SOFTSWISS has published a detailed analysis of betting behaviour across the FIFA World Cup 2026, uncovering major shifts in how players engaged with its Sportsbook platform.
The tournament produced a threefold increase in activity on the SOFTSWISS Sportsbook, underlining the scale of engagement that major international football events consistently generate.
Global wagering on the tournament reached approximately $210bn according to preliminary estimates, representing roughly double the volume recorded during the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Under normal conditions, live betting accounts for approximately 80% of activity on the SOFTSWISS Sportsbook, with pre-match wagers making up the remaining 20%.
During the World Cup, that balance shifted dramatically, with pre-match turnover climbing to account for 57% of total betting volume across the competition.
Late-night kickoff times for European audiences were identified as a likely contributing factor to the unusually high share of pre-match betting during the tournament.
Despite concerns around those late kickoffs, the 2026 World Cup still generated twice the volume seen on the SOFTSWISS platform compared to the 2022 edition, suggesting the scheduling impact was limited.
SOFTSWISS also reported meaningful gains in player conversion, with up to 20% of its typical iGaming players placing their first ever sports bet at some point during the tournament.
The final between Spain and Argentina drew the highest number of bettors and the largest betting volume of any single match, with 70% of bets on that game placed before kickoff.
Mobile remained the dominant channel throughout the competition, accounting for 85% of bets placed, though that figure represented a slight dip from the platform’s usual 90% mobile share.
Desktop contributed 15% of total bets, while tablet usage accounted for only a minor portion of overall activity across the tournament period.
Promotional activity also played a significant role in sustaining engagement, with free bets, personalised offers, player reactivation campaigns, and fixture-based promotions helping operators deliver strong results.
Alexander Kamenetskyi, Head of Operations at SOFTSWISS Sportsbook, commented: “The World Cup is not something you prepare for in the final weeks. The operators who performed best during this tournament had started months earlier by building out their promotional calendars, stress-testing their trading and risk management setups, and aligning their teams before the first ball was kicked.”
Kamenetskyi added: “The event itself confirmed what we have always believed: platform stability under high load has become a competitive advantage, not just a technical requirement.”
