Illegal streaming of the 2026 FIFA World Cup reached an estimated 174.3 billion qualifying views worldwide, with advertising for unregulated gambling appearing across 95% of those streams, according to new research from Gaming Compliance International (GCI).
The figures underline the growing commercial relationship between sports piracy and offshore gambling, with illegal streaming platforms increasingly serving as a large-scale customer acquisition channel for unlicensed betting operators.
GCI Records 1.68 Billion Illegal Views Per Match
GCI defined a qualifying illegal stream view as a stream watched for at least 90 seconds, a threshold designed to exclude brief accidental visits and automatic pop-ups.
The measurement represents stream views rather than individual viewers. One person may therefore generate several qualifying views after refreshing a feed, changing servers or reconnecting to an IPTV service.
Across the tournament, GCI calculated an average of 1.68 billion qualifying illegal views per match. The World Cup final between Spain and Argentina was the most heavily pirated fixture, generating an estimated 6.2 billion qualifying views globally.
Repeated interruptions are also commercially valuable to piracy operators because each reload can create another advertising impression. GCI said refresh activity was particularly strong during major moments such as penalty shootouts and red-card incidents, when viewers were less likely to abandon a stream.
The scale of the activity follows an already large illegal sports streaming market. A separate GCI-backed study estimated 3.6 billion illegal stream views lasting at least 90 seconds across the 10 most popular sports in Great Britain during 2025, up from 3.1 billion in 2024. It also found unregulated gambling advertising on more than 80% of illegal sports streams monitored in the UK and US during those two years.
Unregulated Operators Took Majority of World Cup Betting
GCI estimated total global online betting handle for the 2026 World Cup at approximately $593 billion.
Of that amount, around $409 billion, or 69%, was attributed to unregulated gambling platforms. Licensed operators accounted for an estimated $184 billion, or 31%. The $409 billion figure does not represent betting generated solely by illegal streams, but GCI considers piracy one of the major channels directing sports audiences toward offshore gambling sites.
The commercial structure helps explain why gambling advertising is so widespread on pirate platforms. According to GCI, some illegal streaming operators work under affiliate arrangements that allow them to receive approximately 25% to 50% of net gaming revenue from customers referred to unregulated gambling services.
The advertisers identified were not limited to traditional offshore sportsbooks. GCI said illegal feeds also promoted sweepstakes casinos, social casino products and prediction-market platforms operating outside relevant regulated frameworks.
Enforcement Targets World Cup Piracy Networks
Authorities increased enforcement against illegal sports streaming during the tournament.
The US Department of Justice seized more than 1,000 internet domains accused of illegally broadcasting 2026 World Cup matches. The DOJ described the coordinated action, known as Operation Offsides, as the largest sports piracy enforcement operation undertaken by the United States.
Other enforcement efforts have targeted major piracy networks, including StreamEast, which was taken down in September 2025 through cooperation between Egyptian authorities and the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment. However, GCI said replacement domains and copycat services recovered substantial traffic during the World Cup.
The company argues that shutting individual domains is unlikely to solve the problem on its own because piracy services can rapidly move to new addresses. Its findings instead point toward disrupting the wider commercial infrastructure connecting illegal content distribution, advertising, affiliate payments and unregulated gambling.
Fraud Risks Also Increased During Tournament
Separate research from fraud-prevention company SEON suggests the World Cup also produced a significant increase in fraudulent activity across online gambling.
SEON analysed more than 800 million events involving more than 50 operators and found registration block rates fell by 16% as companies reduced sign-up friction during the tournament.
At the same time, suspicious withdrawal activity increased 38% compared with the equivalent period in 2025, while the average value of a blocked fraudulent withdrawal rose from $202 to $436.
The study also recorded an 83% global rise in the reactivation of previously verified dormant accounts, increasing to 118% in Latin America. SEON linked part of the trend to fraud networks attempting to exploit older accounts that had already passed identity checks.
Together, the findings show how major sporting events can attract activity far beyond licensed broadcasters and regulated betting operators. GCI’s World Cup data suggests illegal streaming has evolved into a significant distribution and marketing network for unregulated gambling, creating challenges for rights holders, regulators and licensed gaming companies attempting to keep audiences within legal channels.