Illegal market gaining with World Cup, warns Flutter President
The illegal market is “winning major ground”, wrote Flutter International CEO Dan Taylor ahead of the 2026 World Cup, as he argued that the question is not about whether millions of people will be betting on the competition, but whether they will be betting within a regulated system or an unregulated one.
Taylor said that this World Cup, co-hosted by the United States of America, Canada, and Mexico, “is not just set to be the biggest tournament in history… it will almost certainly become the largest regulated betting event the world has ever seen”.
$60 billion could be legally wagered during this World Cup tournament
Referring to findings by H2 Gambling Capital, he said it has been estimated that $60 billion could be legally wagered with regulated sportsbooks globally during the event. He commented that more nations than ever before now recognise the “simple reality” that sports betting exists, as he commented that millions of adults enjoy doing so responsibly, “and the optimal outcome for customers is a properly regulated market with strong protections, oversight, and accountability”.
The alternative to such regulated markets, Taylor remarked, is the illegal market. This is an alternative which “neither soccer fans nor governments” should accept, he stated.
“As president of Flutter and CEO of Flutter International, I am responsible for all of Flutter’s global brands. I’ve spent years running betting businesses across many of the world’s largest regulated markets, from Australia to Brazil, the US to the UK, and many more in between. One thing I’ve learned, and the evidence is consistent, is that well-regulated markets work better for customer protection, sports integrity, tax revenues, and job creation,” Taylor stated, as he added that “poorly regulated or unregulated markets do the opposite”.
He said that Flutter expects staking on this summer’s World Cup across the group to be “roughly twice the level” of the 2022 World Cup hosted in Qatar, “with around 10 million customers betting with our brands globally”. That scale, he said, drives Flutter’s focus on player safety, as he spoke of how human oversight and a “culture of accountability” remain core to their approach.
With that said, Taylor commented that a lesson he has learned through operating across different regulatory environments is that there is no single template that applies to each case. He commented that different countries take different approaches, and that the strongest operators respect this and operate within those frameworks.
“We’ve never viewed strong regulation and commercial success as mutually exclusive. That’s worth saying clearly, because it’s often lost in political debate. What’s also lost, and what deserves far more attention, is the scale of the illegal market threat.”
Threat posed by the illegal market
A risk that is far greater to consumers than competition between licensed operators, Taylor said, and a risk which is growing both rapidly and “largely unchecked”, is the “growth of offshore illegal betting sites that bypass consumer protections, avoid taxation, offer no meaningful responsible gambling safeguards and, in many cases, have direct links to criminality”.
The Flutter International CEO said that offshore illegal betting sites are actively targeting consumers in markets where they have no right to operate, “often transacting in cryptocurrencies to escape real scrutiny”. He continued that the data shows that such illegal sites are succeeding, and he added that the United Nations’ Office on Drugs and Crime has warned that illegal wagering for this World Cup could exceed the legal market globally.
“If analysts are correct, this could be even greater than the $60 billion expected to be bet in the legal market, a trajectory that should alarm regulators and governments alike.”
The Betting and Gaming Council has made similar statements warning of the growth of the illegal betting market in the UK, particularly warning that as the regulated sector recedes, the black market takes up more space.
Taylor argued that addressing and fixing the illegal gambling issue cannot fall to regulators alone. He said that technology platforms, advertising networks, and payment processors all have a role to play in this regard.
He continued that illegal operators are already outspending licensed operators on digital advertising in several markets, and added that when unlicensed sites are able to advertise freely, process payments without friction, and reach consumers through the same channels as legitimate businesses, then the regulatory framework can only be considered as strong as its weakest link.
With this in mind, he concluded that closer cooperation between regulators and the platforms which control digital distribution is simply not optional, but actually essential.
“In our industry, the illegal market tears up such rulebooks, is playing without a referee, and faces no consequences at the final whistle. Closing that gap requires governments, regulators, technology platforms, and licensed operators to line up together. The World Cup is the biggest fixture in sport. It’s time to make sure the regulated market is ready to play,” Taylor stated.
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