The company behind OPTA stats, Stats Platform, has been announced as the provider of betting data and live streams by FIFA in a multi-year deal. The agreement will supply official data and streaming services to betting operators for modelling, trading, bet settlement, and in-play use and will be in place for the start of the biggest football tournament in the world, the World Cup.
In addition to the World Cup, the 2027 Women’s World Cup, the 2028 FIFA Futsal World Cup, the FIFA U-20 World Cup and the FIFA Intercontinental Cup will also be covered by the deal. It’s the first agreement of its kind for FIFA, which is the global governing authority for the sport. No financial figures of the deal have been revealed.
The tournament gets underway in Mexico City from June 11, 2026, and runs until July 19, 2026. Matches will be staged across three countries: Mexico, the USA, and Canada.
Partnership hailed by both parties
The collaboration is a significant commercial win for Stats Platform, and its CEO, Carl Mergele, said the deal would broaden access to FIFA competitions through licensed platforms.
He said: “FIFA competitions represent the pinnacle of the world’s biggest game. Our clients will be delighted we’re able to add FIFA competitions to our Opta and RunningBall official betting data portfolio, and our innovative, AI-enriched Bet LiveStreams service. We share FIFA’s vision to help the magic of the beautiful game be felt more deeply, by more fans, worldwide.”
Meanwhile, FIFA’s chief business officer, Romy Gai, said: “We are delighted to partner with Stats Perform, a global leader in sports data. This innovative partnership will create great opportunities to deliver official products for the benefit of the game and its fans.”
Stats Platform was founded in 1981 and operates as a sports data and betting technology provider. Before this agreement with FIFA, it has worked with other major competitions, including the Premier League, the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), La Liga and Serie A.
Last year, the company was taken to court by Italian football organisation Serie A, after an abrupt withdrawal from a lucrative betting rights agreement. The case is ongoing, despite a Milan court rejecting a precautionary appeal by Serie A seeking immediate enforcement of the rights licence and services contract.
Stats Platform latest to secure FIFA deal
The international football governing body has been busy in recent months, signing multiple commercial and distribution agreements as it aims to expand its global reach ahead of the tournament this summer.
Recent partnerships include a renewed content partnership with TikTok to distribute short-form World Cup programming worldwide, a deal with DAZN to make FIFA+ available to fans globally.
It has also landed a lucrative accord with Airbnb, which will be the official sponsor of the World Cup. Airbnb is expected to be used by more than 380,000 fans throughout the course of the World Cup, with FIFA estimating a $3.6 billion economic impact for host cities.
Stats Platform acquires assets from Phenix Real Time Solutions
The partnership with FIFA comes alongside a $7 million acquisition by Stats Platform of assets from Phenix Real Time Solutions, an ultra-low-latency tech company. Stats Platform said the acquisition is intended to support faster in-play betting experiences for partner operators.
The two companies have a history. Back in 2021, they both collaborated with Racecourse Media Group (RMG) across the Cheltenham horse racing festival, delivering record streaming volumes of 500,000.
Ben Dowding, director of betting for RMG, said at the time: “There is no question that Phenix’s real-time streaming has been a resounding success for RMG and is the foundation from which RMG will work on for in-play racing with our sportsbook partners.”
Betting levels on World Cup expected to smash records
This year’s tournament is likely to exceed previous wagering totals, according to some forecasts. During the Qatar 2022 World Cup, British bank Barclays surmised in excess of $35 billion was spent on betting throughout the tournament.
The number of teams has expanded from 32 to 48, which means there will be 104 matches. That’s a significant increase on the 64 matches in 2022.
Caesars Sportsbook’s head of soccer, Mark Bickerdike, said late last year: “Expectations for next summer’s World Cup are extremely high. Having an extended tournament in a U.S. customer-friendly time zone should result in this being the highest handle soccer competition the industry has ever seen. It’s going to be an action-packed six weeks, with only five rest days, so there will be plenty of soccer on offer for viewers.”
Sports betting is becoming increasingly common in the U.S., thanks to a maturing regulatory system. The state of Virginia recently smashed its record revenue figure, while New York also reported similar betting numbers in November.
FIFA faces careful balancing act
The agreement underscores FIFA’s broader strategy to monetise its competitions through official data and digital distribution, even as football’s commercial ties to gambling face heightened political and regulatory scrutiny.
According to a December 2025 poll from the Washington Post and University of Maryland: “More than a third of U.S. adults now view the expansion of legal sports betting negatively, with 70% saying they worry increased availability will lead to more gambling addiction and 66% expressing concern that betting could undermine the integrity of sporting events.”
The ease of access to betting products around the World Cup will likely draw intense regulatory scrutiny in mature markets, particularly in North America and Europe, where lawmakers strive to find the balance between consumer protection, integrity risks and the pace of gambling expansion.
