Find the Best World Cup Odds – Maximize Your Edge & Earnings
Polymarket is a different breed of betting site. This is not a bookmaker where the house sets your odds. On Polymarket, you bet against other people. The crowd sets the odds, instead of the bookmaker, and you’ll see far less commission.
Polymarket has a wide range of markets and prop bets, but make sure you understand how this brand differs from traditional sports betting sites.
How Polymarket Betting Works
Here’s an example of how betting on the World Cup with Polymarket works:
- We choose a market, like “Will Brazil’s team win the World Cup?”
- Time to make a decision, is the answer Yes or No?
- Shares for Yes and No will sit between $0.01 and $0.99 a piece.
- If the Yes shares cost $0.50, it means people are betting Brazil has a 50% chance of winning.
Now, things get interesting. This is where Polymarket really strays from the traditional sports betting model.
Let’s say you like the Yes option, so you buy 200 shares at $0.50 each.
You now own $100 worth of Yes shares, betting that Brazil will win the World Cup.
There are three different ways that your wager can play out.
| Outcome 1 | Outcome 2 | Outcome 3 |
| Brazil Wins | Brazil Loses | You Sell Early |
| Each $0.50 share redeems for $1. | Your share value goes from $0.50 each to $0. | Brazil looks strong ahead of the finals, and the Yes share value moves up to $0.75. |
| You cash in for $200 for a profit of $100. | You lose your share value and $100. | Your share value rises from $100 to $125, and you cash in for a $25 profit before the final match. |
Polymarket betting is more like buying stocks than placing a sports bet. You can wait for the outcome or sell your shares earlier, depending on your belief about the outcome.
Take a look at the Brazil vs Japan match, which ended with Brazil as the winner. The value of shares fluctuated greatly during the match, presenting opportunities at every turn.
Why Polymarket’s Odds Can Beat Sports Betting Sites’ Odds
Polymarket offers World Cup bettors (and sports bettors in general) a far better environment for their wagers.
In general, the advantage of Polymarket is not having the house as involved with your bets. This brings a few key advantages over sports betting sites.
- House margin is not included in pricing.
On most sports betting sites, the house sets the odds and builds in its commission (vig). Polymarket doesn’t add commission to its markets. - The cost per bet is lower.
Polymarket adds a trading fee to cover their expenses, but it’s far lower than the commission that sports betting sites build into their markets (up to a couple of percent, compared to up to 10% of sportsbooks). - Wagers become closer to fair value.
Since Polymarket has far more reasonable fees, your wagers get closer to fair value. Your pricing on the same wager, on Polymarket and sports betting sites, will almost always be different by a few percentage points.
Real Examples of Polymarket World Cup Odds
Here are some pre-tournament comparisons pitting the odds of Polymarket against major bookmakers like DraftKings and FanDuel.
| World Cup Team | Polymarket | DraftKings | FanDuel |
| Spain | 15.30% | +475 (17.4%) | +430 (18.9%) |
| England | 13.30% | +650 (13.3%) | +650 (13.3%) |
| Argentina | 11.60% | +900 (10%) | +900 (10%) |
| France | 10.80% | +500 (16.7%) | +500 (16.7%) |
| Brazil | 8.60% | +850 (10.5%) | +800 (11.1%) |
| Portugal | 7.30% | +1000 (9.1%) | +950 (9.5%) |
| Germany | 5.60% | +1400 (6.7%) | +1300 (7.1%) |
As you can see, Polymarket usually comes in with lower odds, except in certain cases where the peer-to-peer market moves the needle in another direction.
There are also some rather interesting prop bets, such as “Will Ronaldo Cry at the World Cup?”
Polymarket Perks: Crypto-Friendly Cashier & a Deposit Bonus
Polymarket is crypto-integrated and originally used USDC as its trading currency. Now they trade in the dollar-pegged PUSD, their own stablecoin.
Bettors can deposit using over 20 different cryptocurrencies, including the popular ones like USDC, USDT, ETH, and BTC. This can be sent directly or from exchanges like Coinbase. Different chains have different minimum deposits, but it’s usually $3 USD equivalent.
For anyone not crypto-friendly yet, use fiat options like bank cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, or Revolut. This option is just as fast as crypto in most cases, but far more expensive.
Polymarket Deposit Bonuses
Polymarket does offer deposit bonuses, but they differ depending on where you live.
- International Polymarket Bonus: Deposit $20, receive a $20 trading bonus to use on any market. Funds won from the trading bonus can be withdrawn, but the bonus money itself cannot be.
- United States Polymarket Bonus: Deposit $20, receive a $50 trading bonus after you’ve made one real-money trade. There may be a playthrough target that users must reach.
Bonus offers may have changed, so make sure you check your offer inside the cashier as you deposit.