The 2026 FIFA World Cup is already rewriting records in the sports gambling industry before the knockout stage has even begun, with betting operators and analysts reporting unprecedented wagering activity driven by the tournament’s expanded format, favorable scheduling and the continued growth of regulated gambling markets around the world.
Industry leaders say the 48-team competition, which features 104 matches across the United States, Canada and Mexico, is on course to become the largest betting event in sports history, surpassing all previous World Cups and potentially eclipsing the wagering volume generated by any single sporting competition.
The expansion from 32 teams in 2022 to 48 nations in 2026 has created more matches, more betting opportunities and a broader global audience. Combined with the World Cup’s return to North America and the rapid legalization of sports betting across the United States, the tournament has generated a surge in customer activity that sportsbooks say exceeds even their most optimistic projections.
Flutter Entertainment, the world’s largest online betting company and owner of brands including FanDuel, Paddy Power, Betfair, Sisal, Sportsbet and Sky Bet, said the tournament is expected to become the biggest betting event the company has ever handled.
The company pointed not only to the tournament’s expanded structure but also to its presence in major betting markets such as the United States, Britain, Spain, Brazil, Australia and Canada, where interest in the competition remains exceptionally high.
According to Flutter, betting activity during peak World Cup moments could reach approximately 100,000 wagers per minute across its platforms worldwide. The company also expects around 10 million customers to engage with the tournament through its various brands.
Executives believe total betting stakes during the competition could exceed double the amount recorded during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Analysts are reaching similar conclusions.
Investment bank Macquarie projects total global wagering on the World Cup could surpass $50 billion, significantly above estimates of roughly $35 billion during the previous tournament. The increase reflects not only the larger number of matches but also the dramatic expansion of legal sports betting in the United States.
Since the 2022 World Cup, access to regulated sports wagering in America has grown substantially. Industry estimates indicate approximately 65% of the U.S. population now lives in jurisdictions with legal sports betting, compared with about 40% during the Qatar tournament.
That expansion has transformed the United States from a secondary market into one of the most influential drivers of global World Cup betting activity.
Major sportsbooks operating in the American market report that the opening week of the tournament generated record engagement.
FanDuel said the United States’ opening match and Brazil’s first appearance became the two most popular soccer events in company history based on active customers.
DraftKings reported similar results, describing both matches as the largest soccer betting events in the company’s history in terms of total handle and customer participation.
Handle, the industry term for total money wagered by bettors, has risen dramatically compared with the previous World Cup.
DraftKings executives said first-time customer participation in prediction-based products has tripled since the tournament began, while trading volume on those products has increased by 87%.
Sportsbook wagering has grown even faster.
According to DraftKings, overall betting handle on World Cup matches has increased fivefold compared with equivalent stages of the 2022 competition.
The growth has reinforced forecasts that the World Cup could generate betting volumes significantly larger than those associated with major American sporting events.
Analysts at Deutsche Bank estimate the tournament could produce approximately $3.3 billion in betting handle in the United States alone, led primarily by FanDuel and DraftKings. That figure would approach twice the amount projected for this year’s Super Bowl.
For bookmakers, however, the opportunity extends beyond North America.
Entain Group, whose portfolio includes Ladbrokes, Coral, BetMGM, Sportingbet, bwin and Sports Interaction, said the World Cup’s broad international appeal has created strong engagement across multiple regions.
The company highlighted the importance of having significant exposure in both the United States and Brazil, two of the tournament’s most active betting markets.
While some surprising results during the group stage have created volatility for bookmakers, executives say overall wagering levels remain extremely strong.
Unexpected outcomes such as Spain’s scoreless draw against Cape Verde have occasionally benefited bettors, but those surprises have been balanced by strong performances from major stars including Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland, whose popularity continues to drive betting activity.
The expanded tournament has also encouraged sportsbooks to offer a wider range of betting products than ever before.
Operators have introduced enhanced odds promotions, player-performance markets, live betting options and substitution protections that allow wagers to transfer from substituted players to replacements under certain conditions.
Those innovations have increased customer engagement throughout matches rather than limiting activity to traditional pre-game betting.
British bookmaker bet365 said it had already paid out approximately £30 million ($39.5 million) through one such promotion during the opening 11 days of the tournament.
The company’s substitution-based offers proved particularly popular during matches involving the Netherlands and England, where replacement players quickly influenced results after entering from the bench.
William Hill reported similarly intense activity.
The bookmaker said England’s 4-2 victory over Croatia had become its largest betting event of the tournament so far, while matches involving Mexico, Brazil and France also attracted substantial wagering interest.
The company recorded major payouts linked to Lionel Messi’s first goal of the tournament and experienced another surge after bettors successfully backed Mexico to score first against South Africa in the opening match.
William Hill also noted strong engagement with in-play betting products, particularly player card markets and live match betting, which have become increasingly important revenue sources for sportsbooks.
Company spokesperson Lee Phelps said wagering activity had exceeded internal expectations by more than 20% following the completion of the first round of group-stage fixtures.
Not every aspect of the tournament has been favorable for bookmakers.
The larger field and expanded schedule have created uncertainty regarding team quality and match competitiveness. Several one-sided contests during the group stage have generated concerns about whether lopsided results could reduce betting interest later in the tournament.
Even so, operators largely view the World Cup as a customer acquisition opportunity rather than a short-term revenue event.
Analysts note that attracting millions of new bettors during the tournament is only part of the equation. The long-term success of sportsbooks will depend on converting those customers into regular users who continue wagering on football, basketball, baseball and other sports after the World Cup concludes.
That challenge may ultimately determine how valuable the tournament becomes for the industry.
For now, however, the numbers point to a historic event.
With the knockout rounds still ahead and betting traditionally intensifying as the stakes increase, sportsbooks and analysts increasingly believe the 2026 World Cup betting boom is on track to establish a new benchmark for global sports wagering and redefine the commercial scale of football’s biggest tournament.
