The 2022 World Cup Final was the second most popular game of the year in US sports betting, according to new data from GeoComply. The match between Argentina and France in Qatar attracted 7.9 million geolocation transactions. That was behind the 23.5 million from the Super Bowl, but above the 5.1 million from the NBA season finale and the 4.8 million from the NCAA March Madness final.
About 1.7 million active users who bet on the 2022 World Cup final, which was won on penalties by Argentina. The Super Bowl final had 3.1 million bettors. However, the Cup Final surpassed two basketball finals and the NHL Stanley Cup Final.
The first Cup since online sports betting was legalized in the US
The 2022 World Cup represented the first since online sports betting was made available in the US following the repeal of the PASPA (Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act) in 2018, which gave American bettors the opportunity to play online with legal and regulated operators. , as opposed to unregulated offshore bookmakers.
It was also the first World Cup to feature the USA and Canada, who will host the 2026 World Cup alongside Mexico. GeoComply noted that the most recent competition in Qatar generated huge interest in football in North America, with close to one million new accounts created during the tournament.
“They say Americans don’t like soccer, but they certainly had fun with World Cup betting,” said Sam Basile, GeoComply’s VP of Business Development for the North American Games. “The GeoComply data debunked the myth that Americans aren’t interested in the beautiful game.”
