First-time football bettors were the least likely group to feel they had all the information they needed for their 2026 World Cup bets, at 60% against 91% of existing football bettors, according to a UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) survey published on November 10, 2026. The regulator says the gap raises the question of whether betting information is presented in a way newcomers can understand, although only 70 of the 834 bettors surveyed were new to football betting.
The report, Beyond the Bet: Gambling, Engagement and Informed Choice at the 2026 World Cup, is based on an online survey by Yonder Consulting of UK adults who bet on the tournament, carried out from July 23 to July 30, 2026, after the final on July 19.
What the Survey Found
The UKGC split respondents into three groups: new football bettors, betting on football for the first time; occasional football bettors, who had bet on football before but only on major tournaments; and existing football bettors, who had bet on regular-season competitions such as the Premier League or Champions League. Across all three, 85% said they had all the information they needed, meaning information that was easy to find, easy to understand and available when they needed it.
| Share of each group | New (70) | Occasional (296) | Existing (468) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Felt they had the information they needed | 60% | 83% | 91% |
| Used own knowledge or instinct | 39% | 52% | 66% |
| Used no information, bet spontaneously | 29% | 16% | 8% |
| Used advice from friends, family or colleagues | 20% | 14% | 10% |
| Used a promotion or offer | 43% | 53% | 70% |
| Used AI to help decide | 7% | 7% | 7% |
New football bettors were 8% of the sample. Most were women (68%), 40% were aged 18 to 34, and for 41% the World Cup was the first time they had bet on anything. They were the most likely to say they bet to try something new (21%), and 57% had bet only on England games before the final.
Overall, 58% of bettors relied on their own knowledge or instinct, well ahead of the odds or price shown (21%). Use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools was reported by 7% of all respondents, rising to 12% of those aged 18 to 34, against 6% of 35 to 54 year olds and 3.5% of those over 55.
Offers and Acca Insurance
Free bets (37%), enhanced odds or price boosts (22%) and free bonus offers (19%) were the promotions used most during the tournament. Of the bettors who used an offer, 35% said they did not look for any more information before placing the bet.
Respondents were most confident about odds, bet builders and wagering requirements, and less sure about acca insurance. Asked whether acca insurance always returns the full stake in cash when one leg of an accumulator loses, 50% of all respondents and 80% of new football bettors answered “Don’t know.” The report describes acca insurance as a promotion that refunds the stake as a free bet when one leg loses, provided its requirements are met.
What It Means for Players
The UKGC says new football bettors’ behavior and attitudes “suggested less informed and less considered betting, which may reflect their lack of previous football betting experience.” It asks whether information is easy enough for newcomers to understand, or “whether greater efforts are needed to help new bettors know where to find the information they need.”
The regulator also stresses the limits. With 70 new bettors, it says findings for that group “should be interpreted with caution,” and the results describe only the adults surveyed, not all football bettors. A single survey cannot show whether bettors become better informed as they gain experience, it adds.
What Happens Next
The UKGC says the findings echo its recent research on informed choice, which found a gap between information being available and consumers feeling informed, and that information may need to reflect how consumers’ capability varies across the gambling journey. It will use the findings in its work on the licensing objective of keeping gambling fair and open, and build on the research to fill gaps in its evidence.
The UKGC has also published recent surveys on young people and gambling and on how many online gamblers used illegal gambling sites.
