World Cup 2026 is on track to become the biggest betting event in history

The 2026 World Cup is already setting sports betting records before the knockout stage even starts. For PSPs, acquirers, and banks that touch gambling traffic, the important part is simple: more teams, more matches, better kickoff times, and a much larger regulated US market mean more volume, more customer activity, and more pressure on payment infrastructure.

1. According to industry leaders and experts cited in the source, the expanded tournament — 48 nations and 104 matches — is expected to far exceed the betting volume seen at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The reasons given are straightforward: broader gambling regulation, a wider product offering, and the scale of the US market as co-host.
2. Flutter Entertainment, whose brands include FanDuel, Paddy Power, Betfair, Sisal, Sportsbet and Sky Bet, said the larger tournament should lift participation not only in the US but also in markets where it has a strong position: Great Britain, Spain, Brazil, Australia and Canada. A Flutter spokesperson said: “We foresee the World Cup becoming the biggest betting event in history, given its extended format and the advantage of it taking place partially in our key market, the United States.”
3. Flutter expects around 10 million customers across its platforms and 100,000 bets per minute globally at peak World Cup activity. The company also said: “In general, we expect betting volume to be at least double what we recorded in Qatar.” For operators, that is less a slogan than an operational note: peak-event capacity has to be built for bursts, not averages.
4. Macquarie forecasts total World Cup betting to exceed $50,000,000,000 globally, up from $35,000,000,000 in 2022. One key driver is the changing US regulatory landscape, where access to legal betting has risen from 40% of the population in 2022 to 65%.
5. Reuters also reported that the opening matches for the United States and Brazil were FanDuel’s two most active football games ever by customer count, while DraftKings said those same matches were its biggest events ever for betting volume and active customers. Greg Karamitis, DraftKings’ executive vice president and general manager of sports, said they had already seen “tremendous participation” and a huge increase in betting volume.

One useful detail for high-risk operators: the source defines betting volume as the total amount wagered by users, while active customers are those with registered accounts. That distinction matters when a tournament drives both repeat wagering and new account activity at the same time.