Gaming Compliance International recorded 174.3 billion illegal views of 2026 FIFA World Cup matches. 95% of those streams carried ads for unregulated bookmakers and casinos. The Spain–Argentina final drew 6.2 billion views, a tournament record.
GCI counts a 'qualified view' as a stream lasting at least 90 seconds. The average match drew 1.68 billion such views. Pirate sites monetize through affiliate programmes, earning 25% to 50% of NGR from players they refer to unlicensed platforms. Forced page refreshes — a common feature of illegal streams — generate additional ad impressions. GCI noted that refresh frequency spiked during penalty kicks and red cards.
Betting and fraud
GCI estimates global World Cup betting handle at $593 billion. Of that, $409 billion (69%) went through unregulated channels; only $184 billion passed through licensed operators. Pirate streams became one of the main traffic sources for the offshore market.
The U.S. Department of Justice seized over 1,000 domains as part of Operation Offsides. StreamEast, the largest pirate service, was shut down in September 2025 but returned during the tournament. GCI head Ismail Vali argues that blocking individual URLs is pointless — the payment infrastructure needs to be cut off.
SEON analyzed 800 million events across more than 50 operators. Suspicious withdrawal activity rose 38%, and the average blocked fraudulent withdrawal doubled from $202 to $436. Dormant account reactivation jumped 83% globally and 118% in Latin America.
