A new study finds that the 2026 FIFA World Cup featured 6,429 gambling logos during live games, with researchers worried that the tournament’s global broadcasts exposed viewers to betting sites in markets where operators were not licensed to operate.
These findings come from a new study by the University of Bristol and the University of Oxford, which analysed all 104 matches of the expanded World Cup and 172.6 hours of live play. Researchers utilised an AI model to pinpoint branding embedded directly into FIFA’s international match footage.
Gambling was one of five categories examined in the research alongside prediction markets, alcohol, cryptocurrencies and unhealthy food and beverages.
Across the tournament, gambling brands made approximately 6,429 logo appearances, which accounted for 6.9% of all harmful-commodity logos identified. The branding had a combined screen time of 4.2 hours, or the equivalent of 2.4% of the analysed live play.
Betano Takes Over Advertisements
According to the study, the reviewed gambling advertising was dominated by Betano, which appeared in every match and accounted for 5,859 logos, or 91.1% of all gambling branding recorded. The remaining gambling logos belonged to Caliente, Matchbook, Winner.mx and Confia.
On a standard 90-minute basis, researchers estimated that gambling brands showed up 56 times per game, compared with 82 prediction-market logos, 81 alcohol logos and 23 crypto logos. Overall, gambling branding was visible for an estimated 131 seconds during a typical 90-minute match.
Researchers further said the figures illustrate the extent to which football broadcasts can expose audiences to gambling promotion without the advertising appearing during regular commercial breaks.
Unlike ads inserted by individual broadcasters, the study examined how branding was incorporated into FIFA’s international match footage. Simply put: viewers could not just avoid it without also missing parts of the game. Also, harmful-commodity branding appeared in every match and was visible during 39.3 hours, or 22.8% of total live play.
Gambling Ads Breaching Licensing Limits
The report also highlighted a regulatory issue stemming from FIFA’s global distribution model.
FIFA’s shared match footage carried the same embedded advertising to broadcasters internationally. Researchers claim that this meant gambling branding could reach countries where the promoted operator was not licensed or where commercial online gambling was not legal.
Nevertheless, Betano was the tournament’s official sponsor for Europe and South America, while FIFA reported broadcast agreements covering more than 220 territories. For context, Betano currently operates in 20 jurisdictions.
Researchers explain that broadcast territories and operating markets are not directly equivalent. However, they note the figures indicate that branding could have reached as many as 200 territories outside its stated operating footprint.
Dr Raffaello Rossi, Senior Lecturer in Marketing and Co-Director of the Bristol Hub for Gambling Harms Research, shared the findings raised questions about the way gambling sponsorship is distributed internationally.
“FIFA’s marketing deals appeared to show little respect for national laws and licensing regimes.”
Rossi added that the tournament displayed roughly 16,000 gambling and prediction-market logos, which potentially reached countries where the promoted brands were unlicensed, or their legal status was uncertain.
Prediction Markets Add Another Layer
The controversial prediction markets had around 9,360 logos, which put them in second place for the largest potentially harmful commodity after unhealthy food and beverages. They accounted for 10% of all unhealthy logos and had nearly nine hours of combined screen time.
Of those, ADI PredictStreet accounted for 7,384 of them and appeared in every match. Then there’s Kalshi, which appeared in 41 matches, while Fanatics Markets appeared in 39.
The report also highlighted the different regulatory treatment of prediction markets across jurisdictions. For instance, Germany previously intervened against ADI PredictStreet as it did not hold a German gambling licence, while its branding continued to appear in the World Cup footage seen by locals. France has also declared them illegal.
Overall, gambling and prediction markets branding accounted for 15,789 logos, or 16.9% of all potentially harmful logos.
Cryptocurrency branding, a popular payment method in various crypto casinos, added another 2,632 logos. Therefore, gambling-related, prediction-market and cryptocurrency logos exceeded 18,000 appearances during the tournament.
Dealing with Embedded Branding
Researchers argue the issue could have been addressed using existing broadcast technology.
With EURO 2024, UEFA used virtual board replacement technology to allow different countries to showcase different pitchside advertising. However, according ot the study, FIFA did not use the technology for the 2026 World Cup, which meant that the same branding could be distributed into markets with different advertising and licensing rules.
The report urges governments to treat commercial branding embedded in live sports broadcasts as advertising. It also calls on FIFA to establish an independently developed public-interest standard for commercial partnerships and utilise technology to remove or replace branding where products cannot legally be advertised or offered.
Alex Ballinger MP, Co-Chair of the Gambling Reform APPG, said:
“This research reveals the scale and pervasive presence of gambling-related advertising at the 2026 World Cup.”
He argued that the repeated exposure was particularly relevant for children and young people, while calling for changes to existing safeguards.
Altogether, the study also spotted 93,409 harmful-commodity logos, or about one every seven seconds of live play. Unhealthy food and beverage branding accounted for 70.4% of the total, while alcohol represented 9.9%, prediction markets 10%, gambling 6.9% and cryptocurrencies 2.8%.
Researchers stressed analysis looked into branding ingrained in the international match feed and did not include ads added by individual broadcasters. Their UK exposure estimates, based on audience data for 53 matches, suggested that harmful-commodity branding could have generated 267 billion impressions in the UK alone.
