Financial experts predict that the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup will become the most heavily wagered‑on sporting event in history, with global bets exceeding $50 billion.
According to a report from Macquarie, a financial services firm, that translates to roughly $500 million in wagers per match.
The projected total marks a sharp rise from the $35 billion bet during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The surge is largely driven by the tournament’s expanded format: for the first time, 48 teams will compete, resulting in over 100 matches across six weeks, compared to 64 games in 2022.
Macquarie analyst Chad Benyon noted that the host nations — the United States, Canada, and Mexico — also offer favorable time zones for global audiences, boosting viewership and betting interest in Europe, Latin America, and Africa.
Another key factor is the rapid growth of legal sports betting in the U.S., where roughly 65% of the population can now place legal wagers, up from 40% in 2022. This marks the first World Cup accessible to a majority of Americans for betting.
However, Benyon cautioned that betting companies may struggle to turn casual World Cup bettors into long‑term customers across multiple sports. He added that operators with integrated casino platforms stand to gain the most from the surge.
Gambling awareness advocates are sounding alarms. Les Bernal of Stop Predatory Gambling warned that “hundreds of thousands of people around the world, especially young men, will face life‑changing debt and financial hardship” due to World Cup betting. He noted that 99 out of 100 sports bettors lose money over time, and that the industry’s business model relies on creating addicted gamblers — an addiction with a suicide rate unmatched by most others. He urged global politicians to rein in addictive gambling products and protect consumers from being “fleeced” during the tournament.
In the UK, campaigner Matt Zarb‑Cousin said World Cup punters would be aggressively cross‑promoted with even more addictive casino content.
A report from the National Centre for Social Research found that, in Britain, 79% of gambling companies’ revenue came from the top 10% of spenders — those who bet at least £5,639 per year.
The forecast arrives as U.S. regulators move to tighten oversight of online prediction markets. On Wednesday, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) proposed banning bets on topics such as terrorism, assassination, war, and other unlawful activities.
Prediction markets, like those run by Kalshi, have drawn controversy for allowing users to bet on events like the Iran and Ukraine wars — though Kalshi has since removed those markets following public backlash.
