Talabat launches World Cup prediction game to drive app engagement

Mohammed Kamal

Last updated 13-06-2026

3 min

Talabat has launched “Predict and Enjoy” to turn World Cup guesses into vouchers.

Users pick win, loss or draw, with rewards unlocked through correct predictions.

The game is live across eight countries and sits directly in the app.

Existing users can join now; new users qualify after their first order.

Talabat hopes this “bit of fun” boosts engagement and spending during the tournament.

Talabat is leaning into World Cup fever with a new in-app game called “Tawaqa’ wa Istatamti’”, or “Predict and Enjoy”, giving customers across the region a chance to turn match predictions into vouchers while the tournament runs. The idea is pretty straightforward: users pick whether a match will end in a win, loss or draw, and every correct call moves them closer to reward goals inside the app.

The feature is live for customers in the UAE, Oman, Iraq, Kuwait, Jordan, Egypt, Bahrain and Qatar. Once users hit those goals, Talabat vouchers are added automatically to their accounts, ready to be spent across the company’s network of more than 84,000 active partners. There is also a progress bar, which tracks how far each person has moved from one match to the next — a small detail, maybe, but one that often makes these gamified features stick.

It sits in a dedicated section on the app’s bottom navigation bar, so there is no extra download or side app to mess around with. Existing customers who have placed at least one order can take part right away, while new users become eligible after completing their first order. The prediction window shuts 15 minutes before each match, which feels like a smart move; it keeps things snappy and stops last-minute gaming of the sistem.

Alvaro Martinez, Talabat’s Senior Regional Director of Marketing and Growth, said the feature uses the platform to bring food and sport together in a more interactive and rewarding way during the tournament. That checks out. In the MENA startup scene, I’ve seen again and again how the simplest products often land best when they meet people where they already are, rather than asking them to learn something new from scratch. Talabat seems to be betting on exactly that.

There is also a wider business logic here. Delivery platforms have spent years trying to move from pure utility into habit, even entertainment. This kind of feature will not reinvent the wheel, but it could be a neat way to keep users engaged between orders and, when all is said and done, nudge spending across its merchant base too. A bit of fun, a bit of retention — two birds with one stone.

Dubai-headquartered Talabat has the scale to try these experiments with some muscle behind them. The company listed on the Dubai Financial Market in December 2024, and by December 2025 it was serving more than 7 million monthly active users. For a region where football and food are both serious business, the timing feels hard to argue with, even if these promo mechanics can sometimes be hit or miss. Still, this one has a decent shot, and frankly, I think it is one of the more sensible branded World Cup tie-ins we’ve seen lately..!

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