The recent World Cup has highlighted the intricate relationship between sports piracy and unregulated gambling, with illegal streaming platforms profiting from betting advertisements and referrals. A new report indicates that during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, there were approximately 174.3 billion views of illegal streams, with around 95% featuring ads for unregulated gambling.
According to findings from Gaming Compliance International (GCI), illegal streaming has become a significant channel for attracting customers to the offshore gambling market. GCI defines a 'qualifying stream view' as a single stream watched for a minimum of 90 seconds, which they term a 'committed view' to eliminate accidental clicks and forced pop-ups.
GCI's methodology counts views rather than unique viewers, meaning that every forced refresh or reload that viewers experience can count as an additional qualifying view once it surpasses the 90-second mark. This approach allows for increased advertising impressions, providing pirate operators with more chances to monetize the same audience. Interestingly, the frequency of these forced refreshes peaked during critical moments, such as penalty shootouts and red cards.
On average, the tournament saw 1.68 billion qualifying illegal views per match, with the final between Spain and Argentina attracting a staggering 6.2 billion viewers, making it the most pirated match of the event.
GCI raises an important commercial question: if even 1% of these views had been through legitimate channels, how much extra revenue could have been generated for rights holders and licensed broadcasters?
Furthermore, GCI reports that 69% of World Cup betting occurred on unregulated platforms. This strong connection between streaming and gambling stems from the payment structure for illegal streamers, who earn between 25% and 50% of the net gaming revenue from customers they direct to unregulated sites.
Offshore sportsbooks are not the only operators benefiting from this exposure; GCI's tracking also identified sweepstakes casinos and social casinos advertising through illegal streams alongside unregulated sportsbooks. GCI's CEO, Matt Holtz, stated that illegal streams with gambling ads are providing a massive audience for the unregulated gambling economy.
The streaming statistics contribute to a larger estimate of global wagering, with GCI projecting that the 2026 World Cup could generate around $593 billion in online betting. Of this, approximately $409 billion, or 69%, is expected to flow through unregulated channels, while the regulated market is projected to capture only about $184 billion. Although regulated operators have reported record figures, GCI contends that the unregulated activity far surpasses the licensed sector's achievements.
While authorities are taking steps to combat illegal streaming, such as the U.S. Department of Justice seizing over 1,000 internet domains as part of Operation Offsides, GCI argues that merely shutting down domains is insufficient. The report mentions the takedown of StreamEast, a significant player in the sports piracy streaming sector, but emphasizes the need for more comprehensive measures.