Big sporting events tend to expose cracks in the foundation of betting, and the 2026 FIFA World Cup is no exception, as several regulators have released statements on prediction market betting.
While prediction markets continue to be a hot topic globally, Brazil is still fighting the “traditional” sense of illegal gambling by hitting the operators where it hurts: the payment providers.
Europe
Nine European Regulators Unite on Prediction Markets
The joint statement was issued by gambling authorities from Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland and released on the 17th of June, and speaks about the impact of prediction markets at the height of the FIFA World Cup.
It reads, “As regulators, we have a key role to play in ensuring player protection throughout the tournament and that prediction markets must operate in accordance with the licensing and regulatory requirements of a given jurisdiction.”
And continues further with a plea to “various stakeholders in the sporting world, particularly sports federations, leagues and teams,” to “ensure that these platforms are lawful within their jurisdiction before entering into major partnerships with them.”
While the statement comes with the competition in full swing, it reassures that this is not a temporary stance, stating that “throughout the tournament and beyond, we will be developing greater cross-border cooperation, particularly through the exchange of information, expertise and best practice, and most of us will step up our social media activity during the competition to promote safe gambling.”
Americas
Brazil – President Lula’s signing of Decree No. 13,033 on 19 June marks a significant escalation in Brazil’s campaign against unlicensed operators. The decree grants authorities the power to freeze funds and pursue the payment companies processing transactions for illegal platforms. A strategy deemed more effective than simply blocking gambling operator websites since operators tend to circumvent that by setting up new websites.
With this payment-focused approach, frozen assets can be directed to public security work, providing the government with an additional tool to adds a political dimension that will sustain enforcement pressure beyond any single news cycle.
Asia-Pacific
Thailand – While IP blocks are less effective than restricting certain payment methods, they’re still a way for countries to combat illegal gambling, even if only temporarily. And thanks to AI, Thailand’s Ministry of Digital Economy and Society recently carried out an 18-day IP-blocking operation that saw 13,888 illegal betting websites removed from the market.
Deploying AI to detect, screen, and prioritize URLs for court petitions compresses a process that previously took weeks into one that can keep pace with the speed at which illegal gambling content migrates and replicates during live tournaments. The cross-border network element suggests Thailand is building a case file that extends beyond domestic enforcement.
