2 Betting Stocks Soccer's Big Event. Hint: Not the Ones You're Thinking Of.

Football's (not the American variety) biggest tournament, starts on June 11. Combine the magnitude of the event with the expanded field of 48 teams and North America being the host, and it's reasonable that some investors are scoping out sports betting stocks.

Predictably, that search will lead many market participants to DraftKings (NASDAQ: DKNG) and Flutter Entertainment (NYSE: FLUT), the owner of FanDuel, but caution is warranted here. Some experts estimate the U.S. betting handle, which is the total amount wagered on an event in dollar terms, on the soccer competition will be $3.1 billion. The number could rise depending on the U.S. team's success.

These two betting stocks could be World Cup winners. Image source: Getty Images.

However, global handle could reach $50 billion, or approximately $500 million per match, underscoring why investors may want to examine sports wagering equities with significant exposure beyond U.S. borders. Enter Rush Street Interactive (NYSE: RSI) and Super Group (NYSE: SGHC).

Why this duo can score World Cup goals

Yes, soccer is more popular today in the U.S. than it was when the country hosted the event in 1994. And yes, regulated sports betting is far more prevalent. Some form of sports betting is live and legal in 40 states, including Washington, D.C.

But when it comes to investing specific to this major event, Rush Street Interactive and Super Group may be better bets, pun intended. The thesis is simple. Both of these consumer discretionary stocks are less U.S.-dependent than, say, DraftKings.

Specific to Super Group, that company doesn't do any business in the U.S. It only books bets in Africa, Europe, and Latin America. Breaking it down, 88% of Super Group's 2025 revenue was derived from countries participating in the tournament.

Speaking of Latin America, the region accounts for 20% of Rush Street's revenue as it does business in Colombia, Mexico, and Peru. Peru didn't qualify for the competition, but the other two countries did. The company's Mexico footprint could be intriguing to investors, as Mexico is one of the tournament's host nations with 13 games slated for three major cities.

Mexico is already one of the most soccer-enthused countries in the world. Combine that with its host status and short odds, and it will advance out of group play, possibly driving surging handle, potentially providing a near-term boost for Rush Street Interactive.

The hidden benefit

Investors well versed in entertainment stocks know that, for sports betting equities, high-profile events are customer-acquisition tools. Market participants can even forgive customer-friendly outcomes if operators can substantiate that they hauled in large batches of new customers and are cross-selling them into other services.

That's pertinent in discussing Rush Street and Super Group because both are internet casino, or iGaming, operators, too. In Africa, where it's a leader in seven of the eight markets where it books bets, Super Group leverages public-facing sports sponsorships to bring customers into the sports wagering and iGaming fold.

Some analysts see the most prestigious soccer event performing a similar function, expanding customer bases for Rush Street and Super Group while setting the stage to convert those bettors to more profitable (for the companies) online casino products.

Todd Shriber has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Flutter Entertainment Plc. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.