Mexico Betting Payment Volume Jumps 431.75% During World Cup

Digital betting transaction volume in Mexico rose 431.75% during the 2026 FIFA World Cup compared with the 2022 tournament. Payment technology company STP recorded the increase across its infrastructure.

The World Cup produced a sharp rise in payment activity linked to online gambling in Mexico. STP said transaction volume during the tournament was more than five times the level recorded four years earlier.

The figure measures transactions processed in the sector rather than the number of individual bettors. STP did not disclose the total value of payments or the number of users behind them.

Betting Payments Move Far Above 2022 Levels

STP provides payment and transaction infrastructure to businesses in Mexico, including gambling companies. The company said its number of gaming and betting clients has also increased.

That wider merchant base is one factor behind the larger transaction volume. The market itself has expanded since the previous World Cup, while betting has become increasingly accessible through phones and other mobile devices.

Separate estimates from Mordor Intelligence put Mexico’s online gambling market at $0.79 billion in 2025. It is expected to reach $1.09 billion by 2031, with an 8.6% compound annual growth rate.

Sports betting accounted for 56.41% of the market in 2025.

Mobile Use Shapes Betting Activity

Mobile and tablet devices already account for 63.92% of online gambling activity in Mexico, according to Mordor Intelligence. The age profile is also heavily weighted toward younger adults:

Players aged 25 to 40 represented 49.44% of the market in 2025;
The under-25 segment is forecast to grow at a 16.73% annual rate through 2031.

Central Mexico held 41.27% of the market last year. North Central Mexico remains smaller but is growing faster.

Those figures help explain why payment infrastructure has become increasingly important for operators. A major football tournament can create large swings in transaction traffic over a short period, particularly when most activity is accessible from mobile devices.

Survey Pointed to World Cup Betting Demand

Interest was visible before the tournament started. An Ipsos Mexico survey found that 40% of respondents were very or somewhat familiar with betting. Among this group, 34% planned to place wagers during World Cup matches.

Most expected relatively modest spending. Of those planning to bet, 44% budgeted between MXN500 and MXN2,000, while 22% expected to spend between MXN2,000 and MXN5,000.

The STP data now provides a post-tournament measure of how much payment activity actually increased. The 431.75% comparison should not be read as equivalent growth in Mexico’s bettor population. It instead shows how much larger the digital transaction layer around betting has become since Qatar 2022. For payment providers and operators, handling event-driven traffic at that scale is becoming a larger part of the Mexican sportsbook business.