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The summer of soccer in numbers: The data behind football’s biggest betting event

| By James Swann-Phillips
The 2026 World Cup final generated a betting margin roughly six times higher than the tournament's group stage, despite accounting for less than 4% of total turnover. iGB's latest report breaks down the numbers behind football's biggest betting event.
In partnership with SOFTSWISS

As the dust settles on Spain’s extra-time win over Argentina, the data is starting to tell a clearer story from World Cup 2026 than the headlines did. Regulated stakes in France alone more than doubled compared to 2022, geolocation data shows some surprising matches that attracted the most betting action in the host nation, and margin data reveals a market where popularity and profitability didn’t always move together.

Drawing on data from Sportradar, GeoComply, Entain and SOFTSWISS‘ own network, alongside interviews with SOFTSWISS’ Victor Sekushenko, Codere Online’s Alberto Telias and kwiff’s James Watson, the report covers what regulators recorded, how fan sentiment diverged from the betting markets, and what operators need to take from this tournament into the next one.

In partnership with

SOFTSWISS

James Swann-Phillips, Commercial Content Consultant avatar

James Swann-Phillips

James moved into the gambling industry in 2020 after several years in the sports media working for the likes of Sky Sports, the Daily Mail & Metro.

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In partnership with SOFTSWISS