We have previously compared Belarusian licensed iGaming operators by website traffic. This time we changed the lens and examined how search interest in their brands moved and what may have strengthened it.
Search data does not show customer numbers, betting turnover or profit. It does, however, reveal when a brand enters the audience’s field of attention. A global event such as the FIFA World Cup makes these changes particularly visible.
Methodology
We compared Google Trends data for Belarus across two periods:
- before the World Cup: 1 May to 10 June 2026;
- during the World Cup: 11 June to 19 July 2026.
We also reviewed 19 July separately, the day of the final.
Google Trends uses a relative index from 0 to 100. It is not a search-volume count or market share. A value of 100 marks the highest interest within the selected comparison. Low-volume days may appear as 0. The Google Trends methodology explains this normalization in more detail.
We grouped related interest into broader intent categories: direct product access, apps, brand comparison, promotional communication, football, media content and esports.
The main result: interest increased by 12%
The combined average index for the four largest brands increased from 113.8 to 127.6 points. This represents 12.2% growth compared with the pre-tournament period.
The final produced the strongest shared moment. On 19 July the combined index reached 261 points, approximately 2.3 times the average level before the World Cup.
This does not mean betting activity increased by the same proportion. It does show that the final expanded attention towards several betting brands at the same time.
Betera: the leader in absolute interest
Betera’s average index increased from 47.0 to 52.5 points, up 11.6%. On the final day it reached 98, the highest figure among the top four.
Interest around the brand was largely practical: product access, account entry, the app and competitor comparison. The previous brand identity also remains visible in audience behaviour. This reflects broad recognition, while showing that part of the audience still moves between the former and current identities.
Our view: Betera retained first place in absolute search interest and gained an additional tournament boost.
Fonbet: the strongest sustained increase
Fonbet’s index increased from 21.9 to 28.4, a gain of 29.3%. This was the strongest sustained increase among brands with a sufficiently stable baseline.
On the final day the index reached 59, approximately 2.7 times its pre-tournament average.
Attention was connected not only with product intent but also football content, promotional communication and ambassador activity. Andrea Pirlo was particularly visible in Fonbet’s international World Cup communication. This does not prove that a specific activation ran locally in Belarus, but it shows that the association reached Belarusian audiences. Fonbet describes Pirlo’s role in its official World Cup project.
Our view: Fonbet converted the World Cup into the strongest sustained increase in search attention.
Maxline: stability rather than overall growth
Maxline’s average index was almost unchanged: 40.4 before the World Cup and 40.1 during the tournament. The difference was approximately minus 0.8%, which is better described as stable interest.
The final still produced a response. The index reached 62, 53% above the regular pre-tournament level.
Maxline data has an important limitation. The brand name overlaps with the historic name of Belarusian football club ML Vitebsk. During the period, the club played Universitatea Craiova in UEFA Champions League qualifying, as confirmed by UEFA data. Part of the search signal may therefore relate to football rather than the betting product.
Our view: Maxline maintained a strong baseline and responded to the final, but its overall index requires careful interpretation.
Winline: fast growth from a low base
Winline’s average index increased from 4.4 to 6.7, up approximately 51.3%. On the final day it reached 42.
The percentage is the largest, but Winline’s Google Trends baseline is much lower and several days appear as 0. The result therefore indicates direction, but it does not place Winline above the other brands in absolute interest.
Attention around Winline extended beyond the World Cup. Esports, media football, sports content and promotional communication all contributed, creating the group’s most diverse search profile.
Our view: Winline received a strong relative boost, although part of it came from the brand’s wider sports and entertainment ecosystem.
What about the other operators?
Marathonbet and Betcity generated much weaker search signals that appeared mainly as isolated spikes. Google Trends did not provide enough stable data for Brazino777 and GG.by to support a reliable comparison.
This does not mean those brands lack customers or activity. It only means the open search dataset is too limited to calculate a defensible trend against the top four.
What the World Cup revealed
The tournament did not create the same pattern for every brand.
- Betera remained the leader in absolute search interest.
- Fonbet recorded the strongest sustained increase.
- Maxline held a stable baseline and rose clearly on the final day.
- Winline grew fastest relative to its own low starting point.
The main conclusion is not that one brand “won” the World Cup. Search data reveals different reasons for attention. Some operators are stronger in direct recognition, while others stand out through football content, promotional communication or sports projects.
The next meaningful update should examine whether interest persisted after the tournament. The post-period will show where the World Cup created a temporary spike and where it helped a brand remain in the audience’s memory.
This article is for informational purposes. Search-interest indices do not represent revenue, GGR, betting volume or market share.
