World Cup sends Mexico betting payments soaring

The 2026 FIFA World Cup delivered a powerful signal for Mexico’s online-betting ecosystem: the volume of digital transactions processed during the tournament rose 431.75 per cent compared with the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, according to internal data from Sistema de Transferencias y Pagos (STP), a Mexican financial-infrastructure and payments company. In practical terms, betting-related transaction activity was more than five times higher than it had been four years earlier.

The figure illustrates more than the drawing power of football. It points to a deeper shift in Mexico’s betting market, where mobile access, real-time payment systems and quick deposit-and-withdrawal journeys increasingly determine how consumers interact with sportsbook and gaming platforms.

Over several weeks, the World Cup concentrated the attention of fans, media groups, brands and digital platforms. For operators, major matches became a test of technological resilience: handling surges in registrations, verifying accounts, accepting deposits and settling winnings without disruption. In that environment, payments infrastructure providers such as STP – alongside banks and electronic-transfer networks – became a critical part of the customer experience.

Mobile use helps explain the scale of the increase. STP estimates that smartphones and tablets account for 63.9 per cent of market activity, confirming the mobile phone as the main entry point to betting platforms. The combination of widespread smartphone use, improved connectivity and digital payments means that a consumer can move from watching a match to opening an account, funding it and placing a wager in minutes.

The formal market includes established domestic and international-facing brands such as Caliente.mx, Codere Online, Playdoit, Winpot, Foliatti and Sportium, all competing for customer acquisition, visibility and share of wallet around major sporting events. Caliente.mx and Codere, for example, have strong consumer recognition, broad sports-betting offers and ties to locally relevant payment methods. SPEI transfers, cash payments through retail outlets and card payments remain important tools for reaching users with different levels of access to traditional banking.

Yet the rapid growth in transaction volumes does not necessarily mean the market is becoming more orderly. Miguel Ángel Ochoa Sánchez, president of the Mexican Association of Permit Holders, Suppliers and Entertainment and Gaming Operators (AIEJA), has repeatedly warned that licensed operators must compete with platforms outside the fiscal and regulatory system. The association has also highlighted the rise of AI-driven fraud and deepfake attacks against betting businesses, putting pressure on operators to improve identity controls without creating enough friction to discourage legitimate customers.

The post-World Cup challenge will be to turn an exceptional event-driven spike into sustained customer relationships. Mordor Intelligence projects that Mexico’s online-gambling market will grow from USD 790 million in 2025 to USD 1.09 billion by 2031, representing a compound annual growth rate of 8.6%. Consumers aged 25 to 40 account for 49.4% of the market, while under-25s are projected to be the fastest-growing segment. For STP, Caliente, Codere and the wider ecosystem of operators, banks, fintechs and identity-verification suppliers, the next phase is clear: retain World Cup-acquired users through fast payments, demonstrable security and products designed for mobile-first habits. The tournament drove transaction growth; the more important test is how much of that activity remains once football returns to its regular calendar.