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  3. Beyond the Bet: Gambling, Engagement and Informed Choice at the 2026 World Cup

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Beyond the Bet: Gambling, Engagement and Informed Choice at the 2026 World Cup

The Gambling Commission's research on Gambling, Engagement and Informed Choice at the 2026 World Cup

Published
10 November 2026

Last updated
10 November 2026 - Changes

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  1. Contents
  2. Appendix 1: World Cup 2026 Questionnaire

Appendix 1: World Cup 2026 Questionnaire

SURVEY NAME: WORLD CUP 2026 SURVEY DATE: JULY 2026 METHODOLOGY: ONLINE SURVEY LENGTH: AROUND 20 QUESTIONS SAMPLE: 1,000 GB adults aged 18 and over who have bet on the World Cup

Screener

ROUTING: ASK ALL S1. Age Please enter your age in the box below. QUESTION FORMATTING: WRITE IN

SCREEN OUT IF UNDER 18 (AS REQUIRED)

ROUTING: ASK ALL S2. World Cup Betting During the most recent 2026 FIFA World Cup, did you place any bets on the tournament (either online or in person)? QUESTION FORMATTING: SINGLE CODE. DO NOT RANDOMISE

1 Yes
2 No

THANK AND CLOSE

Demographics & General Gambling

ROUTING: ASK ALL D1. Gender Are you…? QUESTION FORMATTING: SINGLE CODE | RANDOMISE 1 Male
2 Female
96 Other (please specify) ANCHOR 97 Prefer not to say ANCHOR

ROUTING: ASK ALL D2. Region Which of the following describes where you live? QUESTION FORMATTING: SINGLE CODE | DO NOT RANDOMISE 1 Scotland
2 North East
3 North West
4 Yorkshire & Humberside
5 West Midlands
6 East Midlands
7 Wales
8 East of England
9 London
10 South East
11 South West
12 Northern Ireland CLOSE

ROUTING: ASK ALL D3. Ethnicity To which of the following ethnic groups do you consider you belong? QUESTION FORMATTING: SINGLE CODE. DO NOT RANDOMISE 1 Bangladeshi
2 Chinese
3 Indian
4 Pakistani
5 Sri Lankan
6 Any other Asian Background - SPECIFY
7 African
8 Caribbean
9 Any other Black, Black British, Caribbean or African background - SPECIFY 10 Asian and White
11 Black African and Asian
12 Black African and White
13 Black Caribbean and Asian
14 Black Caribbean and White
15 Any other mixed or multiple backgrounds - SPECIFY 16 English
17 Welsh
18 Scottish
19 Northern Irish
20 British
21 Irish
22 Polish
23 Romanian
24 Any other White background - SPECIFY 25 Irish Traveller or Gypsy
26 Roma
27 Arab
28 Any other ethnic group - SPECIFY 97 Prefer not to say

ROUTING: ASK ALL

D4. Working status

Please indicate which of the following best describes your current working status

QUESTION FORMATTING: SINGLE CODE. DO NOT RANDOMISE 1 Working full time - working 30 hours per week or more 2 Working part-time - working between 8 and 29 hours per week 3 Self-employed - working 30 hours per week or more 4 Self-employed - working between 8 and 29 hours per week 5 Not working but seeking work or temporarily unemployed or sick 6 Not working and not seeking work 7 Student 8 Retired on a state pension only 9 Retired with a private pension 10 House person, housewife, househusband,and so on.

ROUTING: ASK ALL D5. Personal Income What is your annual personal income, prior to tax being deducted?

QUESTION FORMATTING: SINGLE CODE. DO NOT RANDOMISE 1 Up to £7,000 2 £7,001 to £14,000 3 £14,001 to £21,000 4 £21,001 to £28,000 5 £28,001 to £34,000 6 £34,001 to £41,000 7 £41,001 to £48,000 8 £48,001 to £55,000 9 £55,001 to £62,000 10 £62,001 to £69,000 11 £69,001 to £76,000 12 £76,001 to £83,000 13 £83,001 or more 97 Prefer not to answer

ROUTING: ASK ALL D6. Postcode Please enter your postcode. Please enter the letters in upper case and put a space between the first group and the second group, for example AB1 2CD

QUESTION FORMATTING: WRITE IN | RESTRICT ENTRY TO POSTCODE STYLE

ROUTING: ASK ALL D7. Gambling activities in P12M

How often, if ever, have you bet on the following activities in the past 12 months?

QUESTION FORMATTING: SINGLE CODE MATRIX | RANDOMISE

ROWS: 1 Tickets for Lottery Draws (for example Lotto, EuroMillions, People’s Postcode Lottery)
2 Scratchcards (National Lottery scratchcards or charity scratchcards)
3 Fruit, slot or virtual gaming machines (for example at a bookmaker’s, casino, bingo hall, arcade, pub or social club)
4 Online fruit/slot machine style games or online instant win games
5 Bingo, including bingo played online
6 Betting on horse or dog races online, including virtual races
7 Betting on horse or dog races in-person, including virtual races
8 Betting on football online (for example World Cup, Premiership, Championship, Women's Super League, UEFA Champions League and so on)
9 Betting on football in-person (for example World Cup, Premiership, Championship, Women's Super League, UEFA Champions League and so on)
10 Betting on other sports online or in-person, including virtual sports and e-sports
11 Betting on events (for example political, entertainment, topical, current affairs, novelty) 12 Roulette, card/ dice games or Poker in a casino
13 Roulette, card/ dice games or Poker online
14 Private betting (sweepstakes, bets) or gambling (playing card games for money for example poker) with friends, family or colleagues or in a pub tournament league
15 Another form of gambling activity

COLUMNS: 1 In the last 7 days
2 In the last 4 weeks
3 In the last 12 months
4 More than 12 months ago
5 Have never spent money on this
6 Prefer not to say

SCREEN OUT IF D7_2-15 = 4-6

ROUTING: ASK ALL D8. PGSI

And thinking about the last 12 months

QUESTION FORMATTING: SINGLE CODE MATRIX | RANDOMISE ROWS:

1 Have you bet more than you could really afford to lose?
2 Have you needed to gamble with larger amounts of money to get the same feeling of excitement?
3 When you gambled, did you go back another day to try to win back the money you lost?
4 Have you borrowed money or sold anything to get money to gamble?
5 Have you felt that you might have a problem with gambling?
6 Has gambling caused you any health problems, including stress or anxiety?
7 Have people criticised your betting or told you that you had a gambling problem, regardless of whether or not you thought it was true?
8 Has your gambling caused any financial problems for you or your household?
9 Have you felt guilty about the way you gamble or what happens when you gamble?

COLUMNS: 1 Almost always 2 Most of the time 3 Sometimes 4 Never

ROUTING: ASK ALL D9. Number of betting accounts How many active online gambling accounts do you currently have, with any gambling company?
By ‘active’ we mean accounts that you have deposited money into to participate in an online gambling activity in the last 12 months. Please exclude any accounts you have set up to use for a single gambling event or occasion, or only to make use of a marketing or bonus offer (e.g. free bets, free spins, welcome bonus etc.). QUESTION FORMATTING: WRITE IN

SCREEN OUT IF D7_2-15 = 4-6

And of these, how many did you use during the World Cup?

QUESTION FORMATTING: WRITE IN

ROUTING: ASK ALL

D10. Operator used for WC betting

Which gambling companies did you use for your World Cup bets? Please select all that apply

QUESTION FORMATTING: MULTICODE. RANDOMISE 1 Bet365
2 Sky Bet
3 William Hill
4 Paddy Power
5 Ladbrokes
6 Coral
7 Betfair
8 Betfred
9 Unibet
10 888sport
11 Betway
12 Boylesports
13 BetVictor
14 Another operator (please specify) WRITE IN 15 Don’t know / can’t remember ANCHOR, EXCLUSIVE

WC Betting Behaviours

ROUTING: ASK ALL A1. Tournament viewing

Thinking about the recent World Cup, which team(s) did you watch live games for at each stage of the tournament?

Please click here to view a wallchart to help you remember the knockout matches that took place at each stage of the tournament.

QUESTION FORMATTING: MULTI CODE GRID. DO NOT RANDOMISE

  1. Group stage: choice of England, Scotland, Another team/match (Not involving England or Scotland), or None (Exclusive option)
  2. Round of 32: choice of England, Another team/match (Not involving England or Scotland), or None (Exclusive option)
  3. Round of 16: choice of England, Another team/match (Not involving England or Scotland), or None (Exclusive option)
  4. Quarter Finals: choice of England, Another team/match (Not involving England or Scotland), or None (Exclusive option)
  5. Semi Finals: choice of England, Another team/match (Not involving England or Scotland), or None (Exclusive option)
  6. Bronze Final (Third place play-off): choice of England, Another team/match (Not involving England or Scotland), or None (Exclusive option)
  7. Final: Another team/match (Not involving England or Scotland)

ASK ALL

A2. Types of bets

During the World Cup, which types of bets did you place?

QUESTION FORMATTING: MULTI CODE. RANDOMISE 1 Match result (home win/draw/away win)
2 To qualify / to progress (for knockout matches)
3 Correct score
4 Total goals (for example over/under)
5 Both teams to score
6 First / anytime goalscorer
7 Other player markets (for example cards, assists, shots, saves)
8 Match and Team markets (for example corners, cards, clean sheet)
9 Accumulators (acca) across multiple matches
10 Bet builder / same‑game multi (multiple selections within one match)
11 Outright bets (for example tournament winner, top goalscorer)
12 In play/live bets (placed after a match had started)
13 Cash out (cashing out a bet before the match/event finished)
14 Other (please specify) WRITE IN (ANCHOR) 15 Don’t know / can’t remember (EXCLUSIVE, ANCHOR)

ASK ALL SELECTING CODE 12 @ A2

A2b. Types of bets – in play Which of the following types of in-play betting, if any, have you placed during a football match (including World Cup matches)?

QUESTION FORMATTING: MULTI CODE | RANDOMISE 1 Betting on the overall match outcome after the match has started (for example Who will win the match, over/under total goals, next team to score.)
2 Betting on a specific player or match event (for example Next goalscorer, player to receive a yellow card, number of corners, player shots on target.)
3 Betting on a specific player or match event (for example Next goalscorer, player to receive a yellow card, number of corners, player shots on target.) 4 Micro or Flash Bets (bets on the next immediate event in the match that will happen in the next 5 minutes or less) (for example Next corner, next booking, next throw-in, next shot on target)
5 Other in-play betting (please specify) WRITE IN 6 None of the above

ROUTING: ASK ALL A3. Tournament betting Thinking about the recent World Cup, which team’s match(es) did you place a bet on at each stage of the tournament?

Please include any type of bet (for example , match winner, score, goalscorer, in-play).

Please click here to view a wallchart to help you remember the knockout matches that took place at each stage of the tournament.

QUESTION FORMATTING: MULTI CODE GRID. DO NOT RANDOMISE

  1. Group stage: choice of England, Scotland, Another team/match (Not involving England or Scotland), or None (Exclusive option)
  2. Round of 32: choice of England, Another team/match (Not involving England or Scotland), or None (Exclusive option)
  3. Round of 16: choice of England, Another team/match (Not involving England or Scotland), or None (Exclusive option)
  4. Quarter Finals: choice of England, Another team/match (Not involving England or Scotland), or None (Exclusive option)
  5. Semi Finals: choice of England, Another team/match (Not involving England or Scotland), or None (Exclusive option)
  6. Bronze Final (Third place play-off): choice of England, Another team/match (Not involving England or Scotland), or None (Exclusive option)
  7. Final: Another team/match (Not involving England or Scotland)

ROUTING: ASK ALL A4. Frequency of betting per match

Thinking about the matches you bet on during the World Cup, typically how many separate bets did you place per match? (Please include any in‑play bets.)

QUESTION FORMATTING: SINGLE CODE. DO NOT RANDOMISE

1 1 bet per match
2 2 to 3 bets per match
3 4 to 6 bets per match
4 7 to 10 bets per match
5 11 or more bets per match
6 Varied too much to say/ depends on the match
7 Prefer not to answer

ROUTING: ASK ALL A5. New bettor?

Before this World Cup, had you ever placed a bet on football?

QUESTION FORMATTING: SINGLE CODE. DO NOT RANDOMISE

1 Yes, I had bet on football but only major events (Euro’s or World Cup)
2 Yes, I had bet on regular football such as the Champions league or Premier League but not the Euro’s or World Cup
3 No – the 2026 World Cup was my first time betting on football, but I have previously bet on other sports
4 No – the 2026 World Cup was my first time betting on anything.

ROUTING: ASK ALL A6. Reasons for betting

Why did you decide to bet on the World Cup?

QUESTION FORMATTING: MULTI CODE. RANDOMISE 1 I enjoy betting on football in general
2 To make watching the matches more exciting
3 I felt I had good knowledge of the teams / players
4 Friends, family or colleagues were also betting
5 I saw promotions or offers by gambling companies related to the World Cup
6 I was encouraged by advertising or sponsorship
7 Habit - I usually bet on big football tournaments - ONLY SHOW TO EXISITNG FOOTBALL BETTORS (A5=CODE 1 OR 2) 8 To try to win money
9 To chase previous gambling losses
10 For fun/ entertainment
11 To feel more involved in the tournament
12 The World Cup felt like a special event
13 I wanted to try something new
14 I thought I could use my football knowledge to win
15 I was curious to see what betting was like - ONLY SHOW TO NEW FOOTBALL BETTORS (A5=CODE 3 OR 4) 16 Because England were doing well/going far in the tournament
17 I support one of the teams playing (England or Scotland)
18 I support one of the teams playing (not England or Scotland)
19 I felt an impulse to bet
20 Surprise/Unexpected results where the team expected to lose was winning or drawing
21 Other (please specify) - WRITE IN

ROUTING: ASK ALL A7. Information used when deciding World Cup bets During the World Cup, which of the following did you use to help you decide what bets to place? QUESTION FORMATTING: MULTI CODE | RANDOMISE 1 My own knowledge/instinct ANCHOR 2 The odds/price shown (for example backing favourites or longshots based on the price)
3 Betting operator website/app information (for example match previews, stats, form guides)
4 Betting operator emails, texts or push notifications
5 TV pundits/commentators
6 Newspapers or sports websites
7 Team/player statistics sites (for example detailed stats, form tables)
8 Social media (for example X, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook)
9 Tipsters/influencers (online or on social media)
10 Advice or tips from friends/family/colleagues
11 In-play match events (for example seeing how the match was going before betting)
12 Artificial Intelligence (AI) (for example ChatGPT, Copilot or Grok)
13 Other (please specify) WRITE IN 14 None of these – I didn’t use any information / I bet spontaneously EXCLUSIVE, ANCHOR 15 Don’t know/ can’t remember EXCLUSIVE, ANCHOR

ASK ALL A8. Informed betting When placing bets during the 2026 World Cup did you feel you had all the information you needed to make your betting decisions?

By this, we mean information that was easy to find, easy to understand, and available when you needed it.

QUESTION FORMATTING: SINGLE CODE | DO NOT RANDOMISE 1 Yes
2 No
3 Can’t remember
4 Prefer not to say

ASK ALL SELECTING CODE 2 @ A8 A9. Informed betting info

You said that you did not have all the information you needed; what information would have helped you to make better informed betting decision(s)?

QUESTION FORMATTING: WRITE IN

Promotions & Advertising

ASK ALL B1. Use of offers/promos During the World Cup, did you personally use any of the following betting promotions or offers?

QUESTION FORMATTING: MULTI CODE. RANDOMISE 1 Free bets
2 Enhanced odds / price boosts
3 Money‑back offers (for example money back if a certain outcome happens)
4 Acca insurance (for example money back if one leg of your accumulator loses)
5 Bet builder same‑game multi offer
6 Welcome bonus for new customers
7 Deposit match bonus
8 Loyalty or rewards points
9 In play/live betting offers
10 ‘Micro-bet’ offers (events in the next 10 to 15 minutes or sooner)
12 Early payout offers
12 Free spins
13 Free bonus offers
14 Other type of promotion (please specify) - WRITE IN 15 I did not use any promotions or offers - ANCHOR, EXCLUSIVE 16 Don’t know / can’t remember - ANCHOR, EXCLUSIVE

ASK ALL B2. True/false on promos

Did you seek out or search for information on any of the below before placing a bet attached to an offer?

QUESTION FORMATTING: MULTI CODE. RANDOMISE 1 Odds
2 Terms and Conditions
3 Wagering requirements (Including minimum deposits and withdrawal restrictions)
4 How much I could win
5 How much I could lose
6 How to activate or use the offer
7 Risk of gambling or how to stay safe
8 Other (Please specify) - WRITE IN, ANCHOR 9 I didn’t seek or search for any more information before placing involving an offer - EXCLUSIVE 10 Can’t remember - ANCHOR, EXCLUSIVE 11 Prefer not to say - ANCHOR, EXCLUSIVE

ASK ALL B3. True/false on promos

For each of the following statements, please say whether you think it is True or False. If you’re not sure, please select Don’t know.

QUESTION FORMATTING: SINGLE CODE MATRIX. RANDOMISE ROWS: 1 With a “free bet”, you can withdraw the free bet amount itself as cash without placing any bets
2 Enhanced odds or price boosts always give you a higher chance of winning
3 Money‑back offers may be paid in free bets rather than cash
4 Acca insurance means you always get your full stake back in cash if one leg of your accumulator loses
5 With a bet builder / same‑game multi, you are combining several selections into a single bet
6 Welcome bonuses may have wagering requirements before you can withdraw any winnings
7 Deposit match bonuses always double your money with no conditions
8 You bet on a team winning in a knockout game within 90 mins and they win in added extra time - your bet is settled as a winner
9 If you stake £10 at odds of 2/1 and your bet wins, you get £10 back in total

COLUMNS: 1 True 2 False 3 Don’t know

ASK ALL B4. Betting XP

Thinking about your betting during the World Cup, how much do you agree or disagree with the following statements?

QUESTION FORMATTING: SINGLE CODE MATRIX. RANDOMISE ROWS: 1 I enjoyed betting during the World Cup
2 As a result of my World Cup betting experience, I’m more likely to place bets on major tournaments (for example Euros/World Cup) in the future
3 Overall, I won more money than I staked during the World Cup
4 Across the tournament, I spent more money betting than I intended to
5 As a result of my World Cup betting experience, I’m likely to increase my betting on domestic football (for example Premier League, Championship or the Champions League)
6 After betting on the World Cup, I’m more likely to participate in other forms of gambling (e.g. casino or fruit/slot machine style games)
7 I have received an increase in gambling marketing and offers over the course of the World Cup. 8 My experience of gambling marketing (including offers with enhanced odds, free bets and so on) has been positive.
9 I placed bets that I immediately regretted.

COLUMNS: 1 Strongly agree 2 Agree 3 Neither agree nor disagree 4 Disagree 5 Strongly disagree 6 Not sure

F1. Close

Thank you for answering those questions today. Some of the questions you’ve answered today have been about unlicensed gambling websites in Great Britain.

The questions you have just answered were on behalf of our client, the Gambling Commission.

We want to assure you that nothing you have said in this survey can be attributed back to you, and that individuals who gamble with unlicensed websites are not engaging in illegal activity.

However, we would like you to know that gambling with these websites does not provide you the protection of regulatory oversight by the Gambling Commission.

The Commission strongly advises that you don’t use unlicensed gambling websites, as your funds and data security are not protected when doing so.

If you are ever unsure as to whether a gambling company is licensed in Great Britain, you can check the Gambling Commission’s information page titled 'What to look at before you gamble'.

If this survey has raised any topics of concern, you can contact:

  • Samaritans on 116 123.
  • GamCare on 0808 8020 133.
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2026 World Cup - Conclusion and next steps
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