Sportsbooks Cash In After Record Betting on USMNT’s World Cup Exit

The USMNT’s defeat to Belgium on Monday was the most-bet soccer game in the history of US sports betting, according to several sportsbooks who spoke to ESPN and Fox Sports this week. While it wasn’t the result most Americans had hoped for, the sportsbooks themselves won’t be too disheartened, as this was a big win for the house.

BetMGM said Belgium’s 4-1 victory was “one of the biggest wins” it had ever had on a soccer game, while Caesars told Fox Sports that the game produced a record number of unique customers.

One Circa bettor reportedly placed $750,000 on the US at -130 to advance – a massive patriotic wager that went up in smoke.

Big Liability

The US was Caesars’ biggest outright World Cup liability, with Portugal second, according to Fox Sports. Both teams were eliminated Monday, strengthening the book’s futures position.

On the Belgium game itself, Caesars said 81% of money in the To Qualify market and 78% of match-betting handle backed the U.S.

Belgium was a slight favorite in the lead-up to the game, until Florian Balogun’s controversially rescinded red card just tipped the scales in favor of the US.

Balogun also drew heavy prop-betting interest once his suspension was lifted. Caesars said he was “an extremely popular selection” in straight wagers and same-game parlays, but the striker managed only one clear scoring chance and failed to find the net.

The record betting handle is hardly surprising. Every successive match involving the USMNT or another global heavyweight has set a new US World Cup betting record, according to the sportsbooks.

Argentina versus Cape Verde and Mexico versus England each surpassed the handle generated by the USMNT’s group-stage matches before the Belgium game hit a new high.

World Cup Fever

BetMGM said the match attracted more bets than any 2026 College Football Playoff game (other than the national championship), the NCAA men’s basketball championship game, or any individual game in the NBA Finals, Stanley Cup Final, or World Series.

“This World Cup has been record-type handle stuff for us this whole time,” BetMGM senior trading manager Christian Cipollini told ESPN. “There’s a ton of excitement throughout the country. No matter where you are, it feels like World Cup fever hit everybody this summer. And I think another major factor in this is the timing of the games.

“Obviously being on US soil is huge, but the fact that the USA game last night was played at eight o’clock in primetime is such a major factor,” he said.