BetMGM says Canadian betting on the 2026 World Cup is running well ahead of the 2022 tournament, with bets placed per match up 71% and total money wagered up 73% so far.
According to CBC, the company’s chief revenue officer, Matt Prevost, said hosting FIFA World Cup 2026 in North America helped drive interest in sports betting. He said the early numbers support BetMGM’s view that the tournament would be a defining moment for the market in the region.
Prevost also said major global events such as the World Cup tend to bring in new customers who do not regularly bet on soccer, while also lifting activity among existing players. He said betting activity typically increases as the tournament progresses.
CBC said this is only the second World Cup since sports betting became legal across much of the U.S. and Ontario launched its regulated online gambling sector. Macquarie estimates that about 65% of Americans can now bet legally, up from 40% at the 2022 tournament.
The article said convenient kickoff times, prop bets and the expansion of the tournament to 48 teams have created more opportunities to wager. Bettors can now place bets on dozens of outcomes in each game, including which team or player will score first, how many corner kicks will be awarded and the total number of shots.
CBC said the 2026 World Cup is expected to become the biggest betting event in history, overtaking both the 2022 tournament and the record-setting 2025 Super Bowl. It cited a Macquarie report projecting that more than $50 billion US will be wagered worldwide.
The betting boom has also sharpened concern about advertising and problem gambling. CBC reported that Ontario has seen a sharp rise in calls to the province’s problem gambling helpline since private online gambling was legalized in 2022.
Spencer Murch, a cognitive psychologist at the University of Calgary, told CBC that constantly seeing gambling-related stimuli can trigger cravings. He said regulators need to address the influx of ads, especially for young people.
A Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada survey before the World Cup found that more than one in four respondents who gamble said advertising influenced them to place a bet. Among respondents aged 18 to 34, that share rose to 37%.
In April, MPs voted to send the National Framework on Sports Betting Advertising Act to the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage for further review. If passed, the bill would require Canada’s heritage minister to create national rules for sports betting ads.
Prevost said the wider spread of legal betting options across North America is “making it easier for fans to participate responsibly.”
