Italy: +119% .Germany: +72%.
The Berlin game on 15th January 2026 delivered the most dramatic uplift of the tour, providing further indication of the NBA’s growing influence across continental Europe: Germany: +274%, Italy: +110, Greece: +68%.
A major driver of local excitement came from the appearance of Berlin-born brothers Franz and Moritz Wagner, whose homecoming with Orlando Magic added cultural significance to the fixture.
The London NBA game on 18th January 2026 again generated significant interest across Europe, though the UK continued to trail other major markets: France: +35%, Germany: +28% , UK: +19%.
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.
