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65% of US World Cup Bettors to Keep Wagering After National Team Elimination, According to Optimove Insights Report
Retention window for sportsbook operators is wide, with star players and eventual-winner narratives driving continued engagement
New York, May 22, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Optimove Insights today released its 2026 US World Cup Betting Intentions Report, finding that 65% of US bettors plan to keep betting after their national team is eliminated from the tournament, with another 17% planning to continue at reduced frequency. Only 3% say they will stop entirely. Optimove Insights is the analytical and research arm of Optimove, the creator of Positionless Marketing and the #1 Player Engagement Solution for iGaming and sports betting operators.
The findings are significant for sportsbook operators planning their retention strategy around the home team's tournament arc. Two out of three US bettors continuing to wager creates a meaningful retention window, one that requires operators to design alternative engagement pathways in advance.
When their team is out, sixty-seven percent (67%) will follow a star player they admire (Mbappé, Vinicius Jr., and Bellingham named most often), forty-six percent (46%) will support an underdog, forty-three percent (43%) will bet on the team that knocked their team out, and 37% will bet on the eventual tournament winner.
The report is based on a survey of 882 bettors globally with household incomes of $75,000 or more, conducted in early 2026, including 335 US World Cup bettors.
Other key findings:
- High intent. Almost three quarters of US bettors plan to place at least one wager on the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Among those, sixty percent (60%) describe themselves as very confident in their betting knowledge and another 24% as moderately confident.
- Live-first behavior. Eighty-four percent (84%) plan to engage with live or in-play betting, with 57% saying live is their preferred mode. Fifty-eight percent (58%) plan multiple bets per match.
- Personalization is the differentiator. Sixty percent (60%) say relevance, an offer or bet tied to their team or the players they follow, is the most important factor in whether they open a sportsbook communication. Sixty-four percent (64%) want more suggestions for games not involving their favorite team. Seventy-two percent (72%) prefer to receive communications the day before a match.
- The tournament is a gateway. Seventy-six percent (76%) will continue betting on soccer after the World Cup ends. Seventy percent (70%) will move to UEFA Champions League, fifty-eight percent (58%) to the English Premier League, and 53% to La Liga. Sixty-nine percent (69%) plan to use two or more sportsbooks during the tournament.
"The operators who win this tournament will be the ones who can read intent in real time, anticipate the elimination moment, and shift each bettor to the next storyline before they have time to disengage. That is what Positionless Marketing makes possible," said Pini Yakuel, Founder and CEO of Optimove. "Almost two out of three American bettors are still in the game, still placing wagers, and still open to engagement after their team is out. They are open to a reason to stay."
The full report is available now at t https://www.optimove.com/resources/reports/world-cup-2026-us-betting-intentions-report-1
About Optimove
Optimove is the creator of Positionless Marketing and the #1 Player Engagement Solution for iGaming and sports betting operators. Positionless Marketing frees marketing teams from the limitations of fixed roles, giving every marketer the power to execute any marketing task instantly and independently. Positionless Marketing has been proven to improve campaign efficiency by 88%, allowing marketing teams to create more personalized engagement with existing customers.
For two years running, Optimove has been positioned as a Visionary in Gartner's Magic Quadrant for Multichannel Marketing Hubs, recognized for its AI-driven decisioning, prescriptive insights, and proven ability to orchestrate thousands of personalized campaigns in real time across channels. AI-led marketing is a hallmark of Optimove's visionary leadership.
By embedding AI directly into its platform as early as 2012, Optimove paved the way for today's Positionless Marketing standard. Its Positionless Marketing Platform includes Optimove Engage and Orchestrate for cross-channel campaign decisioning and orchestration; Optimove Personalize, a digital personalization engine; and Optimove Gamify, a loyalty and gamification platform.
Today, its comprehensive AI-powered suite is at the leading edge of empowering marketers to streamline workflows from Insight to Creation and through Optimization. Optimove provides industry-specific and use-case solutions for leading consumer brands globally.
About Optimove Insights
Optimove Insights is the analytical and research arm of Optimove, dedicated to providing valuable industry insights and data-driven research to empower B2C businesses.
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Olivia Arruda Optimove 8585881053 olivia_a@optimove.com
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