The World Cup is expected to create the largest sports betting market in history. That’s an opportunity for sportsbook brands looking to gain and hold market share, and for the prediction market companies hoping to disrupt them in turn.“We’ve been planning for the World Cup for 18 months. This is easily going to be one of the biggest things we do across the course of the year,” BetMGM’s chief revenue officer Matt Prevost told Digiday.
The focus is echoed among BetMGM’s immediate rivals. DraftKings has been running an ad featuring former Mexico and Manchester United striker Javier “Chicharito” Hernández (who’s currently doing commentating duties on Fox, the World Cup’s English-language rightsholder in the U.S.). Meanwhile, Fanduel is running a spot starring former U.S. men’s player Landon Donovan. But the tournament is also a chance for prediction market platforms, namely Polymarket and Kalshi, to tempt bettors away from more established firms.
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While the former is spending heavily on creators and influencers, the latter has released a campaign including a World Cup-focused spot led by former Brazil defender Marcelo, Angel Di Maria and Rio Ferdinand (both also formerly of United) discussing their betting plans for the tournament in a spot resembling an international game of telephone. It’s also pushing for non-sports fans via a gnomic promo video featuring Timothée Chalamet; both are running worldwide.
