Sportsbook supplier BETBY has published a new analysis of betting behaviour during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, highlighting several changes it believes operators can apply throughout the new European football season.
The report, titled 10 World Cup Insights for the Next 10 Months of Football, examines activity across BETBY’s partner network during the 39-day tournament and compares player behaviour with patterns recorded around the 2022 World Cup.
BETBY found that the 2026 tournament reached 80.70% of active sportsbook players across its network while accounting for 42.47% of total turnover. The company argues that the figures demonstrate how major football tournaments attract widespread attention without necessarily dominating every part of sportsbook activity.
One of the clearest findings concerned how customers discovered World Cup betting markets. Only 18.84% of World Cup wagers were placed through dedicated tournament pages, meaning more than four-fifths originated elsewhere in the sportsbook.
Device behaviour also showed a significant difference between audience size and betting value. Desktop users represented just 13.14% of World Cup players but generated 30.24% of tournament turnover. Average stakes, meanwhile, increased by 2.96 times during the competition.
BETBY also identified major changes in the types of football markets attracting bettors. According to its report, traditional 1X2 betting lost ground while player-focused markets expanded sharply, including a 1,005% increase in betting on player shots on goal compared with the previous World Cup cycle. The supplier believes this reflects a broader shift toward more detailed, individual-player and in-game betting options.
Another focus of the research was activity outside live World Cup match windows. BETBY said its Betby Games esports product helped maintain a continuous betting cycle when the real-world tournament schedule became quieter.
Earlier data released by the supplier showed Betby Games accounted for 16% of all bets placed during the World Cup, reaching 14% of players and producing 11% of gross gaming revenue. During periods without live World Cup fixtures, Betby Games turnover was 25% higher and GGR increased by 35%, suggesting demand for football-related betting continued between matches.
BETBY supplemented its traditional sportsbook with an eWorld Cup competition designed around the national teams and narratives of the real tournament, offering short virtual matches when live football was unavailable.
The supplier now sees those findings as more than a retrospective assessment of the World Cup. BETBY believes operators can use the data to improve event discovery, market selection, promotions and content scheduling throughout the club football calendar, particularly by considering player activity beyond major fixtures rather than treating major tournaments primarily as customer-acquisition events.