UN warns of match-fixing risks and surge in illegal betting ahead of the 2026 World Cup

In collaboration with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), approximately 65 representatives from public security, justice, anti-corruption, sports, education, and legislative institutions from Canada, the United States, and Mexico will participate. They will gain insights into existing legal tools to address some of the major challenges facing sports today.

It was the UNODC itself that identified competition manipulation and corruption as two major threats to the world of sports. These issues can affect any discipline, country, or level of competition and are often exploited by organized crime groups to advance their own agendas.

Ronan O’Laoire, Coordinator of the UNODC’s Global Programme to Safeguard Sport from Corruption and Economic Crime, stated: “One of the threats to sport is match-fixing. The risk of match-fixing at the 2026 World Cup is very low, but the impact would be enormous, so we want everything in place to mitigate that risk. It’s a very low risk, but it exists, so we must do something about it.”

UNODC considers the 2026 World Cup a crucial opportunity to strengthen prevention and investigative measures, as well as to improve sports integrity across the region. However, it acknowledges the reality of a projected rise in illegal betting markets, despite the difficulty of quantifying them due to their clandestine nature.

On the other hand, a rise in legal sports betting is also anticipated, using as reference the estimated $35 billion that was legally wagered worldwide during the Qatar 2022 World Cup