U.S. World Cup Betting Hit '10 Super Bowls'
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- BetMGM reported taking 211% more bets on the 2026 World Cup than the 2022 edition, while DraftKings reported a 650% increase — both record figures for a soccer tournament.
- Caesars Sportsbook said the 2026 World Cup produced a 30% greater bet count than March Madness (men's and women's NCAA basketball combined) and "a few percentage points" more handle.
- DraftKings accepted 2 million bets on the Spain-Argentina final alone — the most-bet soccer match in the histories of BetMGM, Caesars, and DraftKings — as Spain beat Argentina 1-0 to win the title.
- Caesars took nearly 65% more handle on the final than its previous record match (also from this tournament), with the final drawing 4.4 times more handle than Caesars' pre-tournament record.
- Hard Rock Bet SVP Neil Walsh called the tournament "the equivalent of ten Super Bowls" and "the biggest betting event in American history."
- Lionel Messi was the consensus most-bet-on player for props and futures, and Argentina drew the most overall tickets across many sportsbooks.
- GeoComply recorded 7.6 million location checks for Argentina's late-night match against Algeria — more than most primetime games.
Why it matters: U.S. sportsbooks reported World Cup handle that rivaled March Madness and was called "the equivalent of ten Super Bowls," with DraftKings taking 650% more bets than 2022 and the final alone drawing 2 million wagers — putting soccer on equal footing with America's biggest domestic betting events.
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