Guidance
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
Who bet on the World Cup?
Overall, World Cup bettors were more likely to be male and between 35 to 54
The majority of 2026 World Cup bettors were male (71%), with female bettors making up 29% of the sample. Bettors were most likely to be aged 35 to 54 (43%), followed by older bettors aged 55 or more (31%) and younger bettors aged 18 to 34 (26%). For the purposes of this report, respondents are categorised into the following 3 bettor types.
New football bettors
New football bettors account for 8% of 2026 World Cup bettors. Whilst all new football bettors reported that the 2026 World Cup was the first time that they had placed a bet on football, 59% of new football bettors had bet on other sports before. For 41%, this was their first time betting ever. They are likely to be younger compared to other groups of bettors identified, with 40% of new bettors aged 18 to 34 and are the only group that is more likely to be female (68% versus 32%).
Occasional football bettors
Occasional football bettors represent 35% of 2026 World Cup bettors. The majority are male (64% versus 36%). However, it was the most popular group with female World Cup bettors, as 45% of female bettors were occasional bettors. They are most prominent with those aged 35 to 54 (44%), with an even distribution between younger (aged 18 to 34) and older bettors (aged 55 and older) (28% each).
Existing football bettors
Existing football bettors are the largest group identified, featuring 56% of World Cup bettors. They are predominantly male (80% versus 20%), and the most likely bettor type for men (64% of male respondents are existing bettors). They are most prominent with those aged 35 to 54 (44%), and skews towards older bettors (24% aged 18 to 34, and 33% aged 55 or older). Around 2 out of 5 (40%) of female existing bettors are aged 25 to 34, with this age group more than double the size of any other.
The profile of existing football bettors more closely resembles the profile of football bettors reported by the Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB) in 2025, where 85% of football bettors were male. This suggests that many of the differences in World Cup bettors are introduced by new and occasional football bettors.
Although participation in football betting varies between the 3 types of World Cup bettors, they each have high participation in other gambling activities. Existing football bettors are the most likely to have gambled in the past 12 months (excluding football betting) with a 97% participation rate, whilst occasional and new football bettors have rates of 93% and 87% respectively. Lottery draws were the most popular activity for all bettor types with 77% participation for occasional and existing bettors, and 64% for new football bettors.
Many activities see similar rates of participation between the groups, although existing bettors are more likely than new football bettors to bet on racing (online or in person), to bet on other sports, to bet on non-sports events (such as elections), or to play casino games online.
Amongst all respondents, 54% had a Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) score of 0, 18% had a PGSI score of 1 to 2, 16% had a score of 3 to 7, and 11% had a PGSI score of 8 or more. There were few differences in PGSI scores between the 3 bettor types; existing bettors were less likely to have a score of 0 than other bettor types (50% compared to 63% for new bettors and 59% for occasional bettors), and more likely to score 3 to 7 (20% compared to 9% and 12%).
Next sectionWhat types of bets did people place?
Last updated: 10 November 2026
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