Norsk Tipping sees over 500,000 bettors on Norway v England clash
Norsk Tipping and Sportradar tell SBC News that player-focused betting markets dominated fan engagement during the 2026 World Cup.
More than half a million Norwegians placed at least one bet on their country's World Cup match against England this year, according to Norsk Tipping, in figures the operator says it would not previously have thought possible.
Hans Erland Ringsvold of Norsk Tipping told SBC News the number equates to roughly one in eight Norwegian adults wagering on that single fixture, underlining the scale of engagement generated by the tournament, which concluded with Spain lifting a second World Cup title in July.
Ringsvold said the operator's strategy was not to use the tournament to push customers towards faster, live betting markets, but to ensure they could bet on matches in whichever format they preferred, within what he described as a strict responsibility regime.
Norway's run through the tournament, including a win over Ivory Coast and a victory against Brazil that the country has never lost to at a World Cup, fuelled optimism among bettors heading into the England match, with most activity concentrated on outcomes favouring the national side.
Erling Haaland was the standout individual betting draw for Norsk Tipping. Ringsvold said wagers on the striker were especially popular, and that a brace across three group-stage games, alongside near-misses on a hat-trick, proved costly for the operator.
Beyond Haaland, Ringsvold pointed to a broader shift in customer behaviour, with the proportion of bettors backing outright match winners falling at each successive tournament in favour of bet builders, totals markets, both teams to score, correct score and player props.
Jens Nielsen of Sportradar told SBC News the same pattern was visible globally, with player props becoming an important point of differentiation for the company during the tournament. He said strong performances from stars including Haaland, Kylian Mbappé, Lionel Messi and Harry Kane drove interest in markets built around goals, assists and passes.
Norsk Tipping also reported substantial sportsbook growth when measuring the 2026 tournament against the 2022 World Cup and Euro 2024, using the 2022 event as an index baseline of 100 across core engagement metrics.
Looking ahead to the 2030 World Cup, Nielsen said Sportradar sees continued scope for innovation in sports betting, particularly around personalising products and user experience, and expects the sportsbook offering by the end of the decade to reflect that direction of travel.