France leads wagering as DATA.BET breaks down World Cup 2026 betting data
2026-07-24
Source: Yogonet
DATA.BET's analysis of FIFA World Cup 2026 wagering shows France leading in stakes, pre-match bets accounting for 63% of turnover, and the knockout rounds matching group stage turnover despite fewer matches.
Sportsbook solutions provider DATA.BET has released an analysis of betting behaviour throughout the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the largest edition of the tournament ever staged. The event featured 104 matches across the United States, Canada and Mexico, drawing a combined attendance of 6.8 million.
France emerged as the nation attracting the highest volume of stakes, followed by Spain, Argentina, England and Belgium. Together, that top five accounted for 36.5% of total turnover across the competition.
Traditional powerhouses did not exclusively drive betting interest, however. Cape Verde delivered the biggest surprise of the group phase, while Egypt — spearheaded by Mohamed Salah — pushed Argentina hard in the Round of 16. That run captured global attention and sparked a corresponding uptick in wagering activity as it progressed.
Pre-match betting dominated with a 63% share of turnover, while live in-play markets made up the remaining 37%. This ratio held steady throughout the six-week tournament, regardless of match stage or opponent.
Statistical markets contributed more than 11% of total turnover. The most popular of these was Corners Total, which ranked tenth overall by stake even as core markets such as 1x2 and Totals remained the primary drivers. Bettors also built increasingly complex combinations via the Bet Builder feature, regularly pairing Corners, Yellow Cards and Team Totals with Anytime Goalscorer — a market sustained by finishing from Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland and Harry Kane.
Despite the group stage featuring substantially more matches and generating over 33% more bets than the knockout phase, the two stages delivered nearly identical turnover and attracted a similar number of unique bettors. The average stake during the knockout rounds was 28% higher than in the group stage, with turnover climbing steadily through the closing rounds. The semi-finals and final recorded the highest turnover of any stage.
When comparing the World Cup to other major events, DATA.BET noted that combined betting turnover for the FIFA World Cup 2026 and the Intel Extreme Masters Cologne Major 2026 split 58.5% to 41.5% in favour of the football tournament.
“What made this World Cup stand out wasn't one number — it was how consistently engaged bettors stayed for six straight weeks, till the final,” said Yevhenii Ilchenko, Head of Sports at DATA.BET.