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

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 27, 2026--

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.

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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.

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

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

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

“The Great American State Fair” is a series of concerts, exhibits, tributes and other programs scheduled to take place June 25 to July 10 on Washington’s National Mall. It was organized by Freedom 250, which is billed as a nonpartisan organization but was launched last year by President Donald Trump and is headed by a Trump State Department appointee from his first term, the businessman-philanthropist Keith Krach.

On Wednesday, Freedom 250 announced that Bret Michaels, the Commodores and Martina McBride would be among the musical performers, some of whom were slated for an “I Love the ’90s” show on June 26.

But by late Thursday, Michaels, the Commodores and McBride had dropped out, as did Morris Day and Young MC.

Michaels and others have said that they were misled about the theme of the shows or were otherwise wary of being caught up in a political fight. In an Instagram post, Michaels wrote that he had thought his show would be a chance to “honor our veterans, active military, first responders, teachers and hardworking Americans from all walks of life.” But he concluded that the event had “evolved into something much more divisive” and referred to “threats that are completely unfounded and unforgivable.”

McBride also issued an Instagram statement, saying she had been “presented with an opportunity to perform at a nonpartisan event but that turned out to be misleading.” Young MC expressed similar sentiments in an Instagram post, while the Commodores released a brief statement saying they chose “not to publicly affiliate with any single political party.”

As of Friday morning, performers still expected to appear include Flo Rida, Vanilla Ice and Fab Morvan of Milli Vanilli, the Grammy-winning duo from the late 1980s-early 1990s who were discredited after reports that Morvan and fellow front man Rob Pilatus did not sing on the records and lip-synced on stage. (The actual singers, including sisters Jodie and Linda Rocco, told The Associated Press that they were not invited).

Morvan told the AP in an emailed statement that he was "here to entertain and unite people, not divide them.”

"Let’s celebrate life & music and take a trip down memory lane,” he said.

A representative for Vanilla Ice told the AP in an email that the “Ice Ice Baby” rapper was “proud to help celebrate America’s 250th Anniversary!"

"Everyone is welcome to attend and celebrate USA’s Birthday and our Freedom!” the representative said.

A Flo Rida representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Freedom 250 organizers have yet to respond to AP requests for comment. Freedom 250 spokeswoman Rachel Reisner told The New York Times in a statement that “Freedom 250 is focused on our signature celebrations and events that honor our history and engage all Americans.”

Trump, a Republican, has some prominent supporters in the entertainment industry, including Sylvester Stallone and Nicki Minaj, but many more have shunned him. Taylor Swift, Robert De Niro,Billie Eilish and Bruce Springsteen are among those who have endorsed Democrats and/or condemned Trump, while Elton John, Kenny Loggins and others have objected to their music being used for Trump rallies or Trump videos. After the president ousted the leadership last year at the Kennedy Center and had his own name placed on the building’s facade, numerous artists, including Bela Fleck, Renée Fleming and Issa Rae, called off scheduled appearances.

FILE - Martina McBride performs, Oct. 28, 2022, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)

FILE - Young MC performs during the "I Love The 90's" tour on Aug. 7, 2022, at RiverEdge Park in Aurora, Ill. (Photo by Rob Grabowski/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - In this Oct. 26, 1992 file photo, Fabrice Morvan, left, and Rob Pilatus of Milli Vanilli perform during the taping of the Arsenio Hall Show in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Craig Fujii, File)

FILE - Singer Brett Michaels performs at halftime of an NFL football game between the Detroit Lions and the Arizona Cardinals in Glendale, Ariz., Sept. 8, 2019. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri, File)