Almost half of those planning on betting on the World Cup will do so at a prediction market, according to a new survey released Thursday.
The figures come from the SEON World Cup Survey, which questioned 588 U.S. adults aged 18 and older. SEON is an AI-powered fraud prevention and AML compliance company.
The World Cup opens Thursday with two games in Mexico. The event will be held across Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. with the final set for July 19 at the Meadowlands.
In total, 56% of respondents said they planned to watch the World Cup, and 43% said they are at least somewhat likely to bet on it. Of the overall sample, 29% said they would use licensed sportsbooks, and 19% said they would use prediction markets.
Among millennials, 36% said they would use prediction markets compared to 38% for sportsbooks.
“The data suggests that major sporting events are accelerating the adoption of prediction markets beyond their early-adopter base, particularly among younger bettors who are comfortable moving across multiple platform types,” a press release announcing the survey results said.
In addition, 17% said they would use social casinos, 8% crypto-based platforms and another 8% offshore sites. The figures add up to well over 43% as many respondents plan on using more than one platform.
45% not confident info protected
Legal availability likely plays a part in respondents’ choices. Sports event contracts are available in every state except Nevada, while sportsbooks are only available in 38 states plus Washington D.C., covering about two thirds of the country’s population. Of those 38 states with legal sportsbooks, seven do not allow online sports betting. The April Prediction Market Monitor from Eilers & Krejcik Gaming found that 69% of all sports contracts originate in the 19 states where there is no legal online sports betting, with 43% of it coming from California and Texas.
The survey also found that 45% of respondents say they are not confident that betting platforms can protect their personal and financial information. It also found that 22% of respondents had signed up for multiple betting accounts to access promotions, 20% have clicked on a betting link from social media or a messaging app, and 17% have used a friend or family member’s betting account.
SEON’s President for Go-To-Market Matt DeLauro said the fact that customers don’t trust the platforms they use could make it more difficult to protect against fraud.
“Consumers plan to bet, yet they don’t fully trust the platforms they’re betting on, and nearly a quarter are already engaging in behaviors like multi-accounting that make fraud harder to detect,” he said. “That combination of high volume, low trust and blurred intent is what makes events like this so difficult to protect.”
