During the World Cup, prediction market platforms Kalshi and Polymarket surpassed traditional U.S. sportsbooks, according to Coindesk.
In June, trading volume on Kalshi exceeded $31 billion, a 70% increase from May. According to Dune, 85% of the platform's turnover came from sports contracts.
The international platform Polymarket set a new monthly record of $10.8 billion, while its regulated U.S. version generated $3.5 billion.
Source: The Block.The joint project of Robinhood and Susquehanna International Group, Rothera, processed $2 billion.
The total trading volume on prediction markets during the World Cup reached approximately $50 billion.
In comparison, research firm Eilers & Krejcik had predicted before the tournament that legal U.S. sportsbooks would take bets totaling $2.8-4.3 billion across all 104 matches. Notably, World Cup-specific markets on Kalshi generated $7.4 billion even before the group stage concluded.
This growth was accompanied by an influx of new users. According to Apptopia, by the end of June, the number of daily users on Kalshi increased by 36% compared to mid-month, aided by the platform's partnership with FIFA, which actively promoted the service alongside Fox Sports.
Proud to be partnered with the official prediction market partner ADI Predictstreet for FIFA World Cup 2026 pic.twitter.com/QfIFJfFOgn— Kalshi (@Kalshi) June 26, 2026
User activity on DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, and Caesars dropped by 32-41% after an initial surge of interest in the tournament.
Kalshi and Polymarket accounted for 78.5% of all installations among the six largest betting and prediction market apps, up from about 6% the previous year.
It is worth noting that in June, U.S. gambling associations urged the Senate to ban prediction platforms related to sports and gambling.