DATA.BET has released a comprehensive analysis of betting activities during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, an event that drew significant attention, with an impressive 6.8 million attendances across 104 matches held in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Pre-match wagering made up 63% of the overall turnover, while live betting maintained a stable 37% share throughout the tournament, demonstrating a consistent betting behavior over the six weeks, regardless of match stage or teams involved.
Statistical betting markets were notable, contributing over 11% to total turnover. Among these, the Corners Total market emerged as the most popular, ranking 10th in total stakes despite the focus on traditional betting markets like 1×2 and Totals. Bettors frequently utilized Bet Builder to create complex combinations, often pairing markets like Corners, Yellow Cards, and Team Totals with Anytime Goalscorer bets. The Anytime Goalscorer market benefitted from strong performances by players such as Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland, and Harry Kane.
In terms of team popularity, France attracted the highest stakes, followed closely by Spain, Argentina, England, and Belgium. Collectively, these five teams accounted for 36.5% of the total stake, underscoring their appeal among bettors during the tournament.
Interestingly, some of the most significant betting activity shifts originated from teams outside the usual favorites. Cape Verde provided a major surprise in the group stage, while Egypt, spearheaded by Mohamed Salah, challenged Argentina in a tense Round of 16 match, capturing global interest and stimulating an increase in betting volumes as they progressed.
Yevhenii Ilchenko, Head of Sports at DATA.BET, remarked on the remarkable scale of the event, noting, "The scale wasn’t just visible on the pitch — it showed in our numbers too. The combined betting turnover of the FIFA World Cup 2026 and the Intel Extreme Masters Cologne Major 2026 was split 58.5% to 41.5% in favor of the World Cup."
Betting activity escalated as the tournament advanced. Despite the group stage featuring a higher number of matches and yielding more than 33% more bets than the playoff stage, both segments recorded similar turnover and engaged nearly the same number of unique bettors. This trend indicates that the fewer but higher-stakes matches held equal significance to the full round of group games. The average stake during the playoff stage surpassed that of the group stage by 28%, with the highest turnover occurring during the semi-finals and finals.
Yevhenii Ilchenko also stated, "What made this World Cup stand out wasn’t one number — it was how consistently engaged bettors stayed for six straight weeks, till the final.", highlighting the growing enthusiasm and sustained engagement from sports bettors throughout the tournament.
