According to analysts at Barclays Plc, a total of $35 billion would be wagered on the 2022 FIFA World Cup, an increase of 65% over the previous edition due to a spike in online gambling during the pandemic.
The huge spike in online gambling may lead to a profit boost for Ladbrokes parent company Entain Plc. Entain Plc has a much stronger presence in Europe and Latin America compared to Paddy Power owner Flutter Entertainment Plc according to Barclays Plc.
Another huge advantage to the gambling sector is due to the fact that previous championships hosted in the summer, matches are taking place at Europe’s busiest times of the year when fewer people are on vacation.
Popular analysts like James Rowland Clark also wrote about this in a letter. They said that the industry has also benefited from the “stickiness” of growth generated during lockdowns.
Furthermore, the bank noted that the outcomes of the games in Qatar up to this point have been “marginally operator-friendly,” adding that as of Friday midday, there had been five tied games, a development that typically favors oddsmakers because the majority of bettors typically wager on one team winning.
It is believed that Entain has an advantage over Flutter because of its greater exposure to Latin America and Europe as opposed to Flutter’s focus on the UK and Italy. Flutter’s revenue and earnings projections have increased as a result of Barclays’ overweight rating and equal-weight recommendation for the company.
In a report by analyst Brian Egger from Bloomberg Intelligence, only $1.7 billion in wagers are anticipated for the tournament in the US, which is much less than the $7.6 billion and $3.1 billion, respectively placed during the Super Bowl and March Madness, in NCAA basketball.
Customers of licensed bookmakers would wager roughly $400 million on each World Cup group match, about $1 billion on each quarterfinal game, and up to $2.5 billion on the championship game, according to Barclays, which used statistics from betting analytics firm H2 Gambling Capital.
However, analysts issued a warning that the cost of living crisis and the season leading to Christmas would strain clients’ betting budgets.