The 2022 FIFA World Cup Final was a major success for U.S. sportsbooks as bettors embraced the event. According to a report from GeoComply, the matchup between Argentina and France was the second most wagered-on sporting event of 2022. Only the Super Bowl saw more geolocation transactions on a single event.
US Bettors Embrace World Cup Betting
Approximately 7.9 million individual transactions were made on the FIFA World Cup Final at U.S. sportsbooks. This means there was more action on the World Cup final than on the NBA Finals, the March Madness Finals, and the NHL Stanley Cup.
“They say Americans don’t like soccer, but they certainly got a kick out of betting on the World Cup,” said Sam Basile, GeoComply VP of Business Development for North American Gaming. “GeoComply’s data disproves the myth that Americans are not interested in The Beautiful Game.”
Total Number of Geolocation Checks In 2022 Sports Finals
Super Bowl: 23.5 Million
FIFA World Cup Final: 7.9 Million
NBA Final: 5.1 Million
NCAA Final: 4.8 Million
NHL Stanly Cup Final: 1.9 Million
The report also showcases that 1.7 million unique user accounts wagered on the FIFA World Cup Final. This was only beaten by the Super Bowl’s 3.1 million unique user accounts and far ahead of the 1.1 million for the NCAA Final and the 1 million for the NBA Finals.
This is the first time U.S. bettors have had access to betting on the World Cup in mass following PASPA’s repeal in 2018. With regulated sportsbooks now available in over half the country, Americans were able to wager to their hearts’ content. The numbers show that bettors did just that.
Reasons For The Success Of World Cup Betting
One thing that could have brought in a lot of action is sportsbook promos during the World Cup. Many operators offered World Cup-centered promotions that would entice locals to bet. This, alongside the World Cup being a once-every-four-year event, persuaded a large influx of action from bettors.
Even with soccer not being the most popular sport within the U.S., the overall event attracts casuals and sports bettors. The added bonus of sportsbook promos for players led to even more activity. The World Cup was an event that brought out the bettors during the most popular time period in U.S. sports betting history.
