Kickoff for some of this World Cup's biggest matches fell in the small hours of the Israeli morning, with the tournament staged across the United States, Canada and Mexico and a seven-to-eight-hour time gap back home. On paper, that should have hurt betting turnover. Instead, Israel's state gambling monopoly says it just had the best World Cup in its history.
The Council for the Regulation of Sports Betting — known throughout Israel simply as Toto — says revenue for the tournament period reached roughly 700 million shekels, according to figures it released and that were reported by the Israeli sports site One. That would mark an increase of about 18% on the roughly 590 million shekels wagered during the 2022 Qatar World Cup, though the new total has not yet been corroborated by a second independent outlet.
Of that sum, betting tied directly to World Cup matches is said to have brought in around 450 million shekels, a 36% jump on the previous tournament. More than 70% of all revenue was returned to the public as prizes, the same model Toto has operated under since 2019, when its profits stopped funding sports development in Israel and began flowing straight into the state treasury.
The figures, if they hold up, would exceed even Toto's own pre-tournament expectations, which were themselves record-setting: a forecast of 623 million shekels for the World Cup period, split between 406 million shekels at physical betting stations and 217 million shekels online. That projection reflected a tournament expanded for the first time to 48 teams and 104 matches spread over 39 days, well beyond the 64 matches played over 29 days in Qatar four years earlier.
Sunday's final between Spain and Argentina, settled 1-0 in extra time by a Ferran Torres strike, was reportedly the single biggest betting draw of the tournament: 32.65 million shekels wagered on that match alone, part of what Toto describes as a record 34.4 million shekels taken in across all its coupons on final day — the highest single-day figure in the organization's history.
The semi-finals were not far behind on Toto's own numbers: 18.9 million shekels on Spain's win over France, and 18.7 million shekels on Argentina's late comeback past England, with the France-Morocco quarter-final drawing 13.2 million shekels.
Toto also points to a shift toward digital betting. It puts registered users on its website at 106,000 during the tournament, up from 94,000 in 2022, with 40,000 online submissions logged on final day alone, against 30,000 four years earlier. Online betting is said to have grown to 38% of total revenue, up from 30% at the last World Cup.
Toto chairman Shabtai Tzur credited staff for the results, pointing to a period of intensive work that delivered record income for the treasury, while chief executive Meir Bardogo framed the numbers as proof the organization can hold its ground against illegal betting operators and newer commercial rivals without loosening its responsible-gambling rules.
Whatever the precise final tally, the broader pattern is not really in question: every World Cup under Toto's expanded, tech-heavier setup has out-earned the one before it, awkward kickoff times included. Late nights or not, Israelis kept filling out their coupons — and this time, as every time since 2019, it is the state treasury that banks the difference, not local football.
