WORLD CUP 2026
activity remains lower than in the fall and winter months. 16 Monthly US revenue data indicates distinct seasonal patterns that correspond to the domestic sports calendar. Monthly sports betting handle and gross gaming revenue (“GGR“) tend to soften across the US during the summer months, with July frequently identified as the quietest point of the annual wagering cycle. 17 Revenue reports from three mature online sports wagering markets in the United States – New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania – show that the lowest monthly online sports betting handle in both 2024 and 2025 occurred during the summer months, particularly June and July. 18 As host states, they will provide an interesting insight into the amount the 2026 World Cup wagers mitigate off-season wagering activity in the US. Unlike prior international events, the 2026 World Cup will be hosted domestically across multiple US cities, creating a favorable time zone and close geographic proximity between spectatorship and regulated wagering markets. The World Cup also brings a significant global betting audience for whom sports wagering, particularly soccer, is already deeply embedded in consumer behavior. 19 Interest in the tournament is further shaped by its international appeal and by the fact that the men’s event has not been hosted in the United States since 1994, a period that obviously predates modern, legalized sports wagering. 20 With the anticipated infusion of international soccer fans, states that offer legal sports wagering can expect increased handle, but how much is difficult to predict. Sports book operators are likely hoping that the significant increase in soccer’s popularity over the past decade in the United States 21 will bolster betting interest among domestic customers.
International soccer tours such as the Soccer Champions Cup, Premier League Mornings Fan Fest, and TV deals with NBC (EPL), ESPN (Bundesliga and La Liga) and Paramount (Serie A) have all contributed to the growing soccer fever sweeping the United States. Given these factors, the question is not whether operators will see an increase in wagering activity, but how substantial that increase will be. Though not hosted in the US, the 2024 Olympic Games provide a useful point of reference for evaluating the potential impact of the 2026 FIFA World Cup on sports wagering participation. Although national GGR did not show a pronounced spike in summer 2024, isolating the Olympics’ effect is difficult amid sustained year-over-year industry growth and market expansion. 22 Like the FIFA World Cup, the Olympics are held every four years, take place in the summer, and are an international sporting event that attracts a global audience and features competition over multiple weeks. However, unlike the World Cup, the Paris Games were held in Europe, limiting direct geographic proximity to US bettors with much of the action taking place while US viewers were asleep. Both factors potentially stifled any measurable domestic revenue effect. Further, the global betting handle for the Paris Olympics more than tripled compared to the 2021 Tokyo Games, reflecting both overall market growth and the continued expansion of regulated sports betting frameworks. 23 Within the United States, FanDuel reported that Olympic wagering volumes during Paris 2024 were approximately five times higher than during the Tokyo Olympics, a period when far fewer US states had authorized sports betting. 24 These figures suggest that international sporting events can, under the right conditions,
16 https://www.espn.com/espn/betting/story/_/id/41310227/wnba-women-basketball-caitlin-clark-betting-odds-standings-sportsbooks 17 https://www.americangaming.org/resources/commercial-gaming-revenue-tracker/ 18 https://gamingcontrolboard.pa.gov/news-and-transparency/revenue?field_gaming_revenue_fiscal_year_target_id=115; https://www.njoag.gov/about/divisions-and-offices/division-of-gaming-enforcement-home/financial-and-statistical-information/month- ly-press-releases-and-statistical-summaries/; https://gaming.ny.gov/revenue-reports 19 https://www.versussportssimulator.com/articles/popular-sports-to-bet-on-in-the-us-and-europe 20 https://www.fifa.com/en/articles/north-america-and-the-fifa-world-cup-canada-mexico-united-states-2026
21 https://www.forsoccer.com/news/the-numbers-defining-soccers-growth-since-2020/ 22 https://www.americangaming.org/resources/commercial-gaming-revenue-tracker/ 23 https://flutter.com/news-and-insights/insights/going-for-gold-the-rise-of-olympics-wagering/?utm 24 https://flutter.com/news-and-insights/insights/going-for-gold-the-rise-of-olympics-wagering/
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IMGL MAGAZINE | MARCH 2026
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