2026 World Cup Sets Records for Flutter and DraftKings as Global Betting Turnover Could Top $50 Billion

^{Pictured: Greg Karamitis, Vice-President at DraftKings}

Major bookmakers expect the 2026 World Cup to become the biggest betting event in history, Reuters reported, citing representatives of Flutter, DraftKings, Entain and William Hill.

The rise in betting interest is linked to the tournament’s expanded format: the World Cup features 48 teams and 104 matches. Other factors include kick-off times that suit major gambling markets, the growth of regulated betting and a wider range of bookmaker products.

Key figures:

• Flutter expects around 10 million customers across its platforms and up to 100,000 bets per minute at peak moments;
• Flutter also expects total betting turnover to be at least twice as high as during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar;
• DraftKings reported a fivefold increase in stakes at the start of the tournament compared with the same stage of the 2022 World Cup;
• England v Croatia became William Hill’s biggest betting event by turnover, while figures after the first round of matches were more than 20% ahead of forecast;
• Macquarie expects total wagering on the 2026 World Cup to exceed $50 billion.

The opening matches involving the United States and Brazil have already set records for FanDuel and DraftKings.

For FanDuel, Flutter’s US brand, they were the two biggest football events by number of active customers. For DraftKings, they were the biggest events in its history by betting turnover and number of active customers.

According to DraftKings executive vice-president Greg Karamitis, the company is also seeing growth in prediction markets: the number of new customers has tripled, while trading volume has risen by 87%.

Entain separately highlighted the importance of the tournament’s geography and convenient kick-off times. The company is benefiting from its presence in the US and Brazilian markets, although it says it is still too early to assess the tournament’s final financial impact.

According to Macquarie, for bookmakers the World Cup is primarily an opportunity to acquire new customers, not only to profit from record betting turnover.