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Optimove Pulse. The iGaming Industry Benchmark Tool
Explore Optimove’s iGaming Pulse to instantly benchmark your performance against the rest of the industry.
Why it matters:
US players are showing up more often. In August, the average active player was on site 9.0 days, the most in the past year. Deposits ran 9% higher than the 12-month average. Sports betting was up 5%.
Retention did drop, to 65%. That is normal after a big event. The World Cup finals brought in a lot of casual bettors in July. When a tournament ends, most of those players move on. It happens every time.
What is left is a smaller group that plays more and spends more. That gives operators two jobs right now. Reward the players who are already active. And go after the World Cup newcomers soon, while there is still a chance to bring them back.
Key takeaways:
Optimove Insights' iGaming Pulse provides a 12-month benchmark of player behavior across the US and global iGaming markets. This analysis compares key online gaming indicators based on a monthly average of 3.2 million active players in the US and 21 million globally. The period analyzed spans from September 2025 through August 2026 and covers deposits, casino and sports betting volumes, bettor growth, activity frequency, and retention.
August's US data shows stability on value metrics: average deposit amount, casino betting amount, and sports betting amount all stayed within single-digit percentage points of their July levels, and casino betting amount actually held essentially flat month-over-month.
Engagement metrics, by contrast, pulled in opposite directions. Activity days rose to their highest point of the trailing year, while the retention rate fell to its lowest, a divergence the data ties to the World Cup finals, whose casual bettors appear to have driven July's retention numbers up temporarily before drifting away in August, even as the players who remained showed deeper engagement.
Global told a different story over the same month. Both the Casino and Sports Bettors Growth Trend indices climbed to their highest points of the trailing year, while Global retention rate fell even further than the US's, to 60%.
Taken together with the acceleration in Global growth, this points to active acquisition or reactivation campaigns working internationally in August, a contrast worth watching against the steadier, flatter US trend.
August 2026 versus 12-month trailing average:
| US metric | August 2026 | 12-month trailing average | Difference |
| Average Deposit Amount | $865 | $790 | +9% |
| Average Total Monthly Casino Betting Amount | $5,344 | $5,452 | -2% |
| Casino Bettors Growth Trend | 100% | 102% | -2 percentage points |
| Average Total Monthly Sports Betting Amount | $1,128 | $1,077 | +5% |
| Sports Bettors Growth Trend | 117% | 112% | +5 percentage points |
| Average Activity Days Per Active Player | 9.0 | 8.7 | +3% |
| Average Active Customer Retention Rate | 65% | 71% | -6 percentage points |
Casino Bettors Growth Trend: The growth of the number of active casino bettors over the last 12-month period. It uses the first month of the analyzed period as a baseline (100%) and shows relative growth or decline from there.
Sports Bettors Growth Trend: The growth of the number of active sports bettors over the last 12-month period. It uses the first month of the analyzed period as a baseline (100%) and shows relative growth or decline from there.
Retention's slide to a 12-month low lines up with the exit of casual bettors who joined during the World Cup finals. Operators who can identify and target this specific cohort quickly, before the drop-off hardens into permanent churn, have a real window to convert a one-time event visit into a repeat habit.
Activity days hit their highest point of the year in the same month retention fell, meaning the players who stuck around are spending more days active, not fewer. That's an audience worth rewarding directly, whether through loyalty tiers or frequency-based incentives, rather than spreading budget evenly across a shrinking base.
Global casino and sports bettor growth both hit trailing-year highs in August, alongside a steeper retention drop than the US saw. If that's the result of deliberate acquisition or reactivation campaigns elsewhere, as the growth pattern suggests, there may be a playbook worth testing domestically, particularly ahead of the next major sporting calendar event.
August had two speeds. Money stayed steady. Deposits were up 9% over the 12-month average and sports betting up 5%, while casino betting held about flat. Engagement went two ways. Players were active 9.0 days on average, the most in the past year. But retention dropped to 65%.
That drop was expected. A lot of casual players signed up for the World Cup finals in July and left once it was over. This happens after every big event.
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Roni is a Marketing Research Analyst on Optimove’s Professional Services team.
As part of her role, she analyzes customer data to extract actionable marketing insights for retail and gaming clients. Roni is currently pursuing a degree in Industrial Engineering and Management at Tel Aviv University.
