The United States’ run in its home World Cup led to record soccer betting handle and allowed American sportsbooks to profit handsomely when it came to an end.
Monday night’s USMNT loss to Belgium in the round of 16 set the record for the most-bet soccer game in the history of several major American sportsbooks, with BetMGM saying it had more bets placed on it than any 2026 College Football Playoff game (excluding the championship), the men’s college basketball national championship game, as well as any championship series game from the NBA, NHL or MLB.
Sportsbooks reported the most-bet soccer record falling multiple times throughout the tournament dating back to the group stage, with FanDuel saying the first two U.S. games cleared that bar. The United States win over Bosnia-Herzegovina broke the record at Caesars Sportsbook, but was almost immediately supplanted by Argentina-Cape Verde and then Mexico’s loss to England just after that.
“This World Cup has been record-type handle stuff for us this whole time,” BetMGM senior trading manager Christian Cipollini told ESPN. “There’s a ton of excitement throughout the country. No matter where you are, it feels like World Cup fever hit everybody this summer. And I think another major factor in this is the timing of the games. Obviously being on U.S. soil is huge, but the fact that the USA game last night was played at eight o’clock in primetime is such a major factor.”
American bettors backed the home team heavily throughout the run on both a game-to-game and future basis, making Monday night’s loss ultimately a big win for sportsbooks.
Caesars Sportsbook head of soccer Mark Bickerdike noted that 81% of the handle was behind the United States to qualify for the next round, while a substantial number of wagers backed Folarin Balogun to score amid his controversial inclusion in the match.
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Cipollini added that the specific line for the Belgium match — which saw the U.S. come in as a -130 favorite to qualify for the next round, according to DraftKings odds — made it especially profitable for the book, as American bettors were more enticed to bet on the tight line rather than an abnormally large favorite or underdog one. He noted the game was one of its biggest winners this year regardless of sport, while Bickerdike called it “a better night for the book” after it got hammered during the United States’ wins.
At Circa Sportsbook in Las Vegas, one bettor placed a $750,000 wager on the United States to advance at -130 odds.
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The United States had been the largest future liability at virtually every major American sportsbook, so the team’s elimination will allow bookmakers to relax a bit. Portugal, who was eliminated earlier on Monday by Spain, was also a noted liability at several sportsbooks.
BetMGM and Caesars are now keeping their eyes on France, who have attracted attention from bettors both since the tournament began and at longer prices since the market opened four years ago.
With the U.S. out, it remains to be seen if the betting handle can keep the pace it maintained over the first few weeks. Cipollini said he expects a dropoff to some extent, but that superstars like Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland continuing to play well is keeping him optimistic, especially as customers continue to bet and win on those players scoring goals.
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“While fans are certainly disappointed with the [U.S.] result, we don’t expect it to slow the momentum we’ve seen around the World Cup,” DraftKings Sportsbook director Johnny Avello told ESPN over email. “Bettors have been engaged across the entire tournament, and with several marquee matchups still to come, we expect the excitement — and the betting action — to remain strong through the final match.”
France is the current favorite to win the World Cup at +180, followed by Spain (+370), Argentina (+420) and England (+470), according to DraftKings odds.
