World Cup sports betting projected to shatter records with over $50 billion wagered globally
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is tracking to become the biggest betting event in history, with Canadian bettors showing 71 per cent more activity than during the 2022 tournament.
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Sports betting companies are on track to win big during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with betting activity expected to shatter all previous records and exceed $50 billion US wagered worldwide.
The tournament marks only the second World Cup since sports betting became legal across much of the U.S., and the first with regulated online gambling in Ontario. Canadian bettors have shown particularly strong engagement, with BetMGM reporting a 71 per cent increase in bets placed per match and a 73 per cent increase in total wagered amounts compared to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Experts credit several factors: convenient North American kickoff times, the expansion of the tournament to 48 teams creating more matchups, and an explosion of "prop bets" that let users wager on individual plays within a game — from which team scores first to the exact number of corner kicks awarded. Host nations Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. all advancing to the Round of 16 has further driven local betting interest.
Yet the rise of pervasive betting advertising and easier access is drawing criticism. A survey by Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada found more than one in four gambling respondents said advertising influenced their betting decisions. Journalist Danny Funt, author of "Everybody Loses: The Tumultuous Rise of American Sports Betting," warns that the volume of ads can give bettors a false impression of winning odds. "For a lot of people, it's second nature that if you turn a game on, you rush to place a bet," he said.
