The report addresses every layer of engagement; match-result betting, player props, sportsbook features, products, and promotion campaigns

BETBY, the industry-leading B2B sportsbook supplier, has released 10 World Cup Insights for the Next 10 Months of Football, a study of what changed in football betting behaviour between the 2022 and 2026 World Cup edition, and what it asks of sportsbooks over the season now underway.

After a major event like a World Cup, most operators focus on its numbers. The more strategic question is what sits behind them. The report answers it across every layer of engagement — match-result betting, player props, sportsbook features, products, and promotion campaigns. The shifts are significant
and worthy of operator attention, as players have started interacting with football differently. To illustrate: only 18.84 per cent of World Cup bets arrived through the dedicated tournament page. Desktop accounted for 13.14 per cent of World Cup players but 30.24 per cent of World Cup turnover. And on days when no World Cup match was running, activity across BETBY.Games rose rather than fell.

The season is still early doors — early enough to turn all 10 insights into sportsbook growth.
Covered in the report are topics such as what drove player engagement behind x2.96 average stake growth. Why operators should go beyond bet growth in a new club season. What stark shifts hit markets and player props in the last four years. Where World Cup bets came from and what it means for event discovery. Which World Cup players produced 30.24 per cent of World Cup turnover. What kept players engaged between matches, and what difference it made.

“Most operators came out of the World Cup with better numbers, but few could explain why. The majority viewed the tournament primarily as an acquisition opportunity, when that was arguably the least interesting aspect of it,” says Stefanos Karakidis, Business Development Director at BETBY. “The tournament reached four out of five of our players, yet generated less than half of all bets. It was everywhere, but it wasn’t everything on the sportsbook. That’s why we set out to uncover the insights that many operators might otherwise overlook.”