BETBY Reveals 10 World Cup Lessons for the New Football Season
Malta.- 3 September 2026 | www.zonadeazar.com BETBY has released “10 World Cup Insights for the Next 10 Months of Football”, a new report examining how betting behaviour changed between the 2022 and 2026 World Cups and what sportsbooks can apply during the newly started club season.
The study looks across match-result betting, player props, sportsbook features, products and promotional campaigns to identify the factors that genuinely drove engagement during the tournament.
Looking Beyond World Cup Numbers
BETBY argues that after an event as large as the World Cup, operators often concentrate primarily on topline metrics such as bets, customers and turnover.
The report instead examines changes in navigation, market discovery and product usage.
The supplier believes those behavioural patterns can provide actionable information for the next ten months of the football calendar.
Average Stake Increased 2.96x
One of the changes highlighted by the study was growth in average stake.
BETBY recorded a 2.96x increase in average stake during the period analysed.
The report examines which product and engagement factors contributed to this movement and how those learnings can be carried into the regular football season.
Only 18.84% Came Through World Cup Page
One important finding relates to how customers discovered tournament markets.
Only 18.84% of World Cup bets were placed through the dedicated tournament page.
This means most activity originated from other parts of the sportsbook.
Event Discovery
The behaviour challenges strategies that place most major-event emphasis on a single dedicated page.
Data suggests customers discover and place wagers through multiple areas and features across the sportsbook.
Visibility throughout the platform may therefore be as important as the tournament landing page itself.
Desktop Produced 30.24% of Turnover
The report also identified a significant difference between customer numbers and value generated by device.
Desktop users represented only 13.14% of World Cup players.
However, they generated 30.24% of tournament turnover.
Customer Value Beyond Mobile
The figures show that a relatively small customer segment can account for a disproportionately high share of turnover.
For operators, product optimisation should therefore not be based exclusively on the number of users on each device.
Customer value, behaviour and activity levels are equally important.
World Cup Reached Four in Five Players
BETBY said the tournament reached approximately four out of every five players across its ecosystem.
Despite this extensive reach, World Cup betting generated less than half of all bets placed during the period.
The finding shows that customers continued interacting with other competitions and products even during football’s largest global event.
World Cup Was Not the Whole Sportsbook
BETBY believes this is particularly important for operators.
While a major tournament may dominate promotion and conversation, it does not necessarily dominate all betting behaviour.
Maintaining a visible and attractive complementary offering can therefore capture significant additional activity.
BETBY.Games Activity Increased on Rest Days
The report also identified an unusual pattern on days without World Cup matches.
Activity across BETBY.Games increased rather than declining.
This suggests customers sought other forms of entertainment within the ecosystem when football was unavailable.
Engagement Between Matches
The behaviour underlines the importance of complementary products in maintaining engagement between sporting events.
Days without matches do not necessarily need to result in lower activity.
Product diversification can keep customers active even when the main competition pauses.
Changes in Markets and Player Props
BETBY also examines how betting markets and player props evolved between the 2022 and 2026 tournaments.
The report identifies significant changes in how customers interact with different selections.
These findings can help operators reconsider the depth and organisation of their football offering during the club season.
Retention Opportunity
BETBY believes many operators viewed the World Cup primarily as an acquisition opportunity.
However, the supplier argues that some of the most important lessons concern retention and the behaviour of already-active customers.
Understanding which products maintained engagement may provide more long-term value than focusing solely on new registrations.
Statements
BETBY Business Development Director Stefanos Karakidis said most operators emerged from the World Cup with stronger numbers but relatively few could clearly explain what drove the performance.
He highlighted that the tournament reached four out of five BETBY players while accounting for less than half of all bets.
According to Karakidis, the result demonstrates that the World Cup was present everywhere across the sportsbook without becoming the only relevant product for customers.
Applying Lessons Over the Next Ten Months
BETBY created the report specifically to convert World Cup lessons into strategies for the current football calendar.
With the club season still in its early stages, the supplier believes operators have time to adapt product, navigation, promotions and engagement strategies.
Industry Context
Major international tournaments create significant peaks in acquisition and activity but also generate data capable of shaping sportsbook design over the longer term.
The growth of player props, personalisation, multi-device usage and complementary products is changing the way customers consume sports betting.
BETBY’s analysis focuses on converting tournament behaviour into decisions that can be applied throughout the season.
Next Steps or Impact
BETBY wants operators to use the ten insights to optimise retention and growth over the coming months.
Data covering event discovery, desktop usage, alternative products and average stake demonstrates that performance depends on more than simply increasing the total number of bets.
The key opportunity is understanding how, where and through which products customers interact, then applying those patterns across the full football season.
Editó: @fonta
