The 2026 World Cup is on track to be the biggest gambling event of all time, with an estimated $50bn placed in bets – around $500m wagered per match, according to financial services firm Macquarie, which has interests in the gambling industry.
It says this is primarily down to the expansion in teams, meaning there will be more than 100 matches played, up from 64 in 2022.
Flutter Entertainment, which owns Paddy Power, Betfair and Sky Bet, forecast the amount placed in bets would be double that of the previous tournament because of growth in the US and also Brazil.
Chad Beynon, an analyst at Macquarie, said in-play betting had taken over from the more traditional pre-match punt.
“Now it’s all about reacting to what you’re seeing on the field, adjusting your views. Whereas before it was kind of sit, watch, wait – you had to place your bet before the match,” he says.
Sports betting in the US is still a relatively new industry. Until 2018, betting on sports was only legal in Nevada, the home of Las Vegas, but a Supreme Court ruling paved the way for many states to legalise it.
However, there are still some states where it remains illegal, including California and Texas. In those areas there has been big engagement in prediction markets – a fast-growing, billion-dollar industry popular with young men – which are not classified as gambling, meaning they can be used to place bets on sport regardless of which state someone is in.
Additional reporting by Ian Murphy, Newsbeat.
