As the World Cup draws to a close, the betting industry can sit back and reflect on an unprecedented period of gambling, but the outsized role of prediction markets and sky-high promotion costs means that the tournament is sure to have a complex legacy. 

Every four years, the world becomes transfixed by a carnival of football and those who enjoy placing a wager are no exception. 

Operators globally always see a rise in demand for sports betting during the tournament and the 2026 edition was no exception. 

Analysts at investment bank Macquarie estimated that wagers could climb as high as $50bn across the event, which would break records for the most bet on a World Cup. 

Despite the apparently massive amounts of money flowing into operators, some of the largest sports betting companies in the market are not expecting to have made huge volumes of money as a result. 

Flutter's chief executive Stella David revealed earlier this year that the World Cup usually accounts for only around 1% of annual revenue. 

That is likely because the feverish competition to acquire players sees the industry ploughing millions into advertising and promotions. 

This is also the first world cup since prediction markets entered the global sports betting arena. Their role in the World Cup is being closely analysed. 

Acquisition 

June and July's avalanche of football might not be the immediate moneymaker many from the outside would expect, but that's only because the truth of the truth runs a little deeper. 

The World Cup is a peerless acquisition vehicle, allowing the most skilled operators to hoover up new customers that later become profitable. 

The only real way to do this when the whole of the industry is pointed in the same direction is by outcompeting on price. Better odds, bigger promotions, more flashy advertising spots. These are the tools that will get customers through the door. 

Keeping those customers will depend on deeper elements of your offering: like fast deposits and payouts and a compelling catalogue of bets. However in the chaos of the World Cup, bettors are keen to flit about in search of the best deals, so it simply becomes about getting those sign-ups inked. 

The industry has been even more excited about acquisition this year because of the location of the World Cup. 

With sports betting now well established in many US states and live in Canadian provinces Ontario, and for the final few games of the event, Alberta. 

This creates a huge opportunity to attract an entire class of customers who might never have tried "soccer" betting before, but could be converted to regular customers for the long term. 

The World Cup has also taken place months before the start of the NFL season, along with other major North American sports like the NBA and NHL. 

US-centric operators may well keep their promotional powder dry until September rolls around, when they have the opportunity to activate a crowd of new consumers who joined during the World Cup, but will become profitable customers during the latter part of the year. 

Predictions 

There's been no mistaking the presence of predictions operators during this year's tournament. For the first time in the history of the World Cup, bookmakers are not the only show in town. 

Just as betting operators have taken the opportunity to add new customers, many people will have been introduced to the world of sports contract trading for the first time over the past two months. 

For the first time, the World Cup had an official predictions partner, in the form of a deal signed between Kalshi and ADI Predictstreet. 

Early signs are that predictions operators have done well from the tournament, with some striking figures emerging from the conventional market leaders. 

Kalshi reported $31bn in notional trading volume in June, while Polymarket recorded more than $14bn across its international and US-licensed units. 

Like it or loathe it, this World Cup has confirmed that there is a consumer appetite for these platforms and that so long as they have political backing in the US, they will continue to flourish there. 

These numbers also create a quandary for many other nations around the world which have attempted to keep prediction markets out of their jurisdictions. 

Several European nations and major markets like Brazil have issued bans to various operators or warned that they must acquire conventional gambling licences in order to do business. 

The figures from Kalshi, Polymarket and many more suggest that consumers want to access these platforms and are likely doing so without a care for what national gambling regulators have to say. 

Recruitment 

Beyond the betting industry it seems certain that one legacy of this World Cup will be the conversion of a meaningful cohort of new North American fans to the game. 

That should drive up demand for experienced bookmaking staff who have knowledge of the game. 

With predictions operators performing well and Gibraltar having established a new regime for internationally-minded predictions providers, expect tech staff as well as trading experts to be in high demand as more companies jump on the bandwagon.