Haiti's World Cup Win Could Cost Sportsbooks Millions

The FIFA World Cup 2026 features an expanded 48-team field playing in the U.S., Mexico, and Canada. This expansion gives underdog teams like Haiti a better chance to compete. Haiti is one of the teams with sizable wagers placed on them to win the World Cup. A $1,250 wager on Haiti to win the World Cup at 2,500 to 1 odds could result in a $3.125 million payout on DraftKings.

Haiti opens Group C play on Saturday against Scotland, with Morocco and Brazil also in the group. All teams in Group C are ranked well above Haiti, making their journey to the championship a challenging one. The U.S. is expected to wager $2.9 billion on the World Cup, with potential to reach $4.4 billion if Team USA makes a deep run. This surge in betting is due to the expanded legalization of sports betting across the country since 2018.

Prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket could see more than $3 billion in incremental handle during the World Cup. This increased activity is expected to boost customer acquisition and user interaction, especially during a part of the year when sports betting and trading are less popular.