The first World Cup hosted largely in the United States since 1994 — and the first since legal sports betting spread across the country — became the biggest soccer betting event in US history.[1]
The final
Spain beat Argentina 1–0 in the final at MetLife Stadium on 19 July, with Ferran Torres scoring in the 106th minute after a goalless 90. BetMGM said it was its most-bet soccer match ever, by both tickets and handle, with more bets than any game of the 2025 World Series, the 2026 NBA Finals or Stanley Cup Final. Caesars said the final set company records for handle, wagers and unique bettors, with handle nearly 65% higher than its previous record game.[4][5] DraftKings called its tournament handle "way over expectations" and said the final drew about 2 million bets, making it its most-bet soccer match ever.
The tournament in numbers
- By early July, mid-tournament, DraftKings reported 650% more bets than at the whole 2022 World Cup and BetMGM 211% more.[1] These are bet counts, not money staked (handle).
- After the final, Caesars said the tournament produced a 30% greater bet count than the NCAA basketball tournaments, with handle a few percentage points above March Madness. Hard Rock called it "the equivalent of 10 Super Bowls".[4] All of these are the operators' own claims.
- Pre-tournament projections put total US handle at roughly $2.8–4.3 billion across 104 matches — several times the estimated $490 million bet on Qatar 2022.[2][3] Final, audited national figures weren't available.
Who won: bettors or books?
It was a rollercoaster. Bettors did well early in the group stage, with analysts estimating that DraftKings was down around $50 million at one point. Then the USA's elimination — the books' biggest outright liability — swung things back in the sportsbooks' favour.
Lessons for bettors
Our columnist's takeaways are in what the 2026 World Cup taught bettors, and our fans' view of ticket prices is in the beautiful game, the ugly price tag. For everyday soccer betting, see soccer betting.
Sources
- World Cup 2026 shatters betting volume records in US as bookies win big — Inside World Football, 8 July 2026 ↩
- World Cup betting in U.S. equivalent of '10 Super Bowls' — ESPN ↩
- World Cup betting reaches new heights for US sportsbooks — SBC Americas, 22 July 2026 ↩
- US sportsbooks call 2026 World Cup the biggest betting event ever after record final handle — Yogonet, 21 July 2026 ↩
- 2026 FIFA World Cup Final creates football betting history for Caesars Sportsbook — G3 Newswire ↩
