In many senses, the FIFA World Cup in 2026 is already guaranteed to be the largest yet. With 48 teams and 104 matches over 39 days, there will be more football than ever, but a survey from Spotlight Sports Group demonstrates very high sports betting potential too.
Spotlight surveyed 600 people already identifiable as sports fans, with 96% claiming they were planning on watching - the participants were taken equally from LatAm, the US and the UK,
Extrapolating this data onto the wider marketplace would indicate a massive field for sports betting operators to compete on, particularly as 70% of those surveyed also said they planned to bet on the football.
While this would create a strong platform for operators, the companies that capitalise will also be the best at recognising and mitigating the unique limiting factors that the competition presents.
For instance, with the World Cup taking place in the Americas, games will take place at convenient times for domestic fans, but in the UK, where interest is extremely high, games will often start in the late evening and after midnight.
Of the survey's UK participants, 72% of fans say they will watch matches at unusual hours, but a significant 44% also say the late kick-offs will lead to more pre-match betting.
With the influx of new bettors and perhaps more casual football fans, it's worth noting Spotlight's observation that "low-confidence bettors rely heavily on expert information and trusted analysis."
Indeed, the survey finds that 50% of fans report they will be going into the World Cup with limited confidence in their betting knowledge.
Detailed analysis, previews and expert commentary will encourage and direct many of these individuals. 55% of bettors, for instance, report wanting in-depth match previews.
Interestingly, social media ranked highest (50%) for the place where fans discover bets, though it was at the bottom of Spotlight's survey for trustworthiness (21%). Instead, punters are more likely to validate bets on trusted betting platforms (91%) and trusted sports news websites (96%).
Personalisation and social influence will be very important forces to be aware of in terms of shaping how and when people bet. During an important sporting event like this, national loyalty can't be discounted as a factor either, though only 21% of those surveyed say that they bet on their country out of loyalty.
This information was gathered by Spotlight Sports Group in November 2025, less than a year out from the tournament, and it canvassed the opinions of 330 men and 270 women, skewing mostly to the 25-44 age bracket.
Mexico, one of the hosts of the upcoming tournament, exited the competition at the Round of 16 on seven consecutive occasions between 1994 and 2018
