The FIFA Men's World Cup is set to be the biggest betting event of all time, with more than US$50 billion in wagers placed globally.
The tournament will see punters place bets worth around US$500 million per match, according to a forecast by financial services firm Macquarie.
The expected US$50 billion total would be a major increase from the US$35 billion of wagers placed during the 2022 World Cup, which was held in Qatar.
Gambling awareness groups warned almost all punters lose money in the long-run, and that those betting during the World Cup risk being encouraged to try more addictive forms of betting.
Macquarie analyst Chad Benyon says the expected surge in gambling revenue is primarily due to an expansion of the number of teams at this year's tournament, from 32 to 48.
As a result, there will be more than 100 matches over the six-week schedule, compared with the 64 played in Qatar in 2022.
Benyon says the favourable time zones of hosts the US, Canada and Mexico will also boost global viewership, fuelling demand among punters in Europe, Latin America and Africa.
Another driver of the increase is the growing sports betting market in the US, with around 65 percent of the population now able to gamble on sports, up from 40 percent in 2022.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup gets underway tomorrow, with hosts Mexico facing South Africa at 7am and South Korea taking on the Czech Republic at 2pm.
Source: BBC
The 2026 FIFA World Cup gets underway tomorrow, with hosts Mexico facing South Africa at 7am and South Korea taking on the Czech Republic at 2pm.
Source: BBC
