France’s 2-0 semifinal defeat to Spain eliminated one of the most heavily backed teams on U.S. sportsbooks, wiping out major outright and player-prop liabilities. The result also closed France’s positions across multibillion-dollar World Cup prediction markets, although exchanges do not profit from an upset in the same way as traditional bookmakers.
Key Takeaways
Betmgm said 94% of semifinal qualification money backed France.France was Draftkings and Betmgm’s largest remaining outright liability.Polymarket and Kalshi World Cup winner markets topped $5.5B in volume.The operators did not disclose the dollar value of the liabilities erased by Spain’s victory, making the result impossible to translate into a verified sportsbook profit figure. Still, the imbalance means losing France outright tickets and unsuccessful Mbappé props remained with the books, while bets on Spain and other winning outcomes had to be paid.
