Despite initial market uncertainty surrounding the new format of the FIFA Club World Cup, leading sports betting operator bet365 has announced that the tournament’s performance was largely positive and met with strong customer engagement.
The company expressed satisfaction with the results, particularly highlighting instances where underdog victories worked in its favor by disrupting potentially lucrative Bet Builders and accumulators for bettors.
A key trading expert for the operator, Steve Freeth, pointed to specific matches that yielded favorable outcomes. “The biggest surprise was Boca Juniors, priced at 1/100, failing to beat Auckland which was obviously great for us on Bet Builders and accumulators,” Freeth stated.
He also noted another significant result: “Our best result in the group stages was the 1-1 between 2/5 Real Madrid and Al Hilal.” These unexpected results were crucial in balancing the books for the operator during the tournament’s early stages.
An analysis of betting data revealed strong international interest, with the majority of wagers (67.9%) originating from the UK, Spain, and Brazil.
The Brazilian market, in particular, showed immense engagement, with the Round of 16 match between Flamengo and Bayern Munich attracting the highest amount of money staked for any single fixture.
Matches featuring Brazilian clubs appeared five times in the top ten fixtures for total money bet, underscoring the region’s passion for the competition.
However, the tournament was not without its costs for bet365. A specific promotion, which transferred a wager to a substitute if the original player was taken off, led to a significant payout. The most notable instance was when Jamal Musiala replaced a ‘Super Boosted’ Harry Kane and proceeded to score a hat-trick against Auckland.
In the final, Cole Palmer’s surprise win of the Golden Ball trophy over odds-on favorite Vitinha was cited as a crucial result that saved the operator from another large payout.
While the betting turnover of the FIFA Club World Cup was 21.6% lower than the UEFA Champions League Final, bet365 concluded that this was “not a disappointing outcome,” given the tournament’s novelty and challenging time zones.
