$593 billion wagered on the World Cup: a historic record 

The 2026 football World Cup stands as the biggest event in sports betting history, with over $593 billion wagered. 

The shift from 32 to 48 participating teams radically changes the economic landscape of this World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico. With a total of 104 matches scheduled, the competition’s calendar has been significantly extended, offering maximum and continuous exposure to gambling operators. 

According to projections from analysis firm GCI, total global wagers are expected to reach the astronomical sum of $593 billion. This unprecedented volume is driven by the expansion of the tournament to 48 national teams, the opening of new legal markets, and the explosion of online prediction platforms. 

This expansion primarily benefits FIFA. World football’s governing body anticipates global revenues of $13 billion over its 2023-2026 commercial cycle, representing a 72% jump compared to the previous period associated with the World Cup in Qatar. For the 2026 edition alone, FIFA expects revenues of $8.9 billion. In detail, ticketing and hospitality services are projected to triple to reach $3 billion, while broadcasting rights climb to $4.3 billion and sponsorship deals to $3.8 billion. 

The new map of global regulation 

The legislative environment for this tournament is far more open than in 2022. In the United States, mobile sports betting is now legal in 39 states. Group stage matches, broadcast from the afternoon into the evening on the East Coast, fall during peak bookmaker hours. Initial estimates from Deutsche Bank already attribute $1.3 billion in wagers to FanDuel and $1.1 billion to DraftKings. In total, the legal US market is expected to generate between $2.82 and $4.3 billion, nearly nine times the volume of the Qatari World Cup. 

Brazil is also participating for the first time in a final tournament as a fully regulated market, following the entry into force of its licenses in January 2025. Analysts predict that Brazilian bettors will represent about 10% of the global betting volume. In Europe, situations remain mixed: the United Kingdom operates under the auspices of the UKGC, Greece via the HGC, and Italy still applies its total ban on gambling advertising via the ADM. 

Global audience fragmented among major operators 

Analysis of global web traffic over the last thirty days shows that no single player monopolizes the bettors’ audience. Flows are distributed among brands of highly diverse geographic and technical origins. 

The global ranking of operators by total monthly visits is as follows: 

Operator	Monthly visits
Stake	151.2 M
Betano	97.8 M
SportyBet	89.8 M
Caliente.mx	55.9 M
bet365	51.5 M
Superbet	45.7 M
Betway	41.2 M
Sisal	38.1 M
Hollywoodbets	35.7 M
Stoiximan	26.9 M
FDJ	25.4 M
1xBet	22.3 M
William Hill	20.6 M
Bovada	17.25 M
Novibet	15.1 M

The crypto market leader, Stake, largely dominates with 151.2 million visits, followed by Betano and the pan-African operator SportyBet. The middle of the table is occupied by Mexican giant Caliente and UK leader bet365, complemented by well-established European players like Superbet or Italy’s Sisal. 

The boom of decentralized prediction markets 

One of the major breakthroughs of this 2026 edition lies in the emergence of decentralized prediction markets, which now rival traditional bookmakers in volume. The combined volume of the Kalshi and Polymarket platforms surged by 75% to reach $44.8 billion in the month of June alone. Kalshi alone processed over $30 billion, while Polymarket set a historic record at $10.8 billion. 

By mid-July, financial contracts on the outcome of the World Cup represented $5.81 billion in trading volume. The market for the future tournament winner concentrated most of the liquidity, with $4.2 billion on Polymarket and $1.17 billion on Kalshi. These new tools challenge regulators: while the US is still debating the legal status of these contracts (financial products or gambling), Spain has blocked access to them and Brazil has issued an outright ban on these exchange markets. 

The persistent shadow of the black market 

Despite channelization efforts by various regulators, the share of legal channels remains a minority. The specialized body H2 Gambling Capital estimates the total volume of regulated bets at around $60 billion for the entire tournament. 

The contrast with the $593 billion in global wagers projected by GCI highlights a staggering gap: nearly 69% of the money gambled during the World Cup (about $409 billion) flows through illegal or unregulated channels. This major imbalance recalls the limits of current restrictive policies. As Spain qualified for the final on July 19 at the MetLife Stadium after its victory against France, the financial outcome of the event will serve as a basis for reflection on the future structuring of the global online gambling market. 

In Belgium: a market facing the challenge of restrictions 

Belgium is not left out of this fervor, even though the Red Devils are playing under one of the strictest regulatory frameworks in Europe. Since the recent reforms of the Gambling Commission (GCB) and the near-total ban on gambling advertising, player acquisition relies exclusively on natural search engine optimization (SEO) and organic brand awareness. 

Despite this, bookmakers and online casinos have demonstrated great creativity, offering players promotions matching the achievements of our Red Devils. Notably, we can think of all the Goal Fever promotions by PepperMill Casino, with the prize amount aligned with the goals scored by the national team, or Circus’s Combo Cards, which allowed players to collect football team cards and then exchange them for cash. 

The exact figures for Belgian bets during this World Cup are not yet known, but they are definitely higher than during the last World Cup.