Tutorial How to target 6 billion spectators during the FIFA World Cup 2026

[Galaksion Ad Network]

The absolute biggest event in football is live until July 19th. Are your offers ready?

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is expected to attract 6 billion spectators this time around, and any of them could become one of your future customers.

We at Galaksion have prepared a comprehensive guide for your World Cup strategy, including:

• top verticals, formats, GEOs, and recommended rates;
• a pre-launch checklist to secure your benefits from day one;
• 5 optimization tricks that will keep your ad campaigns profitable weeks in.

Another chance like this won’t come for four more years. Time to step off the bench and become a major player.

Read the full guide now and make the most of the world’s favorite football tournament!

Basic info about the 2026 FIFA World Cup​

Duration: June 11 – July 19, 2026
Hosts: Canada, Mexico, and the United States (= keep North American time zones in mind)
Teams competing: 48
Total matches: 104

For the first time ever, the World Cup will be hosted by three nations and played in a new 48-team format. The 2026 installment will be the largest in FIFA history, opening even more opportunities for advertisers like you to chime in.

People in the US, one of the hosts this year, are expected to place over $3 billion in bets. Imagine what it will be like for more countries that live and breathe football! Overall, experts predict that fans will spend a record $150 billion during this World Cup.

This event needs no further explanation: every football fan in the world will be tuned in.

Top Formats, Verticals, and GEOs:
How to build a profitable World Cup bundle​

We’ll break down how you can allocate your resources wisely, creating the best-fitting bundle for your offers.

Top Format: POPS
Also good to test: ad formats with creatives

Pop campaigns take the crown in terms of performance and volumes.
In addition, during big matches, we advise you to experiment with graphic formats as well. Clickbait creatives and huge sports events often go hand in hand.

Top Vertical: iGaming
Also good to scale: E-commerce, Utilities, VPN, Streamings/VOD, Gaming, and more

When we think of football championships, iGaming is naturally the first vertical that comes to mind. But this is more than just a cup; it’s THE World Cup that happens once every four years.

Meaning: the users will be highly involved and more likely to spend money. So don’t think iGaming is everything: your vertical deserves the spotlight just as much.

Top pricing models: CPM / Smart CPM (for iGaming)

Try to focus on impressions-based models. It’s crucial to prioritize stability with events like this.

With CPM and sCPM, your campaign will maintain steadier traffic volumes and have the upper hand during auctions.

Smart CPM can also help you pay less than your maximum rate, but keep in mind that it works best in GEOs with lower competition.

Top GEOs
Must-haves: US FR DE ES GB CA
Top GEOs for iGaming: EG ID IN BD PK MA ZA NG RU LK DZ CI ZM UA MX CD KE

Recommended rates
For must-haves:

US
Android: $1.1
iOS: $1.3
Desktop: $1.2

FR
Android: $0.9
iOS: $0.55
Desktop: $0.75

DE
Android: $0.9
iOS: $0.65
Desktop: $0.8

ES
Android: $0.6
iOS: $0.6
Desktop: $0.8

GB
Android: $1.2
iOS: $1.3
Desktop: $1

CA
Android: $1.1
iOS: $0.9
Desktop: $0.8

For iGaming:

EG
Android: $0.55
iOS: $0.6
Desktop: $0.25

ID
Android: $0.45
iOS: $0.52
Desktop: $0.35

IN
Android: $0.28
iOS: $0.15
Desktop: $0.25

BD
Android: $1.1
iOS: $0.65
Desktop: $0.25

PK
Android: $0.65
iOS: $0.5
Desktop: $0.25

ZA
Android: $1
iOS: $0.75
Desktop: $0.35

NG
Android: $0.6
iOS: $0.68
Desktop: $0.35

RU
Android: $1.35
iOS: $1.3
Desktop: $0.35

MX
Android: $0.45
iOS: $0.4
Desktop: $0.35

MA
Android: $0.7
iOS: $0.9

LK
Android: $0.73
iOS: $0.65

DZ
Android: $0.45
iOS: $0.4

CI
Android: $1.2
iOS: $1.1

ZM
Android: $1.2
iOS: $1.28

UA
Android: $1.8
iOS: $0.9

CD
Android: $1.1
iOS: $0.9

KE
Android: $0.95
iOS: $0.98

Yоu can also find general recommended rates in the Traffic Volumes section on our platform or ask your manager.

4 must-dos before your World Cup campaigns are live​

Every profitable ad campaign starts with the right setup, and the World Cup is definitely an event you want to approach with maximum attention to detail.

Think of this stage as planting the seeds for your success.

Prepare special World Cup creatives and make your campaigns stand out.

This applies to offers across all verticals, not just iGaming.

Let’s say you have a VPN offer and want to use prelanders. A football-themed creative can make all the difference and actually catch the user’s attention, even if your offer belongs to a seemingly unrelated market.

For example, use visuals featuring football scenes, players, flags, or stadiums, and adapt your text to include references, e.g. “Best VPN for FIFA World Cup”, “Free VPN to access FIFA World Cup”, “FIFA World Cup 2026 Watch All games NOW!”.

We offer a free library of tested and converting creatives for our advertisers. Take a look in the settings of your campaign or ask your manager for more!

Have multiple creatives in rotation from day one.

If you have a variety of creatives, you can identify the top performers more quickly and focus on those with higher CTRs.

Take advantage of our platform: Galaksion allows you to test up to 10 creatives in a single ad campaign! Ready-to-use options are available on the platform or upon request from your manager.

Set up your retargeting campaigns in advance.

We recommend reaching out to your manager ahead of time to plan your retargeting strategy before the World Cup traffic spike begins.

Here’s how it goes.

Configure your postback and set up the main ad campaign that will track registrations and first-time deposits.

↓

Users who complete registration but don’t make their first deposit will automatically be collected into a separate audience list.

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Your retarget campaign will specifically focus on this audience, helping you re-engage users who showed interest but didn’t fully convert.

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Once a user completes their first deposit, they will be automatically removed from the list.

Retargeting remains one of the most effective tools for bringing users back and pushing conversions further.

Ask your managers for Whitelists.

We at Galaksion know that the World Cup is where the money’s at.
This is why we prepared exclusive whitelists packed with top-performing zones special for our advertisers.

Reach out to your manager, and you’ll have your gold mines all ready to bring ROI.

Best optimization tricks for maximum results​

Actively run both RON and ROS campaigns.

You’ll have the whitelists, but we strongly recommend keeping a RON (Run-on-Network) campaign running on the side as well.

New profitable zones appear in our network every day, so it’s better if you keep exploring.

Update your whitelists throughout the entire World Cup.

Since the event lasts for more than a month, traffic trends and top-performing zones may change over time. Fresh whitelists are key to maintaining strong campaign performance.

So stay in touch with your manager!

Increase your bids.

Every advertiser will want their piece of cake. Brace yourself for competition and keep your rates high for the entire tournament. That’s a VERY strong recommendation to say the least.

It’s also a smart move to raise your bids even further during peak match hours and major games:

• the opening match,
• the playoffs,
• the semi-finals,
• and the final.

Our Custom Rates feature and your manager’s bid recommendations will help secure top slices.

For easier campaign management, schedule custom bids for a specific period of time directly in your campaign settings. Once the selected period ends, your rate will automatically return to the original numbers.

Increase your frequency caps.

While higher bids help secure more volume, higher freqs are crucial to boosting your CR.

Major sports events encourage users to spend more time on publisher websites, which means repeated ad exposure can significantly increase your chances of driving more conversions.

Get weekly updates via Galaksion’s event calendars.

Twice a week, we will post the best matches to target via our social media & e-mails, and updated rate recommendations via bell-notifications on the platform.

We understand that your life isn’t built around football. This is why we handle the research ourselves and let you focus on your actual job: scaling the offers.

Now you’re all equipped to become the Lionel Messi of FIFA targeting. Let’s score all your profit goals together!

Register on Galaksion with a 15% promo code AFFIX15 and profit from the World Cup with maximum benefits!