Monthly Industry Report

The 2026 FIFA World Cup kicked off across the US, Canada and Mexico on June 11 with an expanded 48-team, 104-match format — and immediately became the biggest betting event in history. The opening matches involving the United States and Brazil were the most-bet soccer games ever at both FanDuel and DraftKings by handle and active customers, with DraftKings reporting World Cup handle running at roughly five times its 2022 levels. US legal books are projected to take $2.8B–$4.3B across the tournament, and New York's eight online operators cleared $500M in weekly handle three weeks running — $551.3M in the week ending June 21 and $512.5M (up 46.6% YoY) in the week ending June 28.

On June 10, the CFTC published its long-awaited proposed rule for prediction markets, opening a 45-day public comment period. The proposal would permit game-outcome and team-performance contracts as legitimate 'economic enterprises' while banning contracts prone to manipulation or insider information — player injuries, officiating decisions, physical altercations, youth sporting events and in-game props — alongside markets on war, terrorism and assassinations. Chairman Michael Selig said the rules provide 'a durable, transparent framework to identify the contracts Congress directed us to scrutinize while letting legitimate markets move forward.'

World Cup trading powered prediction markets to their biggest month ever: combined Kalshi, Polymarket and Polymarket US volume hit $44.8B in June, up 75% from May. Kalshi grew 87.4% month-over-month to $31.5B, with its World Cup winner market alone drawing more than $832M, while Polymarket's international and US platforms added $10.26B and $3.04B. On June 24, reports emerged that Kalshi is seeking a new funding round at roughly a $40B valuation — nearly double the $22B mark set by its $1B Coatue-led Series F just weeks earlier. DraftKings answered on June 26 by launching DKeX, its in-house prediction exchange, after DraftKings Predictions volume surged 87% following the World Cup kickoff.

North Carolina's roughly $34B budget agreement raised the online sports betting tax from 18% to 23% — Senator Jim Burgin confirmed the figure on June 18 and lawmakers approved the budget before month-end. The deal ended months of debate between a Senate push for 36% and the House's 18%, and is projected to add about $37M for roughly $170M in annual betting tax revenue. The budget also introduced a 6% levy on prediction-market operators — among the first state taxes aimed squarely at the category — and allowed bettors to deduct gambling losses from winnings for the first time.

President Lula signed Decree 13,033 on June 19, creating a formal mechanism to freeze and ultimately seize funds held by unlicensed fixed-odds betting operators. Once the Finance Ministry's betting regulator flags an illegal operator, banks and payment firms must freeze linked accounts within 24 hours and block new transactions, with Brazil's central bank overseeing the process and forfeited funds directed to the National Public Security Fund. An accompanying ordinance lays groundwork for joint tax liability for financial institutions, payment providers and advertisers that service unlicensed operators — a meaningful boost for the licensed market still facing prohibition bills in Congress.