World Cup Trophy and a Football Ball on a Football Field

Americans Will Bet $1.8 Billion on Qatar World Cup

By Blake Roberts Founder & Editor in Chief Updated: 23 November 2022

Blake Roberts Founder & Editor in Chief

Blake Roberts is the founder of Betting.US and is currently heading the creative team as Editor in Chief. Born and raised in Morgantown, West Virginia, Blake is a great sports fan, with football and basketball being his favorite. He’s our trusted voice for all betting-related matters.

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The passed weekend, the highly controversial Qatar World Cup began, when the hosts take on Ecuador. Despite the high levels of controversy surrounding the event, Americans are expected to embrace the competition and bet huge sums throughout the tournament.

Speaking about the upcoming World Cup, AGA senior vice president Casey Clark stated:

As the first World Cup with widespread availability of legal sports betting, this will certainly be the most bet-upon soccer event ever in the US.

According to the American Gaming Association, Americans will wager $1.8 billion on the World Cup alone. Perhaps more impressively, around 8 percent of the adult population, which is approximately 20.5 million people, is planning to place at least one bet on the tournament. Of those who will watch the tournament, around 29 percent plan on betting.

While impressive, the numbers fall way short in comparison to NFL betting. In September, the AGA reported that 18 percent of all US adults planned on betting on the NFL at some point during the season.

Millennials Leading the Charge

The survey, which used a national sample of 2,213 adults, showed that millennials are the group most likely to place a wager on the World Cup, with 14 percent of millennials looking to bet. By contrast, only 2 percent of baby boomers are considering betting on the event.

As is nearly always the case, online sportsbooks look like they’ll take the majority of the business. Of those who want to place a bet, 48 percent said they’ll do so online. 23 percent said they’d use a retail sportsbook and 20 percent said they’d use a bookie. In addition to this, 29 percent of those who will place a bet will also have a wager with friends on the tournament. 17 percent will bet as part of a pool or fantasy contest.

The importance of legal gambling was also emphasized in the survey. 78 percent of those looking to bet said that having legal places to bet is important to them. Nearly half of all Americans now live in a state with some form of legalized sports betting.

First World Cup with Widespread Betting

The Qatar World Cup is the first that most Americans can bet on. During the last World Cup, which took place in 2018 in Russia, only three US states – New Jersey, Nevada, and Delaware – had legal sports betting available. 30 states, along with the District of Columbia, now have legal betting in place.

While the World Cup is likely to capture the interest of many Americans, the time difference between Qatar and the US could prove to be an obstacle. Many games will take place at times simply inconvenient for American viewers, and this could cause betting levels to be lower than they would be if the tournament was held in the US, as it will partly be in 2026.

By the time the 2026 World Cup comes around, even more states will likely have legalized sports betting, and this combination of increased availability and a home tournament could be exceptionally lucrative for sports betting companies around the country.