A Major Betting Event: How to Make the Most of the World Cup

In just a few days, the biggest soccer event of the year—the World Cup—kicks off. Billions of fans will be glued to their TV screens. And that means maximum engagement for media buyers who work with betting. Today, we spoke with industry experts—DO IT Partners and Digika Affiliates—to tell you how to get the most out of this event. 

What You Need to Know About the 2026 World Cup

First, let’s go over the basic information you need before getting started with the World Cup: 

• Duration: 39 days (kicks off June 11, final match on July 19);
• Host countries: USA, Mexico, Canada;
• Number of participants: 48 national teams;
• Expected total viewership for all matches: over 60 billion;
• Top contenders: Spain, France, England, Brazil, Argentina. 

Why You Can’t Miss This World Cup

Let’s start with the fact that every World Cup is literally one big celebration for fans around the globe. In many countries where people live and breathe this sport—such as Argentina, Brazil, or England—people save up their vacation days for years so they can spend them at the stadium or in front of the TV, without missing a single match.

There are millions of such fans all over the world. They follow every game, buy match calendars to mark the results, and simply live and breathe this tournament for over a month. We think it goes without saying that this means maximum engagement and high activity in sports betting.

However, the World Cup isn’t just a competition for such fans. When the tournament begins, even those who aren’t particularly interested in soccer hear about it. Since all global media and live broadcasts will be dedicated to this competition. Therefore, even those who don’t know what offside is or from what distance a penalty kick is taken will definitely hear something about the World Cup. And if their national team is participating, they might even watch a few matches. 

Another important factor is the venue of the competition. And the United States plays a key role here. The fact is that the U.S. is not a traditional soccer nation (or as they call it there, “soccer”). However, the U.S. knows how to turn the sport into a spectacular show. Soccer isn’t part of the “Big Four” in the U.S., but their national MLS tournament generates more revenue than the championships in some traditionally soccer-oriented countries. With that in mind, we can expect a truly spectacular show at least in the U.S., which will draw additional attention to the tournament.

And since we’ve started talking about specific countries, let’s take a closer look at them. After all, it is the traditional soccer-loving markets that can bring you the most revenue. That’s because they are home to the largest number of active fans. Among the tournament participants, the following countries stand out: 

• Argentina. The reigning World Champion, where the legendary Maradona once played, and where the equally legendary Messi is now finishing his career. This tournament will most likely be his last. And since the cult of Messi is practically a religion in the country, fan attention will be at its peak;
• Brazil. Another country that literally lives and breathes soccer. Even the simple announcement of the players’ roster for the tournament, which usually takes the form of a press release on the website, caused quite a stir here;
• Portugal. Another country with a living legend—Cristiano Ronaldo. For him, just like for Messi, this World Cup could be his last. However, unlike Messi, for Ronaldo, the World Cup is the only tournament he hasn’t yet conquered. And whether that will change this year—that, perhaps, will be the key question for most fans around the world;
• England. The country where soccer originated. Here, it’s impossible not to know about the World Cup. And while the English national team traditionally doesn’t win major tournaments, it is in this country that people live and breathe soccer to the core;
• Spain. One of the strongest national teams at the moment. The reigning Euro 2024 champion. Spain has a young and extremely promising squad, which, according to analysts, could bring the country that long-awaited World Cup victory as early as this year. The Spaniards understand this, so their focus will be at its peak;
• France. In this country, soccer is not just a sport or even a religion, but also politics. Local candidates understand just how strong the fan base is here, and therefore regularly feature soccer players in their campaigns. It seems this is already a pretty strong indicator that attention to the World Cup in France will be at its peak. Especially after the last edition of this tournament, where the country lost the decisive final match to the aforementioned Argentina. 

However, it’s important to understand that these are just some of the countries that will be living and breathing this tournament. Traditionally, the most attention will be focused on the GEOs that have qualified for this tournament. And there are, hold on, 48 of them. And we’re not just talking about soccer giants like Argentina or Spain, but also much more modest teams that are perfect for beginners. Like Kazakhstan, Morocco, and others. That’s why you can make money betting on the 2026 World Cup even with a minimal budget.

How Can Media Buyer Get the Most Out of the 2026 World Cup

Let’s start with the fact that the World Cup itself is already a self-selling event. 

“There is now a strong consensus in the industry that the 2026 World Cup will be a golden opportunity for betting thanks to the expansion of the tournament to 48 teams and a record audience of over 6 billion people (75% of the world’s population). According to recently published industry research, the willingness of 60% of respondents in North and Latin America to place bets will allow the American market alone to double its volume compared to the 2022 World Cup and significantly exceed the $1.8 billion mark. Prop bets already account for 30% of all wagers. “Additionally, AI-driven personalization of betting lines will increase player retention by 10%, allowing operators to earn more,” say representatives of DO IT Partners. 

In other words, the World Cup is not the kind of tournament where you have to worry about finding an audience. The main question is: how do you capture that audience specifically? 

And here, it’s quite simple. You need to keep an eye on the situation. Situational factors play a major role in such events. In every round, there are teams that pleasantly surprise. And there are favorites that get eliminated too early. That’s the magic of soccer—it’s quite difficult to predict the outcome. And it’s precisely the underdogs, who unexpectedly surge ahead, that become fan favorites around the world. Denmark, Croatia, and even earlier, Greece, were once like that. So you can use this approach for those GEOs that didn’t qualify for the tournament. 

However, to generalize, literally every approach works well during the World Cup. Some people bet to increase interest in the tournament. Others try to make money. Therefore, you can use literally anything: from schemes to an emotional approach or the use of celebrities (as long as the offer allows it).

“Affiliates and operators traditionally launch large-scale marketing campaigns, and against the backdrop of a constant stream of World Cup news, this leads to a significant surge in audience interest,” say representatives of Digika Affiliates. 

They add that to maximize profits from the World Cup, affiliates need to effectively leverage the general surge in interest in the event, pay attention to special bonuses from operators, and take advantage of additional offers from affiliate programs: 

“Such as Digika’s CashMaker Tournament for the World Cup. As part of this event, which runs from May 1 to July 31, financial bonuses depend on the volume of sports traffic.” 

In summary

The World Cup is a great opportunity to work with sports betting, even for those who have never worked in this vertical before. The reason is quite simple—audience engagement is high, and they are often actively looking for places to bet on their favorite team. Your task is simply to find this audience and offer them a solution. So research, test, and good luck with your ROI!