Anticipated sports betting trends for World Cup 2026

After three decades, the FIFA World Cup is returning to the US, except this time, the United States shares hosting duties with neighbouring countries Canada and Mexico. Expectations are that the tournament will be one of the biggest sporting events in history, commercially speaking. Unlike previous editions, where 32 teams competed to see who would lift the 18-carat gold Silvio Gazzaniga-designed trophy, now 48 nations are taking part, which will no doubt boost viewing interest.

FIFA anticipates that the total audience for the competition will amount to over six billion people, or around 75% of the planet’s population, who will watch at least some part of the tournament. Per a January 2026 report from prepaid payment solution provider Paysafe titled – All the Ways Players Pay, which featured 3,850 people surveyed from North and Latin America, 60% of respondents said they plan to wager on the 2026 World Cup. NYC-based financial services firm Gabelli expects that the increased number of games and online betting’s popularity worldwide, will lead to the tournament’s betting volume dwarfing the $1.8 billion that the US market saw during the 2022 edition. Its projections are that this figure will probably double.

Without question, the tournament shall be a significant revenue generator for multiple industries in and outside its host nations, giving the US economy alone a predicted $30 billion boost. Wagering on it, as noted, should be off the charts, and below we outline three trends that are likely to shape World Cup betting in the summer of 2026. 

A dramatic surge in first-time bettors

Sports betting as a pastime is growing around the globe, with famous brands like NeoBet functioning in both locally-regulated and international landscapes.

Much of betting’s expansion is owed to technological advancements, making this hobby more accessible, but also to regulation shifts that have made it more accessible. At the end of 2022, after the previous World Cup, 31 US states had legalized it. At the start of 2026, this number has expanded to 38, not counting Washington, D.C and Puerto Rico, which also permit it in some form. 

Increased regulation is a worldwide trend, and something that has maintained a steady pace following the last tournament, with Latin American countries like Brazil, Peru, Chile, and Paraguay bringing forward laws that established their betting sectors. Even heavily religious nations like Uzbekistan – who will compete at the World Cup for the first time this year – have had a change of heart regarding how they view betting, with this predominantly Islamic nation permitting it exclusively online since January 2025.

Naturally, with the fresh allowance of this hobby in many countries, many people who have never before given it a try, primarily because they were unable to, will do during the upcoming World Cup. Those who have had a heavy interest in it were likely already indulging in it, regardless of their location, using VPN, crypto, and other means.

The rise of prop markets

Proposition wagers have long been a thing, but they did not enjoy anywhere near the same level of popularity as they do now. In fact, the selection of such a betting option was limited in the past, even at top online sportsbooks. Now, fans are more educated and have a better understanding of team tactics, the sports themselves, and have access to unparalleled amounts of historical data. This has led to demand for props to skyrocket, and operators to offer a huge variety of these markets, which boost platform appeal, engagement, and profits.

According to Vox, 30% of bets in the US are now prop or parlay ones, and going by betting provider Kambi’s 2025 Sports Betting Trends Report, 88% of 2025 Super Bowl pre-match wagers created using the bet builder function included a prop bet.

Hence, it should come as no surprise when just before the start of the 2026 World Cup, money starts flowing in on how many goals will be scored in a specific game, or how many corners a team might have before the final whistle. Futures bets, or specials, such as tournament top scorer and assister, will also be a popular option come summer.

Personalisation of odds & bet recommendations

Everyone knows that personalisation boosts player retention. It has multiple benefits, such as reducing users’ cognitive load and helping build an emotional connection with the party providing them with a service. Gambling operators, as high-revenue-generating businesses, are aware of this, and aside from giving their users UI tweaks and tailored bonuses, they have expanded their personalisation strategies into giving customers customised odds.

Renowned betting brands work with B2B providers like Sportsradar, which are using AI-powered algorithms to supply player-specific pricing based on accumulated behaviour data in what is now an expanding practice.  

Sportradar has an ‘Alpha Odds’ AI service that lets operators implement pricing models that match their objectives, and it then offers their users AI-personalised bet-builder advice. Sportradar claims this feature has shown to boost client retention by 10% on average. VAIX, which was not part of Sportradar, brought its deep-learning technology to the company’s managed trading services, after its 2022 acquisition.

Online bookmakers have had a long history of offering various benefits in attempts to retain what they have deemed high-value customers. Yet, now Sportradar’s sports wagering solution can automatically categorise sportsbook users in different customer segments. It does this by internal criteria and collects player info, which then defines who falls into the sharp category and who is a casual bettor. Other distinctions, such as VIP, also come into play, and software factors in a user’s risk profile to adjust for specific liabilities. Thus, different user types can get different odds for the same event, and this is beneficial for operators, as it helps them with risk management, optimising their profitability in the long term.