Best 2026 FIFA World Cup Betting Sites in 2025

World Cup betting sites are always popular with UK punters, but some are better than others. Here our experts present a selection of the very top bookies around for World Cup betting so that you can focus on what matters most - enjoying the action! Show More

Next year’s FIFA World Cup will see a spike in the use of World Cup betting sites. This page will help you select the top betting sites you should be using to place your World Cup wagers, as well as provide plenty of useful information about the tournament.

Top 10 FIFA World Cup Betting Sites in 2025

Let’s take a look at the 10 best World Cup betting sites currently available. We’ve included a special detail about each that should interest you.

Rank Bookmakers Noted for Welcome Offer
1 BoyleSports Pays Out Early on 2 Goal WC Leads Bet £10 Get £25
2 HighBet Offers Boosted Odds on WC Games Bet £10 Get £20
3 PaddyPower Power Prices – Enhanced Odds on Specific WC Bets Bet £5 Get £30
4 SkyBet BuildABet, SkyBet’s WC Bet Builder Get £30 in Free Bets
5 William Hill Up to 100% Boost on WC Accas Bet £10 Get £30
6 VirginBet Mix & Match WC Multi Bet Builders Bet £10 Get £30
7 PariMatch Specials on England’s WC Players Bet £10 Get £30
8 JeffBet Detailed Stats on WC Matches Bet £10 Get £30
9 Midnite Enhanced Prices on WC Accas Bet £5 Get £25
10 Coral Rewards Shaker – Shake Up WC Free Bets and Bet Boosts Bet £5 Get £20

Disclaimer Icon
Disclaimer

18+ Please Gamble Responsibly – Online gambling laws vary by country – always ensure you’re following local regulations and are of legal gambling age. Gambling can be addictive; please play responsibly and seek help if needed. Some of the links featured on the GamesHub site are affiliate links. This means we may earn a commission – at no additional cost to you – if you click a link and make a deposit at a partner site. All of our reviews and recommendations are subject to a rigorous editorial process to ensure they remain accurate, impartial, and trustworthy. You can learn more about how we evaluate platforms on our How We Rate page. For full transparency about our partnerships, please visit our Affiliate Disclosure. If you have any questions or feedback, don’t hesitate to contact our team.

World Cup Betting Sites UK

Best 2026 FIFA World Cup Betting Sites for October, 2025

#1

Bet £10 Get £25 In Free Bets

Bet £10 Get £25 In Free Bets

OUR SCORE
10
5 Stars Boyle Sports
Get Offer
#2

Bet £10 Get £20 in Free Bets

Bet £10 Get £20 in Free Bets

OUR SCORE
9.9
5 Stars Highbet
Get Offer
#3

Bet £5, Get £30 in Free Bets

Bet £5, Get £30 in Free Bets

OUR SCORE
9.8
5 Stars Paddy Power
Get Offer
#4

Place Any Bet and Get £30 in Free Bets

Place Any Bet and Get £30 in Free Bets

OUR SCORE
9.8
5 Stars Sky Bet
Get Offer
#5

Bet £10, Get £30 in Free Bets

Bet £10, Get £30 in Free Bets

OUR SCORE
9.7
5 Stars William Hill
Get Offer
#6

Bet £10, Get £30 in Free Bets

Bet £10, Get £30 in Free Bets

OUR SCORE
9.6
5 Stars Virgin Bet
Get Offer
#7

Bet £10, Get £30 in Bonuses

Bet £10, Get £30 in Bonuses

OUR SCORE
9.6
5 Stars Parimatch
Get Offer
#8

Bet £10, Get a £30 Free Bet

Bet £10, Get a £30 Free Bet

OUR SCORE
9.5
4.5 Stars JeffBet
Get Offer
#9

Bet £5, Get £25 in Free Bets + 50 Free Spins

Bet £5, Get £25 in Free Bets + 50 Free Spins

OUR SCORE
9.5
4.5 Stars Midnite
Get Offer
#10

Bet £5, Get £20 in Free Bets

Bet £5, Get £20 in Free Bets

OUR SCORE
9.4
4.5 Stars Coral
Get Offer
Show More Offers+

Find the Best World Cup Betting Site For You

So we’ve picked our leading online football World Cup betting sites, but why have certain sites reached the finals, while others lost to Gibraltar in the qualifying stages? Get to understand our reasoning by glancing at the following mini reviews.

1. BoyleSports – Pays Out Early on Two-Goal World Cup Leads

A quick riddle: When is a losing bet a winning bet? The answer: When the side you’ve backed takes a two-goal lead but goes on to draw or lose, and your bet was placed at a site with an early payout feature! That’s what we find at BoyleSports, as all football games you back here are covered by the ‘pays out early’ promise.

boyle sports world cup betting

Year Established 1982
No. of Football Markets 1,400+
Banking Methods: Cards, eWallets, Mobile Payments, Bank Transfer, Cash
Mobile App: iOS and Android
Customer Support FAQs, Messaging, Live Chat (Bot & Human)
Welcome Offer Bet £10 Get £25 In Free Bets

BoyleSports, as a bookmaker, has been around since 1982, so you know it’s an online betting site that can be trusted. It offers all the football markets you would expect, with all World Cup ties having over 100 markets per event. The site also has an amazing live betting section, and cashing out your winning (or losing) bets presents no issues!

👍 Expert’s Opinion

We are absolutely massive fans of BoyleSports, and we know for a fact that you will be too once you have secured yourself an account here. Just like a dog, BoyleSports is not just for football; it’s for all sports! Check out that welcome bonus plus the countless other bonuses available at this top-class sports betting site.

2. HighBet – Offers Boosted Prices on World Cup Football Games

The important aspect of any bet that most bettors forget about is the odds they get when placing their bets. It goes without saying that the better or more competitive the odds, the better the returns. HighBet, the bookie, already offers some of the most competitive odds in the business, but you earn yourself even more with boosted prices on the World Cup!

highbet world cup betting

Year Established 2021
No. of Football Markets 1,200+
Banking Methods: Cards, eWallets, Mobile Payments, Bank Transfer
Mobile App: Browser-based only
Customer Support FAQs, Live Chat (Limited)
Welcome Offer Bet £10 Get £20 in Free Bets

We checked out the deets about HighBet’s boosted prices, just to see how they work, as different UK betting sites have different policies when it comes to odds boosts. At HighBet, the good news is that boosted prices are just boosted prices. If you win, you simply get paid out at the boosted price, with no messing about with bonus money or anything.

👍 Expert’s Opinion

With some bookmakers, boosted prices are not all that they are cracked up to be. The usual deal is that any money that you win over the normal prices is paid as bonus money, which cannot be cashed out and can only be used once playthrough requirements have been met. We are happy to report that this is not the case at HighBet, which explains why it ranks so highly on our list of the leading World Cup betting sites.

3. Paddy Power – Power Prices Give You Enhanced Odds on Specific World Cup Bets

If you’re in the UK and are interested in betting – World Cup betting or otherwise – then you’ve heard of Paddy Power. This site always has something unique, and maybe even controversial, up its sleeve. As far as we are concerned, when it comes to World Cup odds, promotions and bonuses, Paddy Power has plenty up both sleeves.

paddy power world cup betting

Year Established 1988
No. of Football Markets 1,600+
Banking Methods: Cards, eWallets, Mobile Payments, Bank Transfer, Cash
Mobile App: iOS and Android
Customer Support FAQs, Live Chat (Bot & Human)
Welcome Offer Bet £5, Get £30 in Free Bets

When it comes to World Cup betting, the thing to look out for at Paddy Power is ‘Power Prices’. These are boosted prices on doubles, trebles and accas. Sadly, as far as we can see, PP does not offer boosted prices on singles. To get your boosted price, review the day’s offers and see if any of them appeal.

👍 Expert’s Opinion

We are huge fans of Paddy Power, and we cannot wait until the Finals themselves start to see what Paddy Power is going to offer. They always do something mad – like paying out on ‘Celtic to win the Scottish Premiership in 2026’ after just a single week of the football season. Perhaps they’ll pay out early on England winning the 2026 World Cup. You never know!

4. SkyBet – Discover BuildABet, SkyBet’s World Cup Bet Builder

The broadcast rights for World Cup games are ‘protected’ by UK law and must be shown for free on terrestrial TV, so Sky must be gutted that they can’t show them on their subscription-only sports channels. They must miss out on so much money … but you won’t if you’re a fan of Bet Builders and take advantage of SkyBet’s World Cup Bet Builder.

skybet world cup betting

Year Established 2001
No. of Football Markets 1,800+
Banking Methods: Cards, eWallets, Mobile Payments, Bank Transfer
Mobile App: iOS and Android
Customer Support FAQs, Live Chat (Bot & Human)
Welcome Offer Place Any Bet and Get £30 in Free Bets

A BetBuilder is a tool that’s especially designed for football and allows you to combine several markets on the same match to create a multi-leg bet. You can really score big with the correct picks, especially if they all come to fruition. ‘BuildABet’ is SkyBet’s version of a bet builder, and as an added feature, the site lists any popular BetBuilders that are currently trending among its site users!

👍 Expert’s Opinion

We’re sure SkyBet isn’t bothered about not having any World Cup games, as SkyBet is actually no longer owned by them, despite the name. We love that the site lists BuildABet bet builders that other punters are tracking, as it saves you the groundwork of investigating yourself. It’s another key feature of what we consider to be an excellent World Cup sports betting site.

5. William Hill – Get a Boost of up to 100% on World Cup Accumulators

If you are into World Cup betting and want to win big, then World Cup accumulators (or accas for short) are, literally, your best bet. They give you a shot at winning huge sums of money for very small stakes. The bad news is that all legs of your acca have to win, else you winneth not a sausage, not even a German one!

william hill world cup betting

Year Established 1934
No. of Football Markets 2,000+
Banking Methods: Cards, eWallets, eVouchers, William Hill+, Mobile Payments, Online Banking.
Mobile App: iOS and Android
Customer Support FAQs, X, Live Chat (Bot & Human)
Welcome Offer Bet £10, Get £30 in Free Bets

The good news is that, if your acca succeeds, William Hill will boost your acca winnings even further, which is nice of him. The boosts start at 5% for a four-leg acca, and go all the way up to 100% for any winning acca that has 15 selections or more, which means you would double your payout! William Hill is also hot for random price boosts and will boost bet builder wins.

👍 Expert’s Opinion

William Hill is close to celebrating a century in business, so it must be doing something right! We are happy to endorse this betting site’s acca boosts, but like us, we hope you are sensible. Don’t just add legs to your acca in order to up your boosts, as that increases the likelihood of having a failed acca, and nobody wants that!

Our Top-Ranked World Cup Betting Sites Compared

We’re now going to present to you some key aspects of the best betting sites for World Cup wagering. These are site features that regular bettors look out for, as they always give extra benefits.

Bookmakers Acca Boost Enhanced Odds Early Payout Early Cashout BetBuilder
BoyleSports Up to 25% Yes Yes Yes Yes
HighBet Up to 100% No Yes Yes Yes
PaddyPower No Yes No Yes Yes
SkyBet No Yes Selected Only Yes Yes
William Hill Up to 100% Yes No Yes Yes
VirginBet No Yes Selected Only Yes Yes
PariMatch Selected Only Yes Selected Only Yes Yes
JeffBet Up to 100% No No Yes Yes
Midnite Selected Only Yes No Yes Yes
Coral No Yes No Yes Yes

2026 FIFA World Cup Winner Odds

These are the current odds of the most fancied teams to triumph at the 2026 World Cup finals. Odds are, of course, subject to change.

Nation Odds Bookie Nation Odds Bookie
Spain 9/2 BoyleSports France 13/2 HighBet
England 7/1 PaddyPower Brazil 15/2 SkyBet
Argentina 8/1 Parimatch Germany 12/1 VirginBet
Portugal 12/1 Midnite Netherlands 20/1 William Hill
Italy 25/1 JeffBet Uruguay 33/1 Coral
Colombia 40/1 BoyleSports Belgium 40/1 HighBet

How to Choose a World Cup Betting Site

We’ve recommended the football betting sites with the best World Cup betting offers and experience, but you are, of course, free to make your own choices. Here is what you should look for if you want to bet on World Cup games at a decent site we haven’t mentioned.

world cup betting sites

Complete World Cup Coverage

When checking out World Cup betting apps and sites, check the coverage that the World Cup receives. All matches should have at least 100 potential markets covering plenty of possible bets. All matches should also be available for live betting, with cash-out if at all possible.

World Cup Betting Offers

As we will discover later, the World Cup is the ideal time for UK online bookmakers to unleash a wealth of World Cup-related bets and offers. The best sites will have special offers for both new and regular site users during the finals tournament, such as a daily or weekly World Cup free bet, enhanced odds on the big matches and boosts on World Cup bet builders.

Good Range of Markets

Football betting is about much more than simply selecting the winners of each match or the outright winners of the whole tournament. Any decent World Cup betting site will have full market coverage per game, including popular football bets such as double chance, over/under, BTTS, first/last and anytime goalscorer, double result, correct score and much, much more.

Live World Cup Betting

Because watching the World Cup is free in the UK (aside from the need for a TV licence), punters will be able to watch dozens of matches. This makes the World Cup ideal for live betting. Any site you choose should offer live betting, which is likely, as most sites with UKGC licences provide an in-play betting service. Check to see if the site allows you to cash out bets.

Competitive Betting Odds

There are plenty of sites you can use to compare the World Cup odds offered by any chosen betting site to the most competitive odds currently available. If the site you are intending to use offers poor odds compared to others, then you need to avoid it. You only get the best returns from your betting expertise if you place your wagers at the best possible odds.

Reliable Customer Support

All the best FIFA World Cup betting sites allow you to use their customer support functions before you complete your sign-up at their site. This way, you can gauge how effective their support is before you register as a site user. How a site treats its customers goes a long way to showing how effective a site is. If you just get passed to a bot with no way of speaking to a real person, then your patronage is perhaps not as cherished as you’d expect it to be.

Flexible Banking Options

The majority of people use their debit cards (remember, credit cards are banned at UKGC-licensed sites) to make deposits and receive withdrawals at online World Cup betting sites, but no site should be card-only. There are plenty of ways that payments can be made to such sites, including eWallets, Apple/Google Pay, pay by mobile phone bill and bank transfers. Flexibility is key, so make sure you find a site that has the necessary payment systems that you intend to use. Speedy, fee-free withdrawals are important too.

Mobile Friendly Website

Live betting is very popular during the World Cup, as so many matches are televised, free-to-air. Live betting, and betting as a whole, is simply more convenient when using World Cup betting apps. You can check out the mobile versions of sites and even download and look around betting apps without completing your sign-up. Have a poke around and see how easy the site is to use, and go ahead and acquire an account at the site if you like what you see.

Why the FIFA World Cup Is Your Best Bet

Betting on the World Cup is tremendously popular, but what should you bet on? Here are some tips that will increase the chances of your World Cup bets coming out profitable.

  • Don’t Bet on the Holders: It’s a remarkable statistic that, despite there being 22 World Cups now since 1930, only two teams have managed to retain the trophy. Italy did it in 1934 and 1938, and Brazil in 1958 and 1962 … that’s right, over 60 years ago! The main reason for this is that tournaments are held four years apart, and four years is a long time in football. For example, of the French team that won in 2018, only five players started the final in 2022. A bet on the holders ‘just because’ can therefore be a wasted bet.
  • Don’t Bet on England: Twenty-two tournaments, one single win, yet for every World Cup, England always number among the favourites. Why is this? The answer … this only happens at UK bookies as English football fans put a lot of money on their side to win. This keeps the price low, as if England were at the price they should be, the bookies would lose millions if the unthinkable happened and England did actually win! Betting on England is just not worth it.
  • The Bite of the Minnows: As the top sides frequently discover, there are no such things as minnows anymore … or has there ever been? World Cup history is full of shockers such as Senegal beating France in 2002, Cameroon beating Argentina in 1990 and … ahem, the USA beating England 1-0 in 1950 (A result so shocking the English press presumed it was a typo and announced that England had won 10-0). Asian and African sides meeting European and South American teams are always worthwhile bets to check out, especially if ‘big’ sides are looking weak and tired in their opening games.

Popular World Cup Betting Markets

There’s plenty to bet on when it comes to the FIFA World Cup in 2026. Here is a complete guide to all the most popular markets.

  • Outright Winner: The most obvious bet, wager on the team whose captain you think will be hosting the FIFA World Cup Trophy aloft come July 19th.
  • Team to Qualify: Although the qualifying tournament is well underway, there are still plenty of qualification places up for grabs. You can wager on specific teams to qualify for the finals on a yes/no basis.
  • To Reach the Final: Kind of like an each-way bet. Bet on a specific nation to be at least playing in the final in New Jersey at the end of the tournament.
  • Progress Bets: Teams get knocked out at various points of the tournament – at the group stage, and then at each knockout round. Bet on nations to progress through each round, again on a yes/no basis.
  • Group Winner: You’ll have to wait until after the finals draw for this one. The 48 qualifiers will be competing in 12 groups, and once each group’s make-up is known, you can wager upon the nation you think will win any specific group.
  • Match Winner: Just like any football match, choose a specific match and bet on who you think will win it. Just to note, if it’s a knockout match, then extra time and penalties may not count. Check the site you are using to place your bets to make sure of the rules.
  • Correct Score: You always get a good return if you get this right! Bet on the exact correct score of a game, i.e. England 6 Germany 0 (we can but dream!). Extra time is usually not included, so make sure you check!
  • Double Chance: With double chance, you are kind of betting on a specific result not to happen. The possible combos are home-draw, away-draw and home-away. Of course, this being the 2026 World Cup, only the US, Mexico and Canada will be at home, so for the purposes of betting, your chosen World Cup betting site will, for each fixture, declare one side to be the ‘home’ side, and one the ‘away’.
  • Over/Under: This is a bet on the total number of goals in any specific match, again with extra time and penalties not counting. This is usually done on an over/under basis, with 2.5 goals being the most common total (i.e. 0, 1 or 2 goals = under, 3 or more goals = over).
  • Double Result: The double result bet splits the game in two. You bet on the ‘result’ at half-time, and the result at full-time, i.e. home-home, draw-away and so on. You need to get both ‘results’ correct for your bet to win.
  • BTTS: A bet on whether you think both sides in a match will score or not. If either or both sides fail to find the net, then this is ‘BTTS no’. If both sides score at least one goal, then this is ‘BTTS yes’.
  • Top Goalscorer: A bet on the player who will finish the tournament with the most goals. Penalties during penalty shoot-outs do not count! Some illustrious names that have ended World Cup tournaments as the leading scorer include Just Fontaine, Gerd Muller, Mario Kempes, Gary Lineker, Ronaldo, Miroslave Klose, Thomas Muller, Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe. Fun fact: Russia’s Oleg Salenko ended up as the 1994 World Cup finals joint goalscorer, despite only scoring in two games!

Live Betting on the World Cup

Live betting is something that’s only been available for sports gamblers since the creation of online betting sites. Live betting, or in-play betting as it is also known, allows you to place bets on a match that’s in progress.

This functionality allows you to watch matches and react to events in real time. Perhaps France are 1-0 up against England but have just had Lucas Hernandez sent off, reducing them to ten men. You fancy England’s chances of snatching the equaliser before full-time, so you reach for the World Cup betting app and back them to draw (or win if you are feeling especially adventurous).

Live betting has several markets that you don’t get with pre-match betting. You can bet on game features such as the scorer of the next goal (player or team), the winner of the next corner, the next team to receive a yellow card and so on.

world cup betting sites

Cash-out is another important feature of live or in-play betting. This allows you to cash out bets on markets that have not yet settled. For example, in the above match, you may have bet on France to win (traitor!). You feel the loss of Hernandez will turn your winning bet into a losing bet, so you accept the site’s cash-out offer. You will be offered a lower return than you would get if you left your bet to run until the end of the game, but that’s better than nothing if your bet does indeed turn into a losing one.

Did you know that at most World Cup betting sites, you can cash out pre-event bets too? Well, if you didn’t, now you do!

Don’t expect to see live streaming of World Cup games at FIFA World Cup betting sites, especially in the UK. Both the 2026 and 2030 World Cup broadcast rights are owned and shared by the BBC and ITV.

World Cup Betting Offers

People looking to bet on the 2026 FIFA World Cup should be able to take advantage of many special offers, especially when the finals commence. Below is a selection of what you are likely to find.

  • World Cup Free Bets: A free bet is one where you don’t have to use your own money to place. They are usually awarded in return for a minimum deposit and bet of the same amount. They can only be used to place bets, and upon settlement, you do not get back your free bet stake, only any winnings. You may have to complete playthrough requirements before any winnings are released, too.
  • England Specials: Love and hate of the English football team reaches fever-pitch during the World Cup finals (if they qualify, although they haven’t failed to qualify since 1994). People may ‘blindly’ back their nation, and betting sites encourage or reward them for doing so with special England bets, such as enhanced odds or boosted bet builders that apply to England specifically.
  • Enhanced Odds: With this kind of deal, if you take the wager it applies to, then you will get better odds than normal. This usually applies to doubles, trebles and accas. Depending on the deal, any money paid over the normal odds will be awarded as bonus money and will need to be played through before a withdrawal can be requested.
  • Early Payouts: Increasingly, sites are offering early payouts on football matches. With some online bookmakers, it is on all football matches, and with others, it is on selected games only. The most common early payout is when a backed side takes a two-goal lead. So, say you back England against Japan and they go 2-0 up within fifteen minutes. You’re paid as soon as that second goal goes in. The final score does not then matter, even if England were to go on and lose!
  • Acca Boost: Online bookies love you to place accas, and they are among the most frequently losing bets that punters place. They are entertaining bets, though. The more legs your acca has, the more likely it is to fail, so bookies persuade you to add legs by offering acca boosts, which will boost your winnings. The more legs, the bigger the boost. For example, a 4-leg acca may receive a 5% winnings boost, and a 15-leg acca a 100% winnings boost.
  • Acca Insurance: This is another way that betting sites persuade you to add legs to your acca. If you add a specific minimum number of legs to your acca, then you receive acca insurance. This means that should your acca fail by a single leg, then you will receive your acca stake back as a free bet. In our opinion, don’t be tempted to add legs to your account just in order to gain acca insurance.

A Beginner’s Guide to the World Cup

The first FIFA World Cup took place in 1930 and – aside from 1942 and 1946 – the competition has taken place every four years since. The tournament is open to all members of FIFA, the governing body of global international football. Teams compete in a two-year qualifying tournament, and then the finals tournament, which in 2026 will take place in the US, Canada and Mexico. The World Cup final is one of the most-watched events in the world, with 1.5 billion people watching the 2022 event in which Argentina defeated France on penalties.

FIFA World Cup 2026 – What You Need to Know

The 2026 World Cup Finals will be hosted across the following cities:

  • United States (11): Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Atlanta, Boston, Miami, Philadelphia & New York-New Jersey.
  • Mexico (3): Guadalajara, Mexico City, Monterey
  • Canada (2): Vancouver, Toronto

The first games will be played on June 11, and the final will be played on July 19. The final will take place at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey in the US. The number of teams in the competition will be 48, up from 32 in 2020 and three times the number when the World Cup was competed for in 1978.

World Cup Tournament Structure

Qualification Stage

The qualification stage is split across six continental associations, with a different number of qualifiers from each association, dependent on status and qualification history. The associations, number of qualifiers, and teams already qualified are given in the table below.

Association Qualifiers Already Qualified
CONCACAF 6 Canada*, Mexico*, USA*
AFC 8 Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, South Korea, Uzbekistan
CAF 9 Morocco, Tunisia
CONMEBOL 6 Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay
OFC 1 New Zealand
UEFA 16

*automatically qualified as hosts

In addition, two qualification spots are available. Non-qualifying teams from AFC (1), CAF (1), CONCACAF (2), CONMEBOL (1) and OFC (1) will compete in a short tournament in Mexico in March 2026. Two winners from this knockout playoff tournament will take the final two World Cup finals spots.

Finals Stage

The forty-eight qualifying sides will be drawn into twelve groups of four. Each team will play each other team in the same group once. The top two from each group will progress to the next round. Of the twelve teams that finish third in their groups, eight will also qualify based on their record compared against all other third-place teams.

The finals then become a seeded knockout phase, with seedings dependent on tournament performance so far. Teams will have to succeed in eight games overall to win the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which is a record!

Previous World Cup Winners

The following table presents all the FIFA World Cup winners from the very first tournament, as well as the runners-up. The figure in parentheses indicates the number of titles won at the time of victory.

Year (Host) Winner (Titles) Runners-Up (Final Appearances)
2022 (Qatar) Argentina (3) France (4)
2018 (Russia) France (2) Croatia (1)
2014 (Brazil) Germany (4) Argentina (5)
2010 (South Africa) Spain (1) Netherlands (3)
2006 (Germany) Italy (4) France (2)
2002 (S Korea/Japan) Brazil (5) Germany (6)
1998 (France) France (1) Brazil (5)
1994 (USA) Brazil (4) Italy (5)
1990 (Italy) Germany (3) Argentina (4)
1986 (Mexico) Argentina (2) West Germany (3)
1982 (Spain) Italy (3) West Germany (4)
1978 (Argentina) Argentina (1) Netherlands (2)
1974 (West Germany) West Germany (2) Netherlands (1)
1970 (Brazil) Brazil (3) Italy (3)
1966 (England) England (1) West Germany (2)
1962 (Chile) Brazil (2) Czechoslovakia (2)
1958 (Sweden) Brazil (1) Sweden (1)
1954 (Switzerland) West Germany (1) Hungary (2)
1950 (Brazil) Uruguay (2) Brazil (1)
1938 (France) Italy (2) Hungary (1)
1934 (Italy) Italy (1) Czechoslovakia (1)
1930 (Uruguay) Uruguay (1) Argentina (1)

World Cup Wins:

5 – Brazil; 4 – (West) Germany, Italy; 3 – Argentina; 2 – France, Uruguay; 1 – England, Spain.

World Cup Final Appearances:

8 – West Germany; 7 – Brazil; 6 – Italy, Argentina; 4 – France; 3 – Netherlands; 2 – Uruguay, Czechoslovakia, Hungary; 1 – Sweden, England, Spain, Croatia.

💡

Notes
  • There were no tournaments in 1942 and 1946 due to the Second World War.
  • There was no dedicated final in 1950. Instead, four qualifying teams (Uruguay, Brazil, Sweden and Spain) competed in a group to determine the winner. However, the ‘deciding match’ of the group, Uruguay beating Brazil, is now generally considered to be ‘the final’.
  • There was no qualifying competition in 1930. All sixteen countries that entered the competition qualified for the finals. However, Japan, Siam, and Egypt all withdrew before the tournament. The latter withdrew because the ship, which was intended to take them to Uruguay, departed without them due to inclement weather.
  • The host nations did not enter the World Cup until 1950. The 1949-50 British Home Championship, which was won by England, was used as a qualifying competition. Scotland qualified as runners-up, but declined because they didn’t want to play ‘second fiddle’ to their fierce rivals, England. Scotland first qualified in 1954, and both Wales and Northern Ireland in 1958, the latter knocking out Italy in the qualifying competition.

Mobile Betting on the World Cup

One of the best things about the World Cup is that it is the world’s most televised football tournament. In the UK, it remains free-to-air, meaning nearly all games are broadcast on terrestrial television channels. It’s a veritable football feast for the eyes and ears.

This makes betting extremely entertaining, as you can place your bets while watching the games. And the best way of doing this is by using your phone (or tablet). This offers plenty of benefits, as betting on mobile no longer differs from betting using a PC or a laptop.

Many World Cup betting sites offer dedicated betting apps that you can download and install on your device(s). An added benefit of doing this is that you can set up notifications from the app on your Android or iOS-based devices. This means you never miss the outcome of your bet, the chance to cash out or any offer or promotion that you might be entitled to.

world cup Betting Sites

World Cup Betting Tips

Here are some tips designed to allow you to get the most from your use of football World Cup betting sites.

Have a World Cup Bankroll

Just because the World Cup only happens once every four years, that doesn’t mean you should blow four years’ worth of betting money on it! Before the tournament stats, set aside a bankroll purely made of money that you can easily afford to lose. If you blow the lot during the tournament, then don’t be tempted to add to it. Just enjoy the rest of the competition, betting-free!

Do Your Research

While the World Cup has always been dominated by European and South American teams, that doesn’t mean teams from these continents are going to completely dominate the competition. There are some other strong nations, such as Morocco, Japan, Iran, South Korea and Australia. Don’t simply assume that the top nations are going to walk over every tie.

Consider the Location

Let’s have a quick breakdown of continent locations and winners:

  • South America: 6 tournaments, 5 S American winners, 1 European winner
  • Europe: 11 tournaments, 10 European winners, 1 S American winner
  • Central/North America: 2 tournaments, 2 S American winners
  • Asia: 2 tournaments, 2 S American winners
  • Africa: 1 tournament, 1 European winner

As you can see, European nations dominate European tournaments, while South American teams dominate everywhere else. Bear this in mind when placing your World Cup bets.

Watch Tournament Dynamics

For a while, World Cup organisers seemed to be obsessed with multiple group stages, but since 1986, this has been dropped in favour of a single group phase followed by knock-out rounds. When placing your World Cup bets, bear in mind the type of game you are betting on. Some teams will be content to draw group stage matches, and in 2026, this will be especially important as only 16 teams out of 48 will be eliminated at the group stage phase.

Also, during the knockout phase, weaker teams may attempt to secure ‘draws’ so they can progress to the (dreaded) penalty shoot-out. This is something else you need to bear in mind.

Claim World Cup Bonuses

Online World Cup betting sites recognise that their betting revenue has a real chance to increase during major football tournaments such as the World Cup, as interest in football significantly increases. Therefore, they offer promotions and bonuses to persuade people to use their sites (as opposed to their rivals) to place their World Cup bets.

You can take advantage of such World Cup betting promotions during this time, and so you should. And don’t just stick to a single site or app, claim multiple bonuses from multiple betting sites!

Shop Around for the Best Odds

Another benefit of using multiple World Cup betting apps and sites is that you can fish around for the best odds. When choosing your wager, check around for the most generous odds, as doing so will provide the best returns from your winning bets.

Also, check for boosted odds, as then you will get better prices. However, if you are persuaded to change your bet because of an odds boost, make sure you are comfortable with what you are doing!

Bet With Your Head

Emotional betting is always a punter’s downfall. It can be tough not to back your favourite teams, or even back your favourite teams to lose, but if that’s what the statistics and your analysis say, then that is what you should do!

Emotion should never play any part in betting, as letting your emotions get in the way of your logically curated choices will only end up in lost money.

Set Yourself Up for World Cup Betting

Before you can bet on World Cup markets, you will need to open an account at a UK betting site if you don’t already have one. Thankfully, gaining an account is very easy to do, and we’re going to set you up by explaining the process to you.

  1. Head to your chosen site. If you are unsure as to which site, select one from our list of the best FIFA World Cup betting sites. It is easier to do this on a PC/laptop, but you can sign up using an app too.
  2. Look for a button marked ‘Sign Up’ or ‘Register’, or ‘Join’ and click it
  3. Fill in all the information requested. Choose a username and password that are not easy to guess
  4. Go through any ‘KYC’ processes. This could include the submission of documents such as your driving licence, passport and a utility bill. The process is simple and should be completed within a couple of minutes
  5. Your registration should now be complete! Head to the cashier.
  6. If you are claiming a welcome offer, it’s best that you use a debit card in order to make your first deposit at the site; otherwise, you may not qualify for the bonus. You can use alternatives, such as an eWallet, for later deposits if you so wish.
  7. Your deposit should be completed in less than a minute. Now you have the cash to back your World Cup online betting tips.

Responsible Use of Online World Cup Betting Sites

It’s to get carried away with World Cup betting, especially now that there are more teams (48) and matches (104) than ever before. This does not mean, however, that you should abandon your normal responsible gambling practices.

Remember, never bet with money you can’t afford to lose, and don’t chase any losses – once the money has been lost, it’s gone.

All UK betting sites provide tools that encourage responsible gambling, such as sanity checks, deposit limits, loss limits and time-outs. Make sure you make use of them if you feel any need to.

Jules Rimet Still Gleaming …

The World Cup is a festival of football and a feast for football bettors. We want you to get the most from your online World Cup betting, which is why we have curated a list of the best betting sites to place your World Cup bets. Select one, some or all of our sites for a World Cup betting experience as thrilling as watching the games themselves.

Maelis Hartley is a lifelong gamer and seasoned writer with an enduring passion for storytelling, digital realms, and player-first journalism. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Law, a foundation that sharpened her analytical skills and later fueled her deep dive into the ever-evolving landscape of the gaming industry.