The analysis also found that:
- 174.3 billion qualifying illegal stream views of 90 seconds or more globally across the tournament
- 1.68 billion average qualifying illegal stream views of 90 seconds plus per match, globally
- 6.2 billion qualifying illegal stream views of 90 seconds plus globally for the Spain vs Argentina Final
- 95% of qualifying illegal stream views of 90 seconds plus globally carried advertising for unregulated gambling
The estimate is derived from GCI's global monitoring and marketplace intelligence, using multiple proprietary and third-party licensed data sources.
A qualifying illegal stream view requires at least 90 seconds of streaming, denoting a "committed view". This is a stream-view measure, not a unique viewer count. The methodology accounts for stream interruptions, forced refreshes, reloads, mirror switches and channel resets throughout each match.
GCI's analysis also highlighted a dark nexus between illegal streaming and unregulated online gambling with heavy ad loads for unregulated gambling in the illegal streams.
GCI monitoring shows that illegal streamers can receive payment for advertising and referring audiences to unregulated gambling, with affiliate deals offering between 25% and 50% of net gaming revenue produced by unregulated gambling operators from referred customers.
The result is a powerful illegal economy: premium sports content attracts mainstream audiences; illegal streaming monetizes that attention; and unregulated gambling pays to acquire those audiences.
This relationship was previously identified by GCI in Great Britain. Analysis released in January 2026 found 3.1 billion illegal stream views of 90 seconds plus across the Top 10 sports in Great Britain during 2024 and another 1.6 billion during the first half of 2025, with unregulated gambling advertising present upon 89% of illegal sports streams.
The GCI study found that the World Cup demonstrated the same relationship at global scale.
Overall, GCI estimated the 2026 FIFA World Cup would generate $593 billion in global online betting handle — the value of money wagered on World Cup betting online. Of that total, $409 billion — 69% — was unregulated, compared with $184 billion — 31% — regulated.
While regulated operators saw record activity, the majority of wagering value flowed through offshore, unregulated and unlicensed channels, the study found.
Illegal streaming connects these two parts of the marketplace by delivering sports audiences to unregulated gambling operators while those consumers are watching live events and each game presents fresh betting prospects.
The commercial relationship with unregulated gambling is not the only risk associated with illegal streaming.
GCI's analysis found that video players, pop-ups and fake "click to watch in HD/4K" buttons can hide malware, spyware and keystroke loggers, exposing audiences to data harvesting and other forms of cybercrime.
"174 billion qualifying illegal stream views should remove any remaining illusion that illegal streaming is a marginal problem for sport, said Matt Holt, CEO of Gaming Compliance International (GCI). “Consumers experience one marketplace, and illegal streaming is an industrial-scale part of it — competing for the same audiences and extracting value that should support rights holders, broadcasters and the wider sports ecosystem.”
"When 95% of qualifying illegal stream views carry advertising for unregulated gambling, illegal streaming is not simply stealing content,” he added. “It is providing one of the world's largest sporting audiences as an acquisition channel for the unregulated gambling economy."
The full GCI Illegal Streaming – Global: World Cup 2026 report is available from Gaming Compliance International (GCI).
Source: tvtechnology.com
