Swedish gambling multinational Betsson expects a big boost from the World Cup as it heads into H2 trading after detailing ‘record high revenue’ during Q2 2026.

The online betting and gaming group, active across Europe, Africa and Latin America, reported total revenue of €595.5m (£505m) for January-June 2026 and €310.2m between April-June 2026.

This represented growth of 5% from €597.3m in H1 2025 and 6% from €303.7m in Q2, respectively. 

The growth was not replicated in EBITDA, however, with the H1 figure falling 33% to €108.4m (€161.8m) and the Q2 figure by 31% to €58.5m (H1 2025: €84.1m).

“The second quarter was characterised by continued healthy growth in our B2C business, positively impacted by the FIFA World Cup that kicked off in June,” said Pontus Lindwall, Betsson’s Chief Executive Officer.

The group has had to acknowledge a number of headwinds, however. Although asserting to analysts that B2B revenue has stabilised on a post-Q2 webcast, Lindwall noted this morning that the figure “remained at a lower level than previous year”.

This subsequently “weighed on the quarter’s profitability”. Operating income came in at €76.2m for the full first half of the year and €42.2m for Q2 – a decline of 43% from €133m and a 39% from €68m, respectively.

Lindwall remained adamant to analysts that the group remains “optimistic about future outlooks” and that it would continue “marching forward”, with an operational focus on cost efficiency moving forward.

The possibility of marketing cutbacks was raised, something which has been seen across many major betting markets as operators deal with heavier tax burdens in countries like the UK, Netherlands and Germany (Betsson is exposed to taxes in the Netherlands, but not the other two).

Betsson weighing sportsbook, casino … and predictions

Casino revenue proved the biggest growth driver for Betsson during the first six months of 2026. 

Revenue for the casino segment rose 2%, while sportsbook revenue rose by 1%, but Lindwall – along with Chief Financial Officer Martin Öhman – shared that the former was more significant in certain markets than others.

Italy has become an increasingly important market for the group in recent years, and this remains the case in 2026. Öhman revealed that Betsson had seen “all time high revenue in Italy”, largely driven by casinos while betting revenue was “considerably smaller”.

Lindwall also noted that Western European growth was driven by Italy, where the firm is working to “advance our positions with the support of our sponsorship of Inter, a club that crowned its season by winning both the domestic league and the cup”.

B2C revenue was also bolstered by “positive development” in the Baltics, Georgia and Croatia, according to Lindwall, while Öhman noted increased revenue in France.

However, by far the biggest region for Betsson remains Latin America, where revenue grew by 32% to what Lindwall called “record levels”.

“The increase was broad-based and received an additional boost from the FIFA World Cup, which contributed to high activity among both new and existing customers,” Lindwall remarked. 

“Peru and Argentina were the region’s brightest stars, thanks to earlier product investments, strong brands and well-targeted marketing activities linked to the World Cup. It is gratifying to see that our long-term commitment to the region continues to pay off and create value for customers and shareholders alike.”

As the sun sets on what has clearly been a very mixed H1 for Betsson, analyst eyes are locked on the firm’s next move. Leadership revealed that the World Cup has “provided a solid start to the third quarter”.

However, interest still circles as to whether or not the company will make the leap into the burgeoning predictions space. 

While largely a US phenomenon for years, Gibraltar is now laying the foundations for predictions growth in Europe – but other national regulators are still not keen, and Betsson is acutely aware of this.

“In most of the markets where we are strong the prediction market model doesn’t really fit in the same fashion as it does in the US, where they follow different regulations than the gaming regulations,” Lindwall said.

“In our markets, if it was to be allowed it would fall under gaming regulations and then it is not much different from sports betting. This is something we follow very closely and monitor the user experience, which is definitely interesting to look at.”