FIFA World Cup 2026 Betting Sites

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After four long years of waiting, 2022 sees the return of the biggest sporting tournament in the world; the FIFA World Cup. A host of talented national teams will be trying to dethrone the French following their 2018 triumph beginning on the 20th of November, when the 22nd edition of this famous event kicks off. There are 32 teams heading to the tournament, but only one will emerge victorious, and in this World Cup 2022 betting guide you’ll find all that you need to know about the World Cup betting sites and how to enjoy a punt on it.

Above you can take a look at what we think are the best Australian World Cup betting sites, but rather than just expecting you to take our word for it, we want to give a little bit of context to why we chose these bookmakers.

There are a number of things we look at when considering the best bookies to use for the World Cup, but perhaps most notable among those is how many markets they offer for the tournament. That relates to both tournament-long futures, as well as individual games – for example, do they offer a number of different player props, alternate lines and so on, or do they stick to just the basics like head-to-head and total goals? We also obviously take a look at the odds that they offer, as each bookie will have a slightly different profit margin and as a result the value that you can get on each bet varies.

Those are the most important factors that we consider, though there are a few others too. We also consider how easy the website of the bookmaker in question is and whether they have a decent mobile app, or at least a mobile site. We’ll also take into consideration their customer support platform – both how many different forms of contact do they have, as well as how many hours per day these contact methods are available.

As you’re perusing through the vast number of options that you have for betting on the World Cup, you’ll notice a bit of a divide between locally owned, Australian sports betting sites, and internationally owned ones. There can be benefits to using each of them, but each have their own advantages, and which one is best for you will often depend on what it is you value in FIFA World Cup betting sites in Australia.

Why to choose a Australian betting site

Local sites are those which are owned and operated in Australia, meaning they are generally smaller overall businesses than their international counterparts. There are a few drawbacks to this – often it means that their odds may not be as good or they may not have as wide a range of services. However, they do certainly make up for this in other areas.

Probably the most notable of these is customer support. Given they are located in Australia they generally have customer support platforms much more suitable to their Australian audiences as it’s easier for them to provide help during Australian hours. Their smaller size also invariably means that, as with most businesses, they are able to place a little more emphasis on the individual customers.

Why to choose an international betting site

International sites are generally larger, internationally established betting sites who have decided to enter the Australian betting industry, typically after many years operating in other parts of the world. This means that they enter Australian shores as an experienced bookmaker and are generally able to offer a broader range of services than new, local sites only just starting out. That doesn’t mean they’re perfect by any means – as mentioned above, their size means that often there is less of an emphasis on customers, but they do have some advantages too.

Predominantly this is in the form of the range of markets and odds that they offer. Take Bet365 as an example; one of the biggest bookies in the world, they have some of the best odds and the widest range of markets in Australia, something which is attributable to their global success. If these factors are the most important things for you in a bookmaker, then sometimes international ones can be the way to go – though there are still certainly local bookmakers offering good odds and many markets too.

There are a number of features which are important to look for when deciding on the best FIFA World Cup betting sites in Australia. We’ve already touched on them a little throughout the course of this article to date, but in this section we’ll go into a little bit more detail about what to look for in a World Cup bookie.

Wide range of World Cup markets

As mentioned earlier, the range of World Cup markets is definitely something to consider when looking for FIFA World Cup betting sites in Australia. In fact, this is something to consider anytime you look at a bookie, but if you’re looking for a World Cup bookie in particular then you obviously need to look at the range of World Cup markets. Some betting sites might only have a handful of markets per game while others might have an enormous range, from player props to alternate lines and more. However, remember that you only need markets for what you intend to bet on – if you’re a player props bettor, for example, look for a site with a good range of them.

Live streaming

Live streaming is something which is becoming increasingly popular for bookmakers, but what exactly each of them offers is always different. The broadcast rights for the World Cup will obviously be extremely expensive, so whether any bookmaker forks out for them remains to be seen. If, however, there is a site on which you can watch some games in the World Cup, that will clearly be a major drawcard for many punters. Keep an eye on Bet365 and Unibet two major players that offer live streaming and soccer is one of their main markets.

Live Betting

This is another growing area in the world of punting, and is something which is far more accessible during the World Cup than live streaming will be. Still, not all bookies will offer it, so those who do will certainly have a point of difference. Live betting will enable you to punt on certain markets – typically just the more popular ones – after the game has started, with rapidly changing odds based on how the game is unfolding. As always in Australia, you will have to call up in order to place a live bet.

Bookmakers that usually offer live betting are:

• playup
• Bet365
• Topsport
• Unibet

Bonuses and promotions

Bonuses and promotions are always something that punters are looking for in a bookmaker, and though some offer very few of much value, there are other bookies with whom you can often find promos which can be of significant benefit if used widely. Often, these bonuses come when there is a major event upcoming and bookies want to entice punters to use their site throughout the course of the event. Clearly, the FIFA World Cup falls into this category, and many bookmakers might offer various promotions – often relating to World Cup games or futures themselves – throughout the course of the tournament.

Banking

A final feature to keep an eye out on is banking. It might not be the most exciting element of a bookmaker, but transferring funds to and hopefully from your betting account is an unavoidable part of the process. Clearly, it’s key that there is a payment method available which you can quickly and easily use. Usually there’ll be at least one or two suitable options like credit/debit card, but be sure to take a look at the available options to ensure that there is one available for you to use.

Same game multis

Just a few years ago same game multis didn’t really exist, but nowadays they are part and parcel of the offerings of many major bookmakers on most sporting leagues of note. As the name suggests, these enable you to combine multiple outcomes from a single game into the one bet, with the odds multiplying with each additional leg. Many bookmakers will offer this during the World Cup, though there will be plenty of others who don’t have it available.

Multis

Multis are more common than same game multis, and differ in that the different legs that you combine will all be from different games. For example, you might combine two or three different teams to win their next games, and get the odds of all those individual odds multiplied. Some things you’ll always be able to multi, such as head-to-head results, while things like player props might only be available for a multi with certain bookmakers. Different bookies will also have varying limits on how many legs you can include in an individual multi.

Future bets

Every decent World Cup betting site will offer futures of some variety; at the very least a market for the winner of the event. However, how many other futures they have will vary among bookmakers. Some will have odds available for all the individual awards like Golden Boot and Golden Ball, which can be fun to follow throughout the event, while others may just have outright winner available.

Outright Betting

Outright betting is, as discussed earlier, one of the most popular ways to bet on the World Cup and a market which virtually every World Cup betting site is offering. This is a bet which you can follow throughout the course of the tournament, rather than just over one night, and includes all teams that qualify for it. Evidently, there are a number of teams which are far more heavily favoured to go deep in the tournament than others, most of which are the usual suspects at these kinds of events.

With the vast majority of places in the World Cup now confirmed, there is a little more clarity around the markets for the winners of the event. Among the favourites include five-time champions Brazil, reigning World Cup winners in France, an English side to whom the bookies still have some faith despite being in the midst of a 56-year World Cup drought, Spain, Germany, Belgium and Argentina.

Now it’s time to move away from the betting, and into the nitty gritty of the tournament itself. Taking place in Qatar, the tournament itself kicks off on the 20th of November with the traditional game including the host nation. The final takes place at Lusail Iconic Stadium on the 18th of December, but there is a fair bit of water to go under the bridge before we get there, so let’s start with the qualifiers.

The qualifiers

The qualification process to get into the World Cup one is a long one, and has been made even longer by continued disruptions from the pandemic. Each nation belongs to one of the six FIFA confederations, and in each of these confederations an individual qualification process takes place to determine who plays in the World Cup. With some of these federations, such as UEFA, far stronger than others, a predetermined number of teams from each gets the chance to advance, with far more able to qualify from the better federations.

The draw

The draw took place on the 1st of April, 2022 in Qatar. The qualification process was not yet fully finalized at this process, so there were a handful of placeholders included in the draw, but the vast majority of teams had already been decided and the pools five of the eight pools full as a result.

Tournament

In total, there are eight groups at the 2022 FIFA World Cup consisting of four teams each. This is the final World Cup before the event is expanded from 32 to 48 teams. Each team plays all three others in their Group on one occasion, and the teams which finish in the top two in each group advances through to the knockout stage. From this point onwards, it’s a winner takes all situation.

The knockout stage

The knockout stage begins with the Round of 16, which sees the winners of each group pitted against a runner-up from another. From this point onwards, losing teams are eliminated from the event while the winner advances through to the next round. This continues onto the quarter-finals, where there are eight teams, then the semi-finals where there are four, and then the final itself.

In total, there will be eight groups in the 2022 FIFA World Cup Group Stage, each of which will consist of four teams. This is what each group will look like.

Group A

In Group A, we have host nation Qatar competing alongside Ecuador, Senegal and the Netherlands. The Netherlands are far and away the most highly rated team in this group and should be able to advance, while it’s expected that the second qualifying spot will be contested between Ecuador and Senegal.

Group B

In Group B, we have England, Iran, the United States and Wales. England, as one of the favourites to win the tournament, is expected to head this group. Wales is viewed as the next best hope to advance by the bookmakers, while the USA and Iran are only outside hopes of finishing in the top two.

Group C

Group C includes Argentina, Poland, Mexico and Saudi Arabia. The make-up of this group is not dissimilar to that of Group A: Argentina is the best team in it and should be able to advance, while Poland and Mexico are expected to battle it out for second place.

Group D

France, Denmark, Tunisia and Australia are the four teams in Group D. This group looks fairly clear cut; France should be too good and finish on top of the group, while Denmark is widely tipped to snare the second spot.

Group E

Spain, Germany and Japan will definitely compete in what is a relatively competitive group, while Costa Rica isn’t expected to do much damage. The only team with a real chance to keep Spain and Germany from taking the top two spots is Japan.

Group F

Group F consists of Belgium, Canada, Morocco and Croatia. Every team in this group is a genuine chance of finishing in the top two, though Belgium are out on top as the relatively comfortable favourite to win the group. Sitting behind them is Croatia, while Morocco and Canada are the less likely chances to advance.

Group G

Brazil, Switzerland, Serbia and Cameroon are our three teams in Group G. Unsurprisingly, Brazil is the fairly comfortable favourite to win this group; who will finish second is not so clear cut. Both Switzerland and Serbia have a very good chance of grabbing the second spot and might be competing with one another for it, though Cameroon is still an outside chance of causing some damage as well.

Group H

Our final group is Group H, which includes Portugual, Uruguay, South Korea and Ghana. Portugal is the favourite to win this group, though Uruguay isn’t all that far behind. South Korea and Ghana are both only outside chances of advancing, though the odds suggest that a top two finish is not out of the realms of possibility for either of them

Below are some important dates relating to the 2022 FIFA World Cup to lock into your calendar:

• 13-14th of June, 2022: AFC, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL and OFC qualifying ends
• 20th of November, 2022: FIFA World Cup begins
• 3rd of December: Knockout stage begins
• 18th of December: FIFA World Cup final

Other league schedules

Typically the FIFA World Cup takes place during the middle of the year, something which suits the majority of major domestic leagues throughout the world as it doesn’t cause any disruption to their schedule. Given the 2022 edition of the event is taking place in Qatar, where summer temperatures regularly soar into the 40s, the tournament has been moved to later in the year when the climate will be more suitable. As a result, a number of major leagues will be impacted.

The major leagues in Europe, including the English Premier League, La Liga, Ligue 1 and Serie A, would normally be playing matches during the period in which the 2022 World Cup is being played, and as a result there have been changes to their schedules. Likewise the major leagues in South America, namely those in Argentina and Brazil. Closer to home, the A-League will also be running during the World Cup – it starts in October and runs until May in a normal season. As a result of the World Cup, the beginning may need to be delayed, although it’s unlikely the impact of the World Cup will be as significant for the A-League given a number of the players won’t be playing for their national side.

About the World Cup Tournament

The FIFA World Cup was first held way back in 1930 when Uruguay, on their own home soil, defeated Argentina. Since then it’s been held every four years with the exception of 1942 and 1946 across a variety of countries, but only once has it been held in Asia and never has it been held in an Arab country. This makes Qatar a relatively unique host country, particularly given that it is by far the smallest country to host a World Cup, and the Qatar national side has never qualified for the tournament. The climate in the region also means that the World Cup has been moved from the middle of the year to the end of it.

The history of the tournament

In total, the FIFA World Cup has been held on 21 occasions prior to this edition. In that time, eight different nations have triumphed; Brazil, Germany, Italy, Argentina, France, Uruguay, England and Spain. Brazil have been the most successful in history, winning it on five occasions (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002), while both Germany (1954, 1974, 1990 and 2014) and Italy (1934, 1938, 1982 and 2006) have won it on four occasions. Of the teams to have won it, Uruguay hasn’t won since 1950, while England – who have won it just once – are in the midst of a well-publicised 55-year drought having enjoyed their only success way back in 1966.

Individually, Germany’s Miroslav Klose has been the most prolific goalscorer at the event, scoring 16 times, while Brazil’s Ronaldo managed 15 throughout his glittering career, Germay’s Gerd Müller scored 14 times, France’s Just Fontaine hit the back of the net on 13 occasions, and the brilliant Brazilian Pelé scored 12.

World Cup Interesting facts

Below are some interesting facts about the history of the FIFA World Cup.

• On five occasions the host nation has won the World Cup, but it hasn’t yet happened since the turn of the century – something which is unlikely to change in Qatar.
• Winning the World Cup twice in a row has proven particularly difficult over the course of the tournament’s history. Only Brazil managed to achieve the feat in 1958 and 1962, so France will be attempting something which hasn’t happened in 60 years at this year’s event.
• Never has a nation outside of Europe or South America won the FIFA World Cup. South America has accounted for nine of the victories, while the other 12 belong to European nations.

Group A

Group B

Group C

Group D

Group E

Group F

Group G

Group H