Gambling Commission Finds New World Cup Bettors Least Informed: 60% Felt Ready vs 91% of Regulars

The UK Gambling Commission published research on 10 November 2026 showing that new World Cup bettors were the least likely group to feel fully informed, with 60% saying they had all the information they needed, compared with 91% of existing football bettors.

The report, titled "Beyond the Bet: Gambling, Engagement and Informed Choice at the 2026 World Cup", surveyed 834 UK adults who bet on the tournament. The Gambling Commission is the statutory regulator for commercial gambling in Great Britain. It says the work informs its approach to informed choice and to the "fair and open" licensing objective, and follows its earlier studies of the 2022 World Cup and Euro 2024.

How the survey was run

Yonder Consulting ran the online survey from 23 to 30 July 2026, after the final on 19 July. It began with 1,000 adults who had bet on the World Cup. The Commission removed 166 for inconsistent answers, leaving 834. The data was not weighted.

Respondents fell into three groups, defined by their earlier betting history:

The Commission flags that the new-bettor group is small and that its findings should be "interpreted with caution". The survey covers people who had already placed a World Cup bet, so it compares groups and does not measure how many customers the tournament brought into the market.

New bettors reported the biggest knowledge gaps

Confidence in available information rose with betting experience. Sixty percent of new bettors said they had everything they needed, against 83% of occasional bettors and 91% of existing bettors.

The gap showed up in how people decided what to bet on. According to iGaming Business's report on the document, 29% of new bettors used no information at all, compared with 16% of occasional bettors and 8% of existing bettors. New bettors were also the most likely to say they wanted to try something new, and more likely to rely on advice from family or friends.

The profile of the new group differed from the sample as a whole. Among new bettors, 68% were female and 40% were aged 18 to 34, while 71% of the full sample was male.

Product terms that bettors did not know

New bettors answered "Don't know" to questions testing product knowledge at high rates. The rates were 34% on odds, 40% on free bets and 46% on wagering requirements, and above 50% on every other question.

The starkest result concerned "acca insurance", a promotion attached to accumulator bets, which combine several selections, or legs, into one wager. The Commission defines it as a refund of the stake, paid as a free bet, when one leg loses and conditions are met. The survey asked whether it means the full stake back in cash if one leg loses, which describes something different. Eighty percent of new bettors answered "Don't know", as did 50% of all respondents.

What the whole sample showed

Most bettors relied on themselves, and promotions were widely used. Fifty-eight percent of the sample relied on their own knowledge or instinct. Seven percent used AI to inform their bets, rising to 12% among 18 to 34-year-olds.

Free bets were the most used promotion at 37%, followed by price boosts at 22% and free bonus offers at 19%. Thirty-five percent of those who bet with an offer did not look for more information about it.

Participation fell for the final between Spain and Argentina and for the third-place play-off between England and France, after England could no longer win the tournament.

Why it matters for operators

The findings give the regulator evidence on how well promotional terms are understood, which bears on the "fair and open" objective that underpins licensing. Operators marketing multi-leg offers and bonus products around major events should expect that language to be tested against what less experienced customers actually understand. For background on the regulator's role as the statute book changes, see Gamingo's explainer on the UK gambling law overhaul and the Commission's key role, and its earlier coverage of calls for more data on UK problem gambling.

The commercial picture is less clear-cut than the headline tournament numbers might suggest. According to iGaming Business, Entain chief executive Stella David said after the tournament that revenue from World Cup bettors was "not as big as you might think". The Lines linked the survey to the wider UK debate over prediction markets, which is that outlet's commentary and not part of the Commission document.

Major tournaments draw attention from regulators elsewhere too. Gamingo has tracked Australian enforcement against illegal sites during the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup and, in Mexico, the question of how a 50% gambling tax interacts with World Cup tailwinds.

Status reviewed on 12 November 2026. The key figures come from the Gambling Commission's Beyond the Bet report, with the 16% and 8% comparison figures and the Entain remark taken from iGaming Business. More regulation news and EMEA coverage.