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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. Introduction

Introduction

Major sporting events provide a unique opportunity to explore consumer betting behaviour within a defined period with heightened betting engagement. These tournaments can also attract consumers who do not typically engage with sports betting, thus allowing us to explore a wider range of consumer behaviour and attitudes.

This research was designed to explore consumer behaviour and decision making during the 2026 World Cup, with the aim of building the Gambling Commission’s understanding, and informing the Commission’s work on informed choice and the fair and open licensing objective.

The findings help us to understand more about how gambling fits into different lives, the impact of different influences and how this varies for different groups. They also provide insight into consumer comprehension of odds and offers, and how consumer understanding relates to their decision making.

The Commission has previously conducted 2 research projects on major sporting events focusing on the 2022 World Cup and Euro 2024. Both projects sought to understand more about the betting behaviour, experiences and attitudes of consumers who had bet on major sporting events. This study builds on their key findings, with a closer focus on how consumers make betting decisions.

Study Objectives

The primary objective of this study was to understand how consumers made betting decisions during the 2026 World Cup. The core research objectives were to:

  • build understanding of how consumers made betting decisions during the 2026 World Cup, including the information they used, and the factors which influenced them to place bets
  • investigate consumer understanding of the offers they used to place bets during the 2026 World Cup
  • provide evidence which shows the variation in decision making between existing bettors and those betting on football for the first time.
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2026 World Cup - Executive summary Next section
2026 World Cup - Methodology
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