New Jumio Research: World Cup Betting Boom Fuels Concerns Over Underage Gambling

Majority of global consumers believe betting platforms are responsible for keeping minors off of their apps

News Highlights

• Jumio launched its 2026 Online Identity Study, highlighting consumer interest in sports betting ahead of the World Cup and concerns about minors accessing these online services.
• The data found that 63% of global consumers worry about minors using sports betting apps during the World Cup, and 74% consider preventing underage gambling the responsibility of online platforms and their technology providers.
• Consumers broadly reported sports betting as part of their World Cup plans. 1 in 3 respondents report interest in betting on the event, and 47% say betting is an important part of how they plan to enjoy the World Cup. For 20% of these respondents, the World Cup will also be their first time interacting with a gaming platform.

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jumio, the leading provider of AI-powered identity intelligence, today released the 2026 Jumio Online Identity Study, the fifth installment of its annual global consumer research. This year’s results found that online sports betting will take center stage during the 2026 World Cup, along with concerns around minors accessing these platforms.

The study examined the views of more than 8,000 adult consumers, split evenly across the United States, the United Kingdom, Singapore, and Mexico. Sixty-three percent of respondents admit they worry about minors using sports betting apps to gamble during the World Cup. Consumers aren’t just hoping platforms will do the right thing: 74% believe that preventing underage betting is the responsibility of online platforms and their technology providers. Only 7% of consumers disagree that this should be a critical priority for the gaming industry.

This news comes as one in three adults globally plan to engage in sports betting as a key part of their World Cup celebrations, with Mexico leading betting intent (43%) compared to the UK (33%), Singapore (29%) and the U.S. (26%).

For nearly half of fans, sports betting will be core to how they engage with the tournament — 47% say betting is an important part of how they plan to enjoy the World Cup, and 46% plan to socialize around the bets they place.

These numbers offer a snapshot into broader global consumer trends around sports betting. More than half (55%) would prefer to use an online platform to place their bets, and 20% will interact with an online gaming platform for the first time during the World Cup. Additionally, 43% of respondents already have a sports betting account that they plan to use during the World Cup, and 37% expect to juggle between multiple platforms to place bets during matches.

Together, these compounding behaviors may create additional onboarding pressures that stress test operators and their ability to block minors from accessing the platform.

“As online sports betting grows, operators have a clear duty to prevent minors from accessing their platforms — not just to react when something goes wrong,” said Bala Kumar, president and chief product and technology officer at Jumio. “That means layered identity and age verification built for real protection and designed so legitimate adults can get through without friction. In online betting, the operators who win will be the ones who treat verification as foundational, not as a checkbox.”

Find additional data and insights here.

About the Research

The Jumio 2026 Online Identity Study surveyed 8,003 adult consumers evenly distributed across the United States, the United Kingdom, Singapore, and Mexico. Censuswide fielded the survey between April 14 and April 27, 2026. Censuswide abides by and employs members of the Market Research Society which is based on the ESOMAR principles and are members of The British Polling Council.

About Jumio

Jumio helps organizations to know and trust their customers online. From account opening to ongoing monitoring, the Jumio Platform provides AI-powered identity intelligence anchored in biometric authentication, automation and data-driven insights to accurately establish, maintain and reassert trust.

Leveraging powerful automated technology including biometric screening, AI/machine learning, liveness detection and no-code orchestration with hundreds of data sources, Jumio helps to fight fraud and financial crime, onboard customers faster and meet regulatory compliance including KYC and AML. Jumio has processed more than 1 billion transactions spanning over 200 countries and territories from real-time web and mobile transactions.

Based in Sunnyvale, California, Jumio operates globally with offices and representation in North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East, and has been the recipient of numerous awards for innovation. Jumio is backed by Centana Growth Partners, Great Hill Partners and Millennium Technology Value Partners.

For more information, please visit www.jumio.com.