World Cup 2026 may bring a wave of first-time online bettors across Latin America, Paysafe research suggests

Paysafe’s “All the Ways Players Pay: World Cup 2026” study highlights Latin America’s outsized appetite for online wagering, with Mexico, Brazil and Peru showing some of the strongest intent—while payment speed and local methods emerge as make-or-break factors for retention.

With the FIFA World Cup 2026 scheduled to run from 11 June to 19 July 2026, operators and payment providers are already preparing for a tournament-scale spike in digital engagement across the Americas.

According to new research released by Paysafe, 60% of World Cup fans globally plan to bet online, and 19% of those interested in following the tournament say they intend to place their first-ever online bet during the event—signaling a meaningful influx of new users into regulated digital betting ecosystems.

Latin America stands out in the same dataset. Paysafe reports particularly strong betting intent in Peru (85%), as well as high planned participation in Brazil (66%) and Mexico (68%). In Mexico specifically, the study indicates that 26% of fans plan to wager online for the first time during the World Cup.

The research also frames payments as a competitive differentiator during a tournament that spans roughly five weeks. While brand trust is the top selection factor (38%), rapid payouts rank close behind (33%), and Paysafe notes that 88% of bettors would switch sportsbooks after a bad payment experience. In Brazil, the report points to Pix as a key local rail, with 48% of Brazilian fans planning to use it for World Cup betting.

For Latin America’s newly expanded regulated landscape, the core challenge won’t only be acquisition—it will be converting first-time bettors into repeat users through frictionless cashiers, reliable withdrawals and localized payment options while maintaining responsible gambling safeguards under heightened tournament attention.