BetMGM CEO Talks 2026 FIFA World Cup Popularity

Summary

Bloomberg Talks — BetMGM CEO Talks 2026 FIFA World Cup Popularity

Date: July 17, 2026
Guest: Adam Greenblatt, CEO of BetMGM
Host: Karen Moscow
Key Theme: Surging U.S. interest and engagement with the 2026 FIFA World Cup through the lens of sports betting, BetMGM’s strategic innovations, and the business implications for sportsbooks.

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Episode Overview

This episode features an insightful interview with Adam Greenblatt, CEO of BetMGM, exploring the unprecedented surge in World Cup betting activity in the U.S. Greenblatt shares how the 2026 tournament has shattered betting records, outlines BetMGM’s strategies for customer engagement amid fierce competition, and discusses the impact of marquee matchups and tournament upsets on sportsbook operations.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Historic BetMGM Engagement and Record Volume

• FIFA World Cup 2026: BetMGM’s Most Bet World Cup Ever

  • The tournament has “dramatically exceeded our expectations,” says Greenblatt, highlighting the tripling of overall bet volume compared to 2022.

    “This tournament has been the most bet World Cup in BetMGM history. Overall volume for BetMGM has tripled. And that’s not—you heard that right—3.3x compared with the 2022 World Cup.” (Adam Greenblatt, 01:34)

  • The US-Belgium game in Seattle set the all-time BetMGM single-match record.

• Driving Factors

  • Expanded tournament format = more games, more betting markets.
  • Hosting on U.S. soil: “The force for soccer is at unprecedented levels.” (01:55)
  • Player-focused storylines and improved time zones for American audiences.

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2. Competitive Landscape in U.S. Sports Betting

• New and Traditional Rivals

  • BetMGM faces competition not only from major sportsbooks like DraftKings and FanDuel but also from prediction markets entering mainstream.
  • Greenblatt emphasizes BetMGM’s focus:

    “We are focused on...creating legendary experiences both in person and in app. So that Omni Channel strategy is very much central to BetMGM.” (Adam Greenblatt, 04:14)

• Maintaining Top of Mind Presence

  • Key innovations during the World Cup:
    • The Gold Rush Giveaway:
      “For every goal the U.S. team scored, we would give our bettors who participated half a million dollars.” (Adam Greenblatt, 04:38)
      • Total payouts: $5.5 million in bonus bets.
    • Early Payout Promotion: Paid out if team was up by 2 goals, no matter final result.
    • SI Beyond the Pitch Sweepstakes: Winners attend star-studded party in NYC with sports and entertainment celebrities (05:14).
    • Tim Howard Brand Activation:
      • Watch parties at MGM properties.
      • “We sent Tim [Howard] undercover at a bar in Chicago and created some social media vignette that has really gone viral. We’ve had millions of views.” (Adam Greenblatt, 05:39)

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3. Betting Patterns and Impact of Tournament Results

• Favorites Drive Volume, Upsets Drive Margins

  • High-profile teams (France, England, Argentina, Spain) made semifinals; fewer underdog runs.

  • Large-scale fan engagement when favorites win (“players follow their hearts”), boosting bet volume—especially in early rounds.

    “In the early stages of the tournament where the favorites were winning consistently...engagement was incredibly high. We saw record bet volume.” (Adam Greenblatt, 06:50)

  • French and English exits helped sportsbooks:

    “I got on my knees, I looked up at the heavens above and I said thank you. The fact that France was knocked out and isn’t a finalist… was gold for the sportsbooks.” (Adam Greenblatt, 03:20)

  • USA-Belgium betting eclipsed any NBA Finals, Stanley Cup, or World Series game to date.

    “The number of bets we took in that USA Belgium game was more than any NBA Finals game ever...Any Stanley Cup Finals [game] and any World Series game. Now, of course, NFL is king and the Super Bowl is still king...but what this is telling us is that soccer is on the map.” (Adam Greenblatt, 07:06)

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4. Looking Ahead

• The outcome of the Argentina-Spain final is expected to drive even more activity.
• The World Cup’s U.S. momentum positions soccer as a major force in the American sports betting industry.

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Notable Quotes

• On World Cup’s Betting Growth:

  “This is this tournament has been the most bet World Cup in BetMGM history. Overall volume for BetMGM has tripled...compared with the 2022 World Cup.”
  (Adam Greenblatt, 01:34)

• On France’s Loss Being “Gold” for Sportsbooks:

  “You know, I went, got on my knees, I looked up at the heavens above and I said thank you. The fact that France was knocked out...that was gold for the sportsbooks.”
  (Adam Greenblatt, 03:20)

• On U.S. Soccer’s Resonance:

  “The force for soccer is at unprecedented levels.”
  (Adam Greenblatt, 01:55)

• On Fan Betting and Business Realities:

  “Our product at the end of the day is an entertainment product. It’s an emotional product. Our players follow their hearts most oftentimes and so the favorites are favorites because of that global fandom.”
  (Adam Greenblatt, 06:50)

• On U.S. Match Betting Records:

  “The number of bets we took in that USA Belgium game was more than any NBA Finals game ever...what this is telling us is that soccer is on the map.”
  (Adam Greenblatt, 07:06)

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Key Timestamps

• 01:31 — Adam Greenblatt joins; shares record-breaking betting stats for 2026 World Cup.
• 03:20 — Greenblatt reacts to France and England’s exits (“gold for the sportsbooks”).
• 04:05 — Discussing competitive strategy and innovative engagement campaigns.
• 06:48 — Explains betting trends: fan engagement with favorites, lesson for sportsbooks.
• 07:06 — US-Belgium match breaks betting records for any non-NFL sporting event.

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Conclusion

This episode provides a thorough look at how the 2026 FIFA World Cup has reshaped the U.S. sports betting landscape, with BetMGM at the forefront. Adam Greenblatt’s insights reveal how strategic innovation, omnichannel experiences, and key tournament moments have combined to push both soccer and sports betting into new territory stateside. The interview underscores the growing influence of global soccer in the American market and hints at BetMGM’s plans to sustain their momentum as the tournament concludes.

Transcript

[Karen Moscow]

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[Karen Moscow]

the World cup final set to boost U.S. sportsbooks. The team over at Bloomberg Intelligence crunching the numbers, noting that operators like DraftKings, FanDuel and BET MGM could be set for a moderate boost to the third quarter if underdog Argentina defeats Spain. Let's discuss with Adam Greenblatt. He is BET MGM CEO. He joins us now as we head into this weekend's big match matchup. And Adam, you know we were just talking with Andres Kanter. He of course is the famous play by play commentator for Telemundo and he said that it was the Seattle games that really impressed him when it comes to the fan presence. I'm taking a look at some of the stats you sent over and it was the US Belgium game in Seattle. Actually that was your most bet on soccer match ever. Talk to us a little bit about what you're seeing when it comes to some of these specific matchups.

[Adam Greenblatt]

Yes, absolutely. In aggregate, the World cup has dramatically exceeded our expectations. I think there's a theme here listening to the previous segments as well. Exceeding expectations and breaking records. And BET MGM was no exception. This is this tournament has been the most bet World cup in BET MGM history. Overall volume for BET MGM has tripled. And that's not you heard that right 3.3X compared with the 2022 World Cup. And and it's keep it keeps going. You know we've got two more games ahead. The Argentina Spain matchup for the final is is really capturing the bet his imagination. And so I guess the question for us is is why and from our perspective there are several factors why has become such a successful betting event and so far ahead of 2022. And that's I think partly as a result of the expanded tour format. So we have more betting content and more games around a broader range of betting markets. So what we are offering our bettors is much wider and we're also following with betting opportunities the player storylines that that bet has already got behind. Of course our TAM has expanded since 2022 as well. And the fact that it's a tournament on our home soil has made all the difference. You know, the games are at the right time and the, you heard the viewing public and the support, the force for soccer is at unprecedented levels.

[Interviewer]

Adam, every betting person that I've spoken with has been thrilled that this is the final. I wonder what was your immediate reaction when France and England lost earlier this week?

[Adam Greenblatt]

You know, I went, got on my knees, I looked up at the heavens above and I said thank you. That was, you know, the fact that France was knocked out and isn't a finalist contender, that was, that was gold for the sportsbooks.

[Karen Moscow]

And you know, it's funny you mentioned that since 2022 that your TAM has expanded your total addressable market. But so to have your competitors, because, I mean, you have the likes of the other sports books, you have the fanduels of the world that you're competing with, but now you also have prediction markets which have really just entered the public consciousness in the past few years or so. So how do you position BET MGM to sort of see, stay front of mind for these batters looking someplace to place these bets?

[Adam Greenblatt]

There's no doubt the competitive environment is fierce, but it's been fierce since the beginning. You know, we are focused at BET mgm. We are focused on, focused on a how we win strategy, the BET MGM strategy, which frankly is creating legendary experiences both in person and in app. So that Omni Channel strategy is very much central to BET mgm. And we cut through it during the tournament with some, what we think, some really innovative offerings to our players. We started with what we call the goal, the Gold Rush giveaway, where for every goal the U.S. team scored, we would give our betas who participated half a million dollars. And so when the tournament started and you know, the tournament opener against Paraguay, where the USA won, scored four goals, it had me worried, you know, worried about what was to come. But overall, we awarded five and a half million dollars to our players in bonus bets. So that was one of the areas. We also had a 2 up, 2 up early payout promotion whereby if your team is up by two goals, regardless of the outcome, you get paid. We also teamed up with one of our partners, Marriott Bonvoy, on something called the SI beyond the Pitch Sweepstakes. And just this weekend coming up, actually the winners of this sweepstake get to attend the the SI beyond the Pitch party right here in New York, which is this weekend, as I said. And this is always a who's who of the biggest names in sports and entertainment. Now, of course, given our relationship with MGM Resorts, we've put on watch parties and activations all around the country. At MGM Properties we also have a one of our partners, one of our brand ambassadors is the soccer icon Tim Howard. And so we've launched a Tim Howard casino game as part of the tournament activation. We also sent a bit of fun. We sent Tim undercover at a bar in Chicago and created some social media vignette that has really gone viral. We've had millions of views. So really pleased about that too. So we've, we've come at, you know, in the way that bet MGM does consistent with our strategy.

[Interviewer]

Adam, I wonder from, from your perspective, what I hear a lot is that when the fans love the titans to compete. So we saw France, England, Spain and of course Argentina in the semifinal, but we did not see as many underdogs. How does that fare for the sportsbooks when the top ranking teams are ultimately the ones finishing? Is that good? Is that bad? What are you seeing from bettors in terms of how that forecast for your company?

[Adam Greenblatt]

Of course look, our product at the end of the day is an entertainment product. It's an emotional product. Our players follow their hearts most oftentimes and so the favorites are favorites because of that global fandom and so that reflects in the betting. So in the early stages of the tournament where the favorites were winning consistently, I'll be honest, the engagement was incredibly high. We saw record bet volume. In fact, the US Belgium game, the number of bets we took in that USA Belgium game was more than any NBA Finals game ever.

[Commercial Announcer]

Wow.

[Adam Greenblatt]

Any Stanley Cup Finals game and any World Series game. Now of course NFL is king and the super bowl is still king. And we took eight times more bets on the super bowl than on that game. But what this is telling us is that soccer is on the map. And to your to your previous question, yes, when the favorites when generally speaking that's bad for the sportsbook. But when we have we have a very high profile upsets like France's departure, in the end we should in theory achieve our theoretical margin.

[Karen Moscow]

All right, Adam, such an interesting conversation. It's certainly going to be an interesting weekend as well. Appreciate you making time for us. That is Adam Greenblatt. He is the CEO. CEO of BetMGM.

[Adam Greenblatt]

Yeah.

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