The US Men’s National Team’s exit from the World Cup was bad news for American punters, but it has brought financial cheer to sportsbooks across the country.
Several sportsbooks, including BetMGM, said they took a record number of bets on the outcome of the US-Belgium round of 16 matchup on Monday, ESPN reported. But the setback will not deter US bettors, operators say.
“While fans are certainly disappointed with the result [of the US-Belgium match], we don’t expect it to slow the momentum we have seen around the World Cup,” DraftKings Sportsbook chief Johnny Avello told the same media outlet.
Sports betting has skyrocketed in many parts of the world this year, with World Cup-related wagers leading a summer charge. In the UK, pre-tournament research by a major bank found that 83% of gamblers aged under 24 expected to bet more frequently in summer due to major sporting events like the World Cup.
US World Cup Exit: Sportsbooks Report Record Bets
Bookies were left out of pocket to the tune of $50 million earlier in the tournament as host nations performed well and big-name players bagged multiple goals.
Experts agree that fans in sports-betting strongholds like the US and the UK tend to bet on their teams.
And on Monday, this translated into big losses for punters and major gains for sportsbooks.
Caesars Sportsbook’s head of soccer Mark Bickerdike told the same media outlet that 81% of the total betting handle was wrapped up in bets on the United States to qualify for the quarterfinals.
Bickerdike said a “substantial” number of customers bet on striker Folarin Balogun to score. In the end, Balogun drew a blank, with the USMNT only scoring once.
“[Monday] was a better night for the book,” said Bickerdike.
“It was a bad result for the US. But it was a good result for the book, which was always to be expected when [or] if they lost,” BetMGM trading manager Adair Horne told Fox Sports. “It was one of the biggest wins we’ve had for a soccer game in company history.”
Portugal Loss Another Victory for Bookmakers
Bookmakers said there were further sighs of relief when Spain eliminated Portugal. A last-gasp Mikel Merino goal in Dallas earlier this week saw Cristiano Ronaldo & Co. eliminated.
“Our tournament winner book is in a strong position,” Bickerdike told Fox Sports. “The USA was by far our biggest outright liability, while Portugal ranked second. So seeing both eliminated on the same day was significant.”
France is the outright tournament favorite with most sportsbooks in both the US and the UK. And Les Bleus “represents our biggest remaining concern in the outright market,” Bickerdike confirmed.
Pre-tournament, one bettor staked tens of thousands of dollars on several multi-leg bets. All the bets included Portugal lifting the trophy at the MetLife Stadium in New York on July 19.
Had Portugal succeeded, the bettor would have scooped a $3.5 million payout.
An English fan, meanwhile, picked up a GBP 10,000 ($13,400) payout from a crypto casino this week. The man’s story went viral after he spent his life savings traveling to the World Cup with his 80-year-old grandfather.
