According to a recent survey commissioned by the American Gaming Association (AGA), 8% of US residents are going to place bets on the major soccer event 2022 FIFA World Cup, which starts on November 20 in Qatar.
8% of US Citizen Plan on Betting on the Upcoming Soccer World Cup
AGA commissioned Morning Consult which conducted a web-based survey among 2,213 adult US residents across various age and ethnicity groups as well as across different regions.
According to the percentages revealed in the survey of the representative sample, the following estimations can be made: 8%, which equals 20.5 million US citizens, plan to place bets on the biggest soccer tournament.
The survey results also suggest that Americans are going to wager about $1.8 billion on the FIFA World Cup soccer tournament.
78% have said that they want to choose a legal sports betting option. Most respondents also intend to place traditional bets either through an online or retail sportsbook.
AGA Senior Vice President Casey Clark explains what the expectations are for sports betting on the FIFA World Cup in the US:
As the first World Cup with widespread availability of legal sports betting, this will certainly be the most bet-upon soccer event ever in the US. With more than half of all American adults having access to legal betting options in their home market, legal sports betting will deepen American fan engagement in the most-watched sporting event in the world.
AGA Senior Vice President Casey Clark
During the 2018 FIFA World Cup, only 10 million Americans had access to legal sports betting in their home state as only three states, Nevada, Delaware, and New Jersey, had legalized this form of gambling. Currently, sports betting is live in 31 states, which means that 132 million US residents can place bets legally.
AGA Survey Shows Similar Findings to BettorOff Survey
The AGA survey results are very similar to the results revealed by another recent survey on US residents’ attitudes toward sports betting on the 2022 FIFA World Cup conducted by BettorOff.
The BettorOff survey questioned 1,500 respondents who, however, were self-proclaimed sports fans. 49% of them answered they plan on wagering on soccer World Cup matches, while 74% said that they will keep on placing bets on soccer even after the tournament is over.
The results from the two surveys show rising interest from US residents toward sports betting on soccer. Based on this and the fact that legal sports betting is available to 132 million Americans, soccer sports betting is expected to grow exponentially in the upcoming years, especially considering that the 2026 FIFA World Cup will take place in North America.