FIFA has signed a contract with a data provider that includes streaming World Cup games on betting provider sites.
FIFA announced on Monday that Stats Perform had been named the first “official global provider of betting data and betting streaming rights.” “Stats Perform” is based in Chicago and belongs to an investor company from Texas in the USA.
“Stats Perform” will in future distribute official data from FIFA competitions to “licensed betting providers”. The betting providers will then also be legally allowed to show live streams of FIFA tournaments, including the 2026 Men’s World Cup in the USA, Mexico and Canada as well as the 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil. According to FIFA, the contract runs for four years; the amount of the payments to FIFA was not mentioned.
Gambling addiction is a real danger for many families
In 2023, the German gaming industry’s sales in the regulated area amounted to 63.5 billion euros, which means an increase of 19.5 percent, writes the German Central Office for Addiction Issues in its yearbook “Addiction 2025”. According to the Federal Ministry of Health’s “Gambling Atlas 2023”, 4.55 million adults in Germany were addicted or at risk in 2023, with the proportion of men being significantly higher than that of women.
In announcing the contract, FIFA speaks of “ultra-fast official FIFA betting data” that is to be delivered. It is live betting that experts often describe as problematic. The Federal Ministry of Health wrote that, based on individual forms of gaming, the proportion of people with a gambling-related disorder is highest in slot machines and slot machines as well as “in live sports betting”.
Online gambling offers and therefore sports betting are easier and quicker to access than before, and the greater availability also increases the risk of addiction. Gambling addiction can lead to social, financial and professional problems. Families experience massive stress when financial problems and loss of trust occur.
A sports betting app displays bets with their betting odds
Gambling State Treaty legalizes gambling and advertising
UEFA also works with betting providers; in Germany, the DFL, the DFB and the vast majority of professional clubs do this. FIFA held back here for a long time; in 2022 there was only one regional European sponsor from the gaming industry at the World Cup in Qatar. Now FIFA will also make a lot of money in this sector.
The State Treaty on Gambling of 2021 legalized the advertising of gambling and sports betting. The psychologist Tobias Hayer said on Radio Berlin-Brandenburg at the end of 2025 that there was “not a potentially addictive substance that is advertised as much as sports betting”. In addition to perimeter advertising and TV spots, the betting providers are represented on many jerseys. According to UEFA, sports betting and gambling providers account for the largest share of European club sponsors at 15 percent. In England, Portugal and Belgium they are the most represented jersey sponsors.
DFB defends advertising as a means against the black market
In response to a request from Sportschau in September 2025, the DFB said it cooperates “exclusively with sports betting providers licensed and regulated in Germany and strictly adheres to the legal requirements.” The association’s further argument: “Appropriate advertising from permitted sports betting providers and in particular sports sponsorship” contributes to combating the black market.
The logo of the 3rd league with the “Tipico” lettering
It has not been disclosed which betting providers will benefit from the data and live videos via “Stats Perform” from the FIFA contract. A partner of “Stats Perform” is on the list of approved providers of the gaming authorities of the federal states in Germany.
FIFA has a code of ethics that prohibits players, coaches and officials from “participating directly or indirectly in betting, gambling, lotteries or similar events or transactions” related to football. There must also be no “direct or indirect financial interest” in betting.
Streamed games on “FIFA+” used by illegal betting providers
FIFA’s offer to betting providers goes beyond the World Cup. Numerous games on the world association’s streaming platform called “FIFA+” should also be available. The Danish initiative “Play the Game” recently researched that unlicensed betting providers are using “FIFA+” to offer live betting on games in lower leagues worldwide.
The platform is about to undergo a complete redesign. In collaboration with the streaming provider DAZN, “FIFA+” is to become the so-called “Global Home of Football,” FIFA announced. In February 2025, DAZN sold 10 percent of its shares to a subsidiary of the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund PIF for around one billion US dollars. DAZN then invested approximately the same amount in broadcasting rights for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.
Saudi Arabia was named the 2034 World Cup host by FIFA at the end of 2024 without competition, transparency or coordination.