Sportradar report: World Cup 2026, opportunities for the Latin American sports betting market
The company’s study examines how sportsbooks can capitalize on the expected rise in betting and convert it into customer growth.
Press release.- With the World Cup set to be the largest edition of the tournament to date, Sportradar has published a report on the opportunities and challenges for the Latin American sports betting market.
The study examines how sportsbooks can capitalise on the expected surge in tournament betting and convert it into long-term customer growth. Key topics include:
Commercial impact
The impact of 104 matches across 39 days on betting activity is significant. During Qatar 2022, Sportradar Managed Trading Services processed more than 153 million bets globally, while Cup periods can represent approximately 20–30% of annual sportsbook revenue and drive major increases in first-time deposits.
According to the report, this growth trend in new bettors is reinforced by industry data showing that around 60% of consumers plan to bet online or via mobile apps during the tournament, including nearly 19% who plan to bet for the very first time.
New bettors
In the report, Sportradar stated that today’s fans want more than just watching a soccer match; they want to participate, influence, and personalise their experience. It stated that major events reinforce demand for more interactive and accessible wagering formats.
The three pillars of sportsbook success
With fans seeking interactivity and following the Cup across multiple platforms, a successful strategy for acquiring and retaining these customers requires an omnichannel approach.
Enhancing the betting experience
The report stated that deepening customer experience personalisation is key. Products such as Parlays and Bet Builders are becoming increasingly popular.
Fueling fan engagement
Building connections requires a shift in the traditional marketing playbook. The report stated that sportsbooks must learn how to engage fans throughout the entire emotional arc of the match, from pre-game anticipation and the intensity of live action to the conversations, celebrations, and reactions that continue after the final whistle.
Safeguarding market integrity
Major tournaments reinforce the importance of strong integrity frameworks across the global sports ecosystem. These tournaments are typically among the safest environments in sports from an integrity perspective. The higher the public exposure of competition, the greater the level of monitoring, traceability, and international cooperation involved.
FIFA has also established an Integrity Task Force. Sportradar is part of this initiative alongside other leading organisations in the sector.
The role of AI in delivering personalised experiences and real-time engagement
Sportradar stated it delivers high-quality information across hundreds of thousands of markets per minute with millisecond precision. Its trading infrastructure processes millions of transactions per second, ensuring that Parlay and Bet Builder odds are calculated and updated with minimal latency, enabling a seamless, uninterrupted in-play betting experience. Its proprietary AI algorithms and specialised trading teams monitor the risk exposure associated with complex combination bets.
Through Sportradar’s Sports Moments Marketing AI platform, operators can now capture and act on a match’s emotional triggers in real time. Its Universal Fraud Detection System (UFDS AI) analyses over 30 billion odds movements from more than 600 global operators annually.
Sportradar concludes that competitive advantage will belong to operators capable of prioritising retention over short-term handle spikes, combining data, AI-driven personalisation, dynamic in-play products, and ecosystem integrity protection.
