There’s no rest for the wicked and there’s perhaps few other examples that underscore that notion as the footballing calendar. The world’s elite players ended the 2024/25 season not by jetting off to the sunsoaked beaches of Dubai, but by heading stateside for the inaugural FIFA Club World Cup. 

Next summer will be similar, as the US plays host to the World Cup 2026 alongside Canada and Mexico. With the 2025/26 campaign already underway, the World Cup is not as far away as it may seem – and operators should already be making plans for the tournament. 

Daniel Smith, Group Sports Director at Spotlight Sports Group, told SBC News that the 2026 World Cup is set to be the biggest betting event of all time, and those operators who aren’t already getting their plans in place are falling behind. 

“If you’re not able to capitalise on the biggest betting events of all time – it’s a massive missed opportunity,” Smith said.

Luckily, Spotlight has already laid down the groundwork for operators’ content strategy for next year’s tournament through its World Cup Hubs solution. 

World Cup Hubs allows operators to get creative around their content strategies without impacting their roadmap. SSG provides all of the design, delivery and tech implementation. Delivered via a single iFrame integration, the solution has live odds and bettor functionality.

Smith explained that it has been one of the company’s most popular products in recent times and that it is already being pitched to dozens of operators. 

“The best way to do it is to get ahead of the game,” he said. “We have pitched this to 70-75 different global operators to really get them thinking about the World Cup as early as possible. 

“As soon as you start getting involved with roadmaps and tech challenges, they can become blockers, and that’s why this iFrame solution allows customers to really overcome that and get their content live quickly and efficiently.”

One major improvement that SSG has introduced for World Cup Hubs ahead of next summer is in-play betting capabilities. Previously there was a five minute cache which limited operators’ ability to offer in-play betting tips, but the technical debt has been overcome. 

“This time, it’s live and instant, which lends itself nicely to in-game betting,” Smith noted. “So for every game we will have in-play tipping content in every 15 minutes interval and then obviously, if there’s a goal or a substitution, etc, we can tip on that as well.”

As mentioned previously, the 2026 World Cup is set to be one of the most bet-on events of all time. With 48 teams, 104 matches and more regulated betting markets than ever, there has never been such an opportune moment for operators. 

That’s why Smith asserted that operators must get plans in place early. 

He explained: “This is a real opportunity for operators to get really creative with the content strategies whereas previously, they had to go and do loads of different integrations. To just get that live anyway might take 12 to 18 months, whereas we can give you that all as a single solution and it’s been proven to work and increase key betting metrics with all of our previous brands.”

Delivering innovative solutions to horse racing

It isn’t just the World Cup that is keeping SSG busy. Horse racing is, as ever, a huge product vertical for the owner of the Racing Post – and the company is keen to innovate in a sector that is in desperate need of reaching out to new audiences. 

Responding to these needs – a 2021 paper from the University of York found that Gen Z and Millenial’s indifference to racing was causing a drop in attendances across UK racing – SSG has developed a racing bet builder product to help reach new audiences. 

“Previously, there hasn’t really been an awful lot of innovation in racing, but racing bet builder is that opportunity, in that it brings brand new ways to bet on the sport,” Smith outlined. “Ultimately, that can only be good for the sport.”

The company has rolled out racing bet builder content in response to the extraordinary demand for such products in other sports such as football. 

It also ensures that it future-proofs the Racing Post so the heritage title, which is celebrating its 40th Anniversary this year, thrives long into the future. 

“We are continuing to invest in racing because we know how important it is to our business,” said Smith. “We continue to try and innovate. It’s not just racing bet builders; we’ve recently launched our Smart View race cards, which has been going down really well with our customers and not just traditional operators as well.”

Investing in racing is not such an easy task at the moment, particularly in the UK, where a proposed tax rise on pool bets including horse racing from 15% to 21% has caused uproar and concern across the sector. 

The British Horseracing Authority took unprecedented steps in September, calling off all meetings on September 10 to protest those rumoured tax hikes in the Chancellor Rachael Reeves’ budget – set to be delivered on November 26. 

Smith said that SSG put its full weight behind the strike, adding it would continue to back any further action between now and the budget. 

He remarked: “It’s obviously a huge risk for the business and for the rest of the industry. I think our position on it has been quite prominent. We are very vocal on it, and it’s a lot to say there was a striking reason for the first time ever. That gives you a good idea of the industry and our perception on any potential tax rises.”

Despite those potential headwinds, SSG foresees a positive future globally. With more regulated markets now than ever, the company sees a great opportunity to expand into new territories. It has invested in doing so, bringing in specialist sales personnel for Europe and Latin America – with an APAC representative set to be named soon.

Smith said: “I’ve been here for eight years now, and it’s probably the most exciting time to be part of Spotlight Sports Group. We now have the capabilities to produce content in 69 different languages, and expanding the sales force to cover those regions with localised sales talent is going to be crucial for us, and it’s something we’re really excited about over the next 12-18 months as a team.”