UEFA EURO 2024 brought 24 national teams to Germany for a month of football in June and July 2024, and gave sportsbooks one of their busiest betting periods of the year. Looking back at how the tournament played out is a practical way to plan for the next major championship.
EURO 2024 in numbers
- Host: Germany, with matches in 10 cities, including Berlin, Munich, Dortmund, Düsseldorf and Cologne.
- Format: 24 teams and 51 matches.
- Opening match: 14 June 2024 in Munich, where Germany beat Scotland 5–1.
- Final: 14 July 2024 at the Olympiastadion in Berlin.
- Tickets: around 2.7 million.
- Prize money: €331 million in total.
Football is the most widely followed sport in the world, and a European Championship packs top-level matches into almost every day of the month. For bookmakers, that means sustained demand rather than a single peak.
Favourites, upsets and the final result
Before kick-off, bookmakers made England favourites to win the tournament, with France and Germany, the hosts, next in line. Spain and Portugal sat in the chasing group.
The tournament ended differently. Spain won all seven of their matches and beat England 2–1 in the Berlin final, taking the European title for a record fourth time. Spain’s Rodri was named player of the tournament, and the top scorer award was shared by six players on three goals each, among them England’s Harry Kane.
For sportsbooks the takeaway is a familiar one: outright markets draw heavy interest early, and favourites do not always deliver. Liabilities on outright, group and player markets need as much attention as headline odds on individual matches.
The markets that drive tournament betting
Major tournaments bring a predictable set of popular markets:
- Outright winner, open for months before the opening match and traded throughout the tournament.
- Group winners and qualification, which keep interest high during the group stage.
- Top scorer and player of the tournament, popular with casual fans who follow star players.
- Match result, goals and handicaps, the volume drivers on every match day.
- In-play and bet builders, where much of the action happens once the whistle blows.
Why major tournaments matter to sportsbooks
- Acquisition: fans who rarely bet open accounts around big matches, which makes tournament weeks a peak period for sign-ups.
- Volume: games run on most days, often several per day, with intense in-play activity.
- Mobile: a large share of bets is placed on phones, often during the match, so app and mobile site performance directly affect turnover.
- Retention: the weeks after a tournament decide whether new customers stay for the domestic season or disappear.
Preparing your sportsbook for the next big tournament
Plan promotions early
Build tournament campaigns, such as free bets for new customers, acca insurance and cashback on selected matches, and test them before the first match. Bonus rules should be easy to configure per tournament and per player segment.
Manage odds and margins actively
Competitive prices on headline matches earn attention and new accounts. Being able to adjust margins by sport, tournament or match lets you sharpen the markets that matter while protecting the rest of the book.
Control risk in real time
Big events attract experienced bettors and unusual betting patterns. Real-time bet validation, limits by player segment and bonus abuse checks keep liability under control.
Learn from the data
Track turnover, margin and player value through the tournament, then feed what you learn into the next campaign: which teams, markets and bet types your customers actually back.
A tournament timeline for operators
- Three months out: confirm that the platform, payment methods and KYC flows can handle a spike in registrations and deposits. Fix slow pages and failed payment routes now, not in June.
- Six weeks out: finalise the promotional calendar, CRM journeys and landing pages, and agree trading rules for the key markets.
- Two weeks out: load-test the site and app, schedule extra support and trading cover for match days, and switch on tournament content in the lobby.
- During the tournament: review turnover, margin and bonus costs daily, and adjust offers to how teams and players are performing.
- After the final: move new customers onto the domestic season before their interest fades.
After the final: keeping tournament customers
A tournament is only half the job. The real test is whether the customers it brought in are still betting a month later. A few practices make the difference:
- A clear next step: point new players to the club competitions that start soon after, with a welcome journey that explains the markets they have not tried yet.
- Relevant offers: use what each customer bet on during the tournament, from teams to markets, to personalise the first post-tournament promotions.
- Careful cross-selling: casino and live casino on the same wallet can keep players engaged between match days, but only for customers who show interest.
- Responsible gambling: casual bettors who joined for the tournament need easy access to deposit limits, reality checks and time-outs.
How our sportsbook supports tournament betting
Our sportsbook software is built for these peaks:
- A loyalty and bonus system with free bets, acca insurance and cashback, triggered automatically by player behaviour.
- Margin control by sport, tournament, match and player segment.
- AI-driven risk management that validates every bet in real time before it is accepted.
- Cash-out and Bet Builder to keep players engaged during live matches.
- 240,000+ live events every month, plus always-on content such as esports for quieter periods.
- Live dashboards and exportable reports for turnover, margin, hold and player value.
The platform is designed to go live in 1–2 weeks, which leaves time to launch and test before the next major tournament. For the bigger picture, read our guide on how to start a sportsbook.
Written and reviewed by the iGaming Software Solutions Editorial Team.
