ฟุตบอลโลก FIFA กระตุ้นตลาดการพนันในเอเชีย
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is about to conclude as Argentina and Spain prepare to meet in the final on 19 July. The tournament has once again become one of the biggest betting events on the global sporting calendar. While regulated sportsbooks around the world continue to report strong betting activity, Asia has emerged as one of the busiest regions for football betting despite an equally aggressive wave of enforcement against illegal operators.
According to H2 Gambling Capital projections, global legal betting on the 2026 FIFA World Cup is likely to be between $50 billion and $60 billion. In the United States alone, regulated sportsbooks and prediction platforms are expected to record a combined betting volume between $3 billion and $4.4 billion. But beyond those headline figures, market intelligence suggests the big surge in fan engagement has come from Asia.
Asian nations see record betting
Data from iGaming intelligence platform Blask show that World Cup betting was clearly visible in Asia throughout the tournament. Two major indicators prove so. First, the Blask Index, which measures online users’ engagement with gambling brands, and second, the Casino Estimated Bets (CEB), an estimate of betting volumes across online gambling platforms.
Some of the biggest jumps came from countries where online gambling remains largely unregulated. In Vietnam, the Blask Index rose from 49.65 million in May to 59.9 million in June, while estimated betting activity increased from $245.5 million to $258 million. Indonesia followed a similar pattern, with the index climbing from 9.87 million to 10.47 million, alongside an increase in CEB from $382.6 million to $399.3 million.
Japan also recorded a major rise in engagement during the tournament. Its Blask Index jumped from 655,000 in May to 993,000 in June. Furthermore, as per its World Cup tracker, daily search interest for the nation peaked at 300,100 on 30 June. Estimated betting activity, however, remained relatively steady, rising slightly from $282,000 to $287,000.
Singapore also posted one of the strongest performances. The Blask Index increased from 3.43 million to 4.42 million, while estimated betting activity climbed from $57.4 million to $62.04 million. Malaysia also showed similar growth, with engagement rising from 4.14 million to 4.41 million and CEB increasing from $91.51 million to $93.29 million.
Several countries show slowdown
However, the Philippines, one of Asia’s largest regulated online gaming markets, showed a slightly different picture. Here, the Blask Index dipped marginally from 158.1 million to 149.9 million. But betting activity jumped from $460 million to $488.7 million.
Elsewhere, Kazakhstan recorded a small rise in engagement but a slight decline in estimated betting activity, while Nepal posted small increases across both metrics. Uzbekistan, despite growing attention to gambling reforms and football over the past year, saw its Black Index fall from 3.81 million to 1.61 million, while estimated betting activity remained steady at around $62 million.
Sri Lanka, where online betting and gambling remain unregulated, but the government is actively considering new legislation, also saw a slight slowdown during the tournament. The country’s Black Index fell from 582,400 in May to 498,600 in June, while CEB declined from $8.58 million to $8.18 million, largely due to the World Cup’s lack of popularity.
Surge despite the crackdown
However, despite the surge in betting activity during the FIFA World Cup, Asian nations tried their best to curb illegal gambling, with Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, China and Hong Kong all stepping up enforcement over the course of the tournament.
Malaysia has seen some of the toughest enforcement action during the World Cup. Authorities launched nationwide operations targeting illegal betting syndicates, online gambling platforms, lotteries and scam networks, leading to more than 1,000 arrests. In separate raids, police uncovered betting transactions worth more than 2.6 million ringgit ($637,000) and seized 145,000 ringgit ($35,600) in cash. Officials have also stepped up monitoring of gambling websites, mobile apps and social media accounts suspected of promoting illegal betting.
Singapore has taken the same approach, but with a stronger focus on prevention. Authorities took action largely over illegal betting syndicates and gambling advertisements, while directing online service providers to block access to unlicenced gambling websites. Under Singapore’s gambling laws, both illegal operators and people using unauthorised betting services can face heavy penalties.
Meanwhile, China launched a campaign against cross-border gambling throughout the tournament. Regulators targeted offshore betting networks, underground payment channels and gambling promotions circulating online. Social media platforms have played a major role in the crackdown, with thousands of gambling-related accounts, livestreams and promotional posts removed in recent weeks.
Whereas Hong Kong focused more on warning the public than launching large-scale legal actions. Authorities constantly advised football fans that placing bets on offshore gambling websites can breach local gambling laws, even if those operators are licenced in other nations.
Even as interest around the World Cup kept rising across Asia, regulators continued their efforts to curb unlicenced betting activity, take down illegal platforms and encourage fans to use regulated channels wherever available.
All roads lead to the mother of all conferences in Rome from 02 to 05 November 2026. SiGMA World takes over Fiera Roma, bringing together 30,000 delegates, 1,000+ exhibitors, and 550+ expert speakers. This is where the right room can change your roadmap.
