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The 2026 FIFA World Cup is characterized by some significant alterations in the format of the competition. First of all, the number of countries playing in the tournament has been increased from 32 to 48; there is one extra knockout round, and the disciplinary code has been revised. However, one of the most important innovations is associated with the introduction of mandatory hydration breaks or “Hydration Breaks” and “Cooling Breaks.”
Although initially developed for the protection of athletes from heat, the interruption turned out to be extremely useful since it allows splitting a game into four segments, thereby opening new possibilities for football commercials.
Increased Betting Activity during Hydration Breaks Revealed
In this regard, it is worth mentioning the results of a study conducted by the consulting firm Novarum, which demonstrates that hydration breaks are especially valuable for the online betting industry. As stated in the report, the volume of sports betting activities grows by 60% to 150% during hydration breaks compared to the rest of the match time.
Moreover, betting brands presented as official sponsors in broadcast face the largest growth of online searches in comparison with other periods.
Increased Search Activity of Sponsored Brands
To evaluate the efficiency of the new advertising opportunity, Novarum compared Google search trends of betting operators who sponsored the Argentina vs. Austria World Cup match and one betting brand, which was not represented in the broadcast.
Before the start of the match, Betano had already shown a good search interest index, 54.4 points during the hour before the game on a 100-point scale. It increased significantly during both hydration breaks and reached its peak values, 69.8 points during the first break and 82.7 points during the second one, which is the highest among all analyzed moments.
However, once the match started again, search activity decreased to 27.7 and 30.6 points and recovered to 52.1 points after the end of the match.
Betting Brands’ Visibility Makes Them Popular
BetWarrior, another official sponsor, demonstrated even a more pronounced trend. Prior to kickoff, it got only 2.9 points and had low but constant searches throughout the match. Nevertheless, the situation changed dramatically during the first hydration break when the searches grew to 21.8 points and reached their peak at 23 points during the second hydration break.
Then, after the end of both breaks, the number of users’ searches dropped down to nearly zero, showing the high importance of these advertising intervals.
On the contrary, Betsson, chosen as a control brand in the study because it was not presented as a sponsor in the broadcast, demonstrated much steadier behavior. Its searches remained rather constant during the match with only small growth during the halftime break and no increase during hydration breaks.
Novel Touchpoint of Live Sports Broadcasts and Online Betting Platforms
According to Novarum, hydration breaks are turning into one of the most effective ways of connecting live sports broadcasts with online betting platforms. These interruptions seem to motivate viewers to use the betting brands shown during this time.
It can be seen that the strongest effect is observed in those advertisers who have direct visibility during the breaks. Betano and BetWarrior showed their maximum searches during two hydration breaks, while Betsson’s search behavior follows a typical pattern with the largest volume during the halftime break.
Source: SBC Noticias
