MLS Betting Sees 'World Cup Bump' But Operators Preach Patience For Sport

By Bill Speros

Jul 27th, 2026 2:33 PM EDT

(Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)

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Sportsbooks across the United State enjoyed record-breaking handles during the 2026 World Cup. Does that mean the World Cup pushes MLS Betting to new heights? Americans who didn’t know how to spell “Haaland” just three months ago are now doing their own versions of the Norwegian row at baseball games from coast-to-coast. Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappe and Rodri Yamal elevated themselves to “household name” status in the U.S.

Lionel Messi and Argentina stalled in the World Cup final against Spain’s impenetrable defense. Messi, however, didn’t lose his “GOAT” status because of that outcome. And viewers on FOX received reminders throughout the World Cup that Messi plays professional soccer in the MLS from its “Thanks World, We’ll Take it From Here,” campaign.

Fanatics registered a 56% boost in its per-game MLS handle following the World Cup. MLS Commissioner Don Garber restructured his league's schedule this year to not only accomodate the World Cup, but to use the tournament for a relaunch. If not rebrand.

TV viewership for the World Cup smashed all expectations. The World Cup final pulled in 66.7 million viewers combined on both the Fox Sports and Telemundo/Peacock feed. Fox averaged 7.737 million viewers across all 104 matches (up 116% from 2022), while Telemundo averaged 6.3 million viewers (up 143% from 2022). Front Office Sports reported that some teams have seen a 150% “World Cup Bump” in ticket sales.

“The World Cup let people know what soccer is all about. People have heard of some of the big-name players. But many people did not engage in the last world cup. This was much bigger than the last one. It gave them an opportunity to see that this is a fun sport. This is a fun sport to bet one.” DK Director of Sports Operations Johnny Avello told Bookies.com.

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MLS Bettors Still Love Messi, Inter Miami

MLS play resumes Wednesday with the All-Star Game in Charlotte. Regular season play resumes Friday with New York City at Toronto. Not coincidentally, both those cities/areas served as World Cup venues.

Inter Miami – the MLS home of Messi – stands as the clear and unambiguous choice of the public at Fanatics and elsewhere. Especially in terms of futures. The public continues to lean toward the chalk – especially at home. That’s understandable given the portion of those betting MLS games perhaps for the first time this season.

Among the other teams attracting attention in futures markets: Seattle, LAFC, Nashville, and St. Louis.

"The World Cup was record-breaking at BetMGM with the Spain-Argentina Final being the most bet soccer match in company history. Messi always drives increased action whether its in World Cup or MLS games. Now even more big names are joining MLS including Robert Lewandowski and Antoine Griezmann. The Leagues Cup is also approaching so should hopefully see some extra popularity with the Liga MX crossover," said BetMGM Trading Manager Seamus Magee told bookies.com

But not everyone sees a guaranteed boost in MLS betting driven by the World Cup.

“Unfortunately, I’m somewhat pessimistic when it comes to the World Cup having much of a carry-over effect into other soccer leagues,” Thomas Gable, Director of Race and Sports Book at the Borgata in Atlantic City told bookies.com. “While there was a ton of recreational money in the World Cup markets, that was really driven by patriotism and just having the tournament front and center in the media non-stop. If people got into soccer during the World Cup and then tune into the MLS, they may be disappointed in the level of play they are seeing compared to what they saw during the World Cup. “

Even with the likes of Lewandowski, Griezmann and, of course, Messi.

World Cup Numbers Surpassed Everything But The NFL

At DraftKings total bets surging 650% compared to 2022, driven by the expanded 48-team field, soaring fan engagement, and the fact that games were played in North America.

The tournament outpaced nearly every U.S. sport outside the NFL — the Spain vs. Argentina final drew more wagers than any single NBA Finals game, Stanley Cup Finals game, March Madness game, and World Series game.

Messi was the most bet-on player overall, followed by Golden Boot winner Mbappe and Golden Ball winner Rodri Cascante. Team USA drew the highest wager volume of any team, with their Round of 16 loss to Belgium becoming the most bet-on soccer game in U.S. betting history. American forward Folarin Balogun – whose overturned red card was worldwide news for a day - even outdrew Messi and Mbappe in individual player markets, perhaps signaling a major new appetite for soccer betting in the U.S.

Polymarket and MLS entered a marketing and data partnership in January.

MLS Betting Sees 'World Cup Bump' But Operators Preach Patience For Sport

MLS Bettors Still Love Messi, Inter Miami

World Cup Numbers Surpassed Everything But The NFL

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