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
Why did people bet and how did they choose what bets to place?
Most people bet for fun, but motives differed by bettor type
The most common reason that respondents gave for betting on the 2026 World Cup was for fun or entertainment (44%), followed by to win money (33%), and to make watching matches more exciting (27%). This broadly aligns with the reasons reported by respondents from research focused on the 2022 World Cup and Euro 2024, as well as reasons reported on the Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB). However, the reasons given in this research varied significantly between bettor types.
Existing football bettors were the most likely to bet to win money (40% compared to 21% of new bettors and 25% of occasional bettors), to use their football knowledge to win (21% compared to 3% and 7%), because they felt like they had good knowledge of the teams and players (19% compared to 1% and 8%), or because they saw promotions or offers (20% compared to 7% and 12%). They also bet as they enjoy betting on football generally (42% compared to 3% and 14%) or out of habit (17% compared to 0% and 8%).
New football bettors were the most likely group to bet on the 2026 World Cup to try something new (21% compared to 3% of occasional bettors and 5% of existing bettors), and along with occasional bettors were more likely to bet because their friends, family or colleagues were also betting (21% and 19% compared to 13% of existing bettors). Occasional football bettors were the most likely to bet because the World Cup felt like a special event (29% compared to 13% of new bettors and 22% of existing bettors), showing that the 2026 World Cup had a particular appeal to occasional bettors.
Existing bettors reported 3.54 motivations on average, compared to occasional bettors who reported an average of 2.6 and new bettors who reported an average of 2 motivations. The larger volume of motivations among existing bettors suggests a more established relationship with betting, than observed among new and occasional bettors.
Table 1: Reasons for betting on the 2026 World Cup
| Reasons for betting on the 2026 World Cup | Overall (percentage) |
New football bettors (percentage) |
Occasional football bettors (percentage) |
Existing football bettors (percentage) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| For fun or entertainment | 44% | 39% | 41% | 46% |
| To try to win money | 33% | 21% | 25% | 40% |
| I enjoy betting on football in general | 29% | 3% | 14% | 42% |
| To make watching the matches more exciting | 27% | 17% | 22% | 32% | The World Cup felt like a special event | 24% | 13% | 29% | 22% | I support one of the teams playing (England or Scotland) | 19% | 10% | 18% | 20% | To feel more involved in the tournament | 18% | 9% | 19% | 19% | Friends, family or colleagues were also betting | 16% | 21% | 19% | 13% | I saw promotions or offers by gambling companies related to the World Cup | 16% | 7% | 12% | 20% | I thought I could use my football knowledge to win | 15% | 3% | 7% | 21% | I felt I had good knowledge of the teams and players | 13% | 1% | 8% | 19% | Habit - I usually bet on big football tournaments | 12% | 0% | 8% | 17% | Because England were doing well and going far in the tournament | 12% | 13% | 12% | 11% |
Table 1: Reasons for betting on the 2026 World Cup for different bettor types, ordered by prevalence in the overall survey sample. Responses with an overall percentage less than 10% have not been included. Please see the data tables for the full available data. Respondents could select more than one option.
Many bettors only bet on England matches
Respondents also placed bets due to home nations’ involvement in the World Cup: 19% of respondents placed a bet because they supported England or Scotland, and 12% placed a bet because England were doing well in the tournament.
A large proportion of World Cup bettors only bet on England matches. Before the final (which did not include England), 42% of World Cup bettors had only bet on England games, which fell to 25% after the final. England-only betting was most common among new football bettors (57% before the final), followed by occasional (47%) and existing (37%) football bettors. This suggests England matches were more of an attraction for new and occasional bettors and demonstrates how betting behaviour for new bettors differed from other bettor types.
Most World Cup bettors displayed consistent viewing patterns throughout the World Cup, starting at 88% for the group stage and peaking at 90% for the semi-finals. Those watching England games were significantly more likely than those watching games not involving England to report watching live games, excluding the final. Viewing figures declined after England could no longer win the tournament, with a 19% drop from the semi-finals to the third place play-offs. This may partly reflect the reduced number of games compared to previous rounds, and the reduced significance of the third placed play off.
New football bettors were less engaged throughout the tournament
New football bettors had lower betting participation across the World Cup, with low participation in the early stages (39% to 40%), then slightly rising from 57% in the quarter final to 59% in the semi-finals, and dropping for the final and third place play-off (44% and 33% respectively). Betting was consistent across the tournament stages for occasional and existing football bettors, with between 68% and 86% of them betting on the group stage, last 32, last 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals. Betting participation dropped to 57% and 58% for the final for existing and occasional bettors respectively, and 49% for the third place play-off.
The general trend of betting behaviour for all bettor types broadly aligns with England’s progress and chances of winning the World Cup, declining after the semi-finals and their loss to Argentina (semi-finals, 76%, third place play-off, 47%). This was despite England playing in the third place play-off, which had the lowest betting participation of any stage for all 3 bettor types. This supports the notion that betting participation partly reflected England’s chances of winning the tournament.
Figure 1: Betting participation during the 2026 World Cup
Figure 1: Betting participation of different types of football bettors during each tournament stage of the 2026 World Cup.
| Tournament stage | New football bettors (percentage) | Occasional football bettors (percentage) | Existing football bettors (percentage) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Group stage | 40% | 75% | 86% |
| Last 32 | 39% | 68% | 82% |
| Last 16 | 40% | 68% | 84% |
| Quarter-finals | 57% | 73% | 84% |
| Semi-finals | 59% | 75% | 79% |
| Third place play-off | 33% | 49% | 49% |
| Final | 44% | 58% | 57% |
Table 2: Betting participation of different types of football bettors during each tournament stage of the 2026 World Cup. See Figure 1 for graphical visualisation. Respondents were able to select multiple options.
Most bettors relied on their own judgement rather than outside information
When it comes to the information used to place bets, those who bet on the 2026 World Cup were most likely to use their own knowledge or instinct (58%). This was the most common source of information for all bettor types – 39% of new bettors, 52% of occasional bettors, and 66% of existing bettors. The next most likely sources varied by bettor type but were significantly less reported in all cases. This suggests that bettors are generally more likely to rely on their own judgement, experience, or intuition when making betting decisions than on statistics or other external sources of information.
For new and occasional football bettors, using no information or placing bets spontaneously was the next most popular option (29% and 16% respectively), followed by advice from friends, family and colleagues (20% and 14%).
All other sources of information were used by only 7% or less of new bettors. Between 11% and 13% of occasional bettors also used the odds shown, statistics websites, or advice from TV commentators to inform how they placed bets. These results suggest there may be an association between previous betting experience and the level of informed betting within this sample.
Existing bettors were significantly less likely to place bets spontaneously (8%) or based on advice from friends, family and colleagues (10%), instead relying more on what may be perceived as skill to place their bets. They reported using odds (29%), statistics websites (17%), in-play match events (14%), and information provided by betting operators (13%) to place bets. This may reflect less informed betting from new and occasional football bettors, compared to existing football bettors.
Use of Artificial intelligence
When it comes to artificial intelligence (AI), 7% of World Cup bettors reported using AI to help them place bets. Younger bettors (aged 18 to 34) were more likely than older age groups to report using AI to help them decide which bets to place, with 12% reporting its use compared to 6% of respondents aged 35 to 54 and 3.5% of those over the age of 55. Although all 3 bettor types were equally likely to report using AI to help them decide which bets to place (7% for all types), using AI ranked as the fifth most popular choice for new bettors among the options provided, and was less popular among occasional bettors (11th of 15 options) and existing bettors (12th of 15 options).
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Informed choice and comprehension
Last updated: 10 November 2026
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