Kambi’s Head of Soccer Danny Skelton has outlined how the unpredictable start to FIFA World Cup 2026 is creating major opportunities for the live sports betting industry.
The opening group stage has already produced a series of stunning results, with Spain held to a 0-0 draw by Cape Verde and Belgium dropping points against Egypt.
These outcomes have reinforced just how compelling and unpredictable the World Cup can be, capturing audiences and bettors across the globe in equal measure.
For Kambi, that unpredictability presents both a challenge and a significant commercial opportunity, placing a premium on delivering a responsive and accurate live betting product.
The 2026 tournament marks the first time 48 teams have competed, a format change that has increased the likelihood of mismatches across the group stage.
Germany’s 7-1 win over Curaçao is a clear example, with the contest effectively decided by halftime and bettors shifting focus to alternative markets well before the final whistle.
Skelton noted that when traditional competitive narratives break down early, bettors gravitate toward next goal markets, player props and spread variants to stay engaged with the action.
Kambi has prepared extensively for these scenarios, with Skelton stating the company is “able to deliver a breadth of offering and accuracy of live odds that few can match.”
The expanded tournament format also introduces an additional round of 32, meaning more knockout fixtures and greater potential for extra time and penalties, which are among football’s most intense betting moments.
To meet that demand, Kambi has significantly expanded its live offering, with a key focus on greater combinability across markets, particularly on the player props side for in-play Bet Builder.
Skelton confirmed that early numbers already show materially higher engagement with live Bet Builder compared to previous tournaments, reflecting strong bettor appetite for personalised, evolving wagers.
The company has also introduced dynamic bet delays, reducing countdowns to approximately one second and delivering a smoother, lower-friction experience for live bettors throughout the tournament.
Promotional features including early payout and AutoSub, which transfers a player-specific bet to a substituting player when the original selection is taken off, have further strengthened Kambi’s live proposition.
This World Cup is also notable as the first tournament to be fully traded by Kambi’s proprietary AI-powered trading system, leveraging advanced machine learning models to process vast amounts of real-time data.
Skelton highlighted that the AI system enables faster pricing updates, greater consistency across markets and improved risk management throughout what is the sport’s biggest global event.
