By Tatiana Martins, journalist at G&M News.
When the United States last hosted the FIFA World Cup in 1994, legal sports betting in the country barely existed outside Nevada. The 2026 tournament will take place in a different environment.
Since the Supreme Court overturned PASPA in 2018, legal sports betting has expanded rapidly across the country. More than 35 states now operate regulated betting markets, changing how major sporting events are consumed in the U.S. sports ecosystem.
The scale of the current market helps explain why operators are approaching the World Cup differently this time.
According to the American Gaming Association, Americans wagered an estimated USD 1.76 billion legally on Super Bowl LX in 2026, highlighting the extraordinary growth of regulated sports betting nationwide.
The Soccer World Cup now enters that ecosystem as the largest tournament in FIFA history, featuring 48 teams and 104 matches spread across 39 days. For sportsbooks, that structure matters.
The tournament format may create unprecedented betting volume
Unlike the Super Bowl, which revolves around a single event, the World Cup creates nearly six weeks of continuous betting activity. That prolonged engagement window is one of the main reasons operators are treating the tournament as a transformative commercial opportunity.
Research conducted by the American Gaming Association estimated that 20.5 million Americans plan to bet on the 2026 World Cup, with projected betting volume around USD 1.8 billion in traditional bets alone. Other industry studies suggest the impact could extend even further.
According to an analysis from Paysafe, 19% of global consumers who intend to follow the tournament expect to place their first-ever online sports bet during the World Cup. Meanwhile, a separate 2026 World Cup Betting Outlook from Spotlight Sports Group found that 90% of planned U.S. World Cup bettors surveyed would effectively be first-time bettors on the tournament itself. For operators, that combination of scale and new-user acquisition potential is attractive.
Soccer’s position inside American betting is evolving
For years, soccer occupied a secondary role inside the U.S. betting landscape compared to football and basketball. That dynamic has gradually started to change.
The expansion of legal sportsbooks coincided with broader shifts in sports consumption, including the growth of European soccer viewership, increased accessibility through streaming and the rising visibility of international tournaments in the American media environment. The World Cup could accelerate that transition further.
Unlike domestic leagues that still compete for cultural space inside the U.S., the FIFA World Cup already operates as a globally dominant sports product with built-in international relevance. Hosting the tournament domestically creates a level of visibility and emotional proximity that the U.S. market has never experienced around soccer betting. That visibility is already influencing commercial partnerships.
FIFA communicated that Betano would become an official Tournament Supporter for the 2026 World Cup across Europe and South America, expanding the operator’s growing global relationship with FIFA ahead of the tournament. The announcement reflects how aggressively sportsbooks are positioning themselves around the event.
Industry sees the World Cup as more than a revenue event
Internally, many operators are treating the tournament as a long-term market development opportunity rather than simply a short-term spike in betting volume. One reason is the structure of soccer betting itself.
Compared to traditional American sports, soccer generates a broader mix of live betting, futures, player props and multi-market engagement across international audiences. The expanded 48-team format also creates more matches, more betting inventory, and more opportunities for user retention throughout the tournament cycle. Equally important, the World Cup introduces sportsbooks to a wider casual audience.
Industry analysts view major international tournaments as gateways for recreational bettors who may not normally engage with sports wagering year-round. That possibility becomes even more significant in a market like the United States, where legal betting adoption is still young compared to Europe.
Regulation and responsible gambling will remain central
At the same time, the scale of the tournament is intensifying broader conversations around responsible gambling and advertising saturation in the United States. Recent investigation by The Washington Post found that gambling references appeared, on average, every four minutes during televised sports broadcasts analyzed by the publication.
As the World Cup approaches, scrutiny around sportsbook marketing is expected to increase further, given the tournament’s global visibility and the likelihood of attracting large numbers of first-time bettors. This creates a delicate balancing act for operators.
The World Cup represents one of the largest acquisition opportunities in modern U.S. betting history, while simultaneously increasing pressure around responsible gambling practices, advertising standards, and regulatory oversight.
The World Cup may redefine how U.S. experiences sports betting
The broader significance of the 2026 World Cup extends beyond betting revenue itself. For the first time, the United States will host the world’s largest soccer tournament within a mature legal betting ecosystem, a deeply digital sports media environment, and a consumer base already accustomed to integrated sportsbook experiences.
That convergence could permanently alter soccer’s commercial position inside the American betting market. If the tournament succeeds in driving sustained engagement beyond the event itself, sportsbooks may begin treating international soccer as a long-term strategic growth category in the United States.