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The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be the largest ever staged, with 48 teams, 104 matches across 16 venues and a knockout format that includes extra time from the round of 32 onwards.
For operators and the pricing providers they rely on, the tournament means weeks of high-volume in-play trading where player prop pricing, bet builder depth and live settlement speed all need to hold up under sustained pressure — and so does the Opta Betting data powering those products.
SBC News asked three businesses building World Cup products on Opta Betting data, spanning pricing specialists and full sportsbook platforms — Jeevan Jeyaratnam (Chief Betting Officer, Abelson Sports), Graham Savage (CEO, Gameplai) and Aidan O’Sullivan (Head of Commercial, Trade, OpenBet) – how Opta Betting data is helping them build products for operators ahead of the World Cup, and where they see operator demand heading compared to the 2022 edition.
What does your World Cup data product look like for the 2026 FIFA World Cup?
Aidan O’Sullivan: OpenBet’s trading and pricing capability is one part of a full sportsbook platform powering tier-one operators globally, and our World Cup data product is built around coverage breadth and in-play depth. With 104 matches across three host nations and time zones spanning the Americas, our product is designed to handle peak volumes across multiple games simultaneously, with no degradation in market depth or speed.
Aidan O’Sullivan, Head of Commercial, OpenBet.
Pre-match, OpenBet offers a full suite of player markets as part of our Bet Builder offering, giving operators the depth they need to build engaging, margin-positive selections before kick-off. Across the full tournament, that means comprehensive coverage of player performance markets alongside match and tournament-level markets, giving our customers the tools to drive engagement across the full arc of the competition, not just individual fixtures.
We are also launching player combo markets for the World Cup. Already proven with our Australian AFL and NRL partners, these markets will now be available for football audiences worldwide, and providing a more engaging and forgiving user experience, which we expect to drive both player uptake and retention for our partners.
Jeevan Jeyaratnam: For the World Cup, we’re rolling out our most advanced Football Player Markets feed yet. The package includes new extra-time markets, expanded combinational pricing and a significantly enriched live market layer, all driven by Opta’s official betting data. It’s the largest and most comprehensive player-prop product we’ve ever released.
We’ve also added markets specifically for the North American region, combining both 90 minutes play and extra time for knock-out stage matches to engage punters familiar with bets standing through overtime in traditional US sports. Understanding the nuance of the territories in which we transact is vital, as our operation now powers operators from the Americas to Asia.
Graham Savage, CEO, Gameplai.
Graham Savage: Gameplai will offer a full suite of player prop markets, both pre-match and in-play, for every World Cup game. By delivering such a comprehensive player-driven proposition, we can help our partners drive meaningful engagement across markets where participating countries have strong local audiences.
Our focus is on contextual betting experiences, including pre-built in-play Bet Builder markets tailored to specific player positions and match situations. For an attacking midfielder, we can bundle markets such as off-target shots, assists and passes. For a defensive midfielder, we can combine interceptions, tackles and fouls conceded. For attackers, we surface combinations around fouls won, goals and shots on target. These markets are prioritised dynamically based on what is happening on the pitch in real time, so users are presented with the most relevant betting opportunities at the exact moments they are most likely to engage.
All three providers described World Cup product suites that are significantly broader and more complex than anything available in 2022. However, delivering that at tournament scale, with up to four matches in a single day across a 39-day window, depends heavily on the Opta Betting data feed powering the product.
How does the depth and speed of the Opta Betting data feed shape what you can offer operators, and how critical is that during a tournament like the World Cup?
JJ: The key is offering markets that are trackable while watching the action, and the granularity of the data feed is what makes that possible. Shots and shots on target are a great example of where demand is growing. There are more shots than goals but fewer shots than passes, so those bets hit a sweet spot of trackability across the full match. That’s where the depth of the feed really comes into its own.
On the reliability side, suspension speed and accurate settlement are what give you pricing confidence, greater uptime and reduced bet delay windows. That matters well before kick-off too. The pre-live period when starting XIs are announced is when we expect heavy turnover, so accurate and swift lineup information is critical.
GS: For in-play in particular, the speed and accuracy of the underlying data feed is fundamental to the success of the product. That depth is also a big part of what enables us to dynamically prioritise markets by player position and match context in real time. Gameplai settles all markets in real time, so the speed of that feed directly shapes the customer experience, particularly when getting funds back into customers’ accounts quickly. We are fortunate to have worked with Opta for a number of years and have implicit trust in the quality of their data. With multiple games scheduled on a daily basis at this year’s World Cup, accurate settlement will be imperative to maximise customer engagement and experience.
AO: At a tournament like the World Cup, the data feed is the foundation everything else is built on. The depth and accuracy of the feed directly determine the range of markets OpenBet can offer, and richer data means broader market selection and more defensible pricing.
Speed matters most at the moments of highest intensity: goals, VAR reviews, red cards. Our feed architecture is designed to flag and react to those state changes in real time, keeping the experience seamless for the bettor while protecting operator margins. For a 104-match tournament, feed reliability under load is non-negotiable, and our infrastructure is stress-tested for exactly those multi-game peak scenarios.
With all three providers emphasising how Opta’s data speed, depth and settlement accuracy shape what they can offer during the tournament, the conversation turned to where operator demand is actually shifting compared to four years ago.
Where do you see the biggest growth in operator demand for World Cup markets compared to 2022 and what’s driving that shift?
AO: The clearest acceleration is in Bet Builder and same-game parlay products. Player props are driving a significant share of pre-match demand. Operators have seen how player-centric markets perform in the NFL and NBA and are now expecting the same engagement dynamic in football, particularly in the US where the bettor profile skews towards stats-led wagering. Year-on-year we see strong growth in player markets specifically, and while in terms of slip count they can still sit behind the traditional staples for many operators, these markets consistently outperform on margin.
The US market is structurally different from 2022: legal, scaled, and with a domestic team carrying genuine expectations. There’s also growing demand from LatAm, Brazil in particular, where operators are taking localised, high-volume tournament coverage increasingly seriously. The shift from 2022 is that operators now understand that volume requires robust trading infrastructure: it’s an opportunity and an operational investment in equal measure.
JJ: There’s little doubt that the biggest growth in demand is for richer player markets, both pre-match and in-play. Compared to 2022, we expect shots and shots on target to be vying with anytime goalscorers for the highest player metric revenue drivers.
Driving the shift is the continued dominance of bet builders and the growing influence of player-led micro markets. An interesting aside is that in 2022 there were more operators offering two-way markets for metrics like shots. That has largely changed, with operators now preferring to bonus users with concessions like “sub off, play on” rather than offer “unders”.
GS: The expanded competition to 48 teams will ensure that more fans than ever will be emotionally invested in this year’s World Cup. The tournament is synonymous with driving patriotic emotions, and having the ability to localise your offering across participating regions will be a key differentiator for operators.
In domestic competitions the higher profile players tend to attract the majority of player-oriented turnover. The World Cup will be different, with customers globally having the appetite to get behind their own teams and specifically their own leading players.
Opta Betting data is the foundation behind the player prop and bet builder markets offered by pricing providers across the global betting industry – from pre-match depth to real-time settlement, powering the products operators rely on at the biggest moments in sport. Visit Stats Perform’s website for more information.
Opta Betting data pricing provider roundtable: FIFA World Cup 2026
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The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be the largest ever staged, with 48 teams, 104 matches across 16 venues and a knockout format that includes extra time from the round of 32 onwards.
For operators and the pricing providers they rely on, the tournament means weeks of high-volume in-play trading where player prop pricing, bet builder depth and live settlement speed all need to hold up under sustained pressure — and so does the Opta Betting data powering those products.
SBC News asked three businesses building World Cup products on Opta Betting data, spanning pricing specialists and full sportsbook platforms — Jeevan Jeyaratnam (Chief Betting Officer, Abelson Sports), Graham Savage (CEO, Gameplai) and Aidan O’Sullivan (Head of Commercial, Trade, OpenBet) – how Opta Betting data is helping them build products for operators ahead of the World Cup, and where they see operator demand heading compared to the 2022 edition.
What does your World Cup data product look like for the 2026 FIFA World Cup?
Aidan O’Sullivan: OpenBet’s trading and pricing capability is one part of a full sportsbook platform powering tier-one operators globally, and our World Cup data product is built around coverage breadth and in-play depth. With 104 matches across three host nations and time zones spanning the Americas, our product is designed to handle peak volumes across multiple games simultaneously, with no degradation in market depth or speed.
Pre-match, OpenBet offers a full suite of player markets as part of our Bet Builder offering, giving operators the depth they need to build engaging, margin-positive selections before kick-off. Across the full tournament, that means comprehensive coverage of player performance markets alongside match and tournament-level markets, giving our customers the tools to drive engagement across the full arc of the competition, not just individual fixtures.
We are also launching player combo markets for the World Cup. Already proven with our Australian AFL and NRL partners, these markets will now be available for football audiences worldwide, and providing a more engaging and forgiving user experience, which we expect to drive both player uptake and retention for our partners.
Jeevan Jeyaratnam: For the World Cup, we’re rolling out our most advanced Football Player Markets feed yet. The package includes new extra-time markets, expanded combinational pricing and a significantly enriched live market layer, all driven by Opta’s official betting data. It’s the largest and most comprehensive player-prop product we’ve ever released.
We’ve also added markets specifically for the North American region, combining both 90 minutes play and extra time for knock-out stage matches to engage punters familiar with bets standing through overtime in traditional US sports. Understanding the nuance of the territories in which we transact is vital, as our operation now powers operators from the Americas to Asia.
Graham Savage: Gameplai will offer a full suite of player prop markets, both pre-match and in-play, for every World Cup game. By delivering such a comprehensive player-driven proposition, we can help our partners drive meaningful engagement across markets where participating countries have strong local audiences.
Our focus is on contextual betting experiences, including pre-built in-play Bet Builder markets tailored to specific player positions and match situations. For an attacking midfielder, we can bundle markets such as off-target shots, assists and passes. For a defensive midfielder, we can combine interceptions, tackles and fouls conceded. For attackers, we surface combinations around fouls won, goals and shots on target. These markets are prioritised dynamically based on what is happening on the pitch in real time, so users are presented with the most relevant betting opportunities at the exact moments they are most likely to engage.
All three providers described World Cup product suites that are significantly broader and more complex than anything available in 2022. However, delivering that at tournament scale, with up to four matches in a single day across a 39-day window, depends heavily on the Opta Betting data feed powering the product.
How does the depth and speed of the Opta Betting data feed shape what you can offer operators, and how critical is that during a tournament like the World Cup?
JJ: The key is offering markets that are trackable while watching the action, and the granularity of the data feed is what makes that possible. Shots and shots on target are a great example of where demand is growing. There are more shots than goals but fewer shots than passes, so those bets hit a sweet spot of trackability across the full match. That’s where the depth of the feed really comes into its own.
On the reliability side, suspension speed and accurate settlement are what give you pricing confidence, greater uptime and reduced bet delay windows. That matters well before kick-off too. The pre-live period when starting XIs are announced is when we expect heavy turnover, so accurate and swift lineup information is critical.
GS: For in-play in particular, the speed and accuracy of the underlying data feed is fundamental to the success of the product. That depth is also a big part of what enables us to dynamically prioritise markets by player position and match context in real time. Gameplai settles all markets in real time, so the speed of that feed directly shapes the customer experience, particularly when getting funds back into customers’ accounts quickly. We are fortunate to have worked with Opta for a number of years and have implicit trust in the quality of their data. With multiple games scheduled on a daily basis at this year’s World Cup, accurate settlement will be imperative to maximise customer engagement and experience.
AO: At a tournament like the World Cup, the data feed is the foundation everything else is built on. The depth and accuracy of the feed directly determine the range of markets OpenBet can offer, and richer data means broader market selection and more defensible pricing.
Speed matters most at the moments of highest intensity: goals, VAR reviews, red cards. Our feed architecture is designed to flag and react to those state changes in real time, keeping the experience seamless for the bettor while protecting operator margins. For a 104-match tournament, feed reliability under load is non-negotiable, and our infrastructure is stress-tested for exactly those multi-game peak scenarios.
With all three providers emphasising how Opta’s data speed, depth and settlement accuracy shape what they can offer during the tournament, the conversation turned to where operator demand is actually shifting compared to four years ago.
Where do you see the biggest growth in operator demand for World Cup markets compared to 2022 and what’s driving that shift?
AO: The clearest acceleration is in Bet Builder and same-game parlay products. Player props are driving a significant share of pre-match demand. Operators have seen how player-centric markets perform in the NFL and NBA and are now expecting the same engagement dynamic in football, particularly in the US where the bettor profile skews towards stats-led wagering. Year-on-year we see strong growth in player markets specifically, and while in terms of slip count they can still sit behind the traditional staples for many operators, these markets consistently outperform on margin.
The US market is structurally different from 2022: legal, scaled, and with a domestic team carrying genuine expectations. There’s also growing demand from LatAm, Brazil in particular, where operators are taking localised, high-volume tournament coverage increasingly seriously. The shift from 2022 is that operators now understand that volume requires robust trading infrastructure: it’s an opportunity and an operational investment in equal measure.
JJ: There’s little doubt that the biggest growth in demand is for richer player markets, both pre-match and in-play. Compared to 2022, we expect shots and shots on target to be vying with anytime goalscorers for the highest player metric revenue drivers.
Driving the shift is the continued dominance of bet builders and the growing influence of player-led micro markets. An interesting aside is that in 2022 there were more operators offering two-way markets for metrics like shots. That has largely changed, with operators now preferring to bonus users with concessions like “sub off, play on” rather than offer “unders”.
GS: The expanded competition to 48 teams will ensure that more fans than ever will be emotionally invested in this year’s World Cup. The tournament is synonymous with driving patriotic emotions, and having the ability to localise your offering across participating regions will be a key differentiator for operators.
In domestic competitions the higher profile players tend to attract the majority of player-oriented turnover. The World Cup will be different, with customers globally having the appetite to get behind their own teams and specifically their own leading players.
Opta Betting data is the foundation behind the player prop and bet builder markets offered by pricing providers across the global betting industry – from pre-match depth to real-time settlement, powering the products operators rely on at the biggest moments in sport. Visit Stats Perform’s website for more information.