2026 World Cup becomes one of New Hampshire's best sporting events
23 July 2026(PRESS RELEASE) -- The 2026 World Cup came to a close this past Sunday, with Spain going home as world champions. The overall tournament became one of the New Hampshire Lottery’s highest betting events. In 104 matches across 38 days, New Hampshire bettors placed almost 900,000 wagers totaling nearly $24 million in handle.
“Hosting the World Cup in New England provided a rare opportunity for Granite Staters to see their team and the world’s biggest stars live in action. Whether our players watched live, on TV, or followed along online, the results have exceeded our expectations,” said Charlie McIntyre, Executive Director, New Hampshire Lottery. “Each bet made on a favorite player to score, the U.S. or hometown favorite Scots to win or Mbappé to win the Golden Boot helped deliver on our mission to deliver the maximum revenue to the great public education system in New Hampshire. While the tournament may be over, there’s plenty of baseball, golf and club soccer to watch and wager on the rest of the summer.”
France was heavily favored from when the tournament began all the way through their eventual defeat in the semi-final. New Hampshire saw some incredible longshot parlay wins, including a $20 four-leg bet winning nearly $14,000. In the final match between Spain and Argentina, New Hampshire players wagered more than $1 million, with many players favoring Lionel Messi and Argentina.
Since the inception of sports betting in New Hampshire on 30 December 2019, Granite Staters have wagered nearly $4.8 billion, which has generated $200 million to support New Hampshire public education.
New Hampshire residents can download the DraftKings Sportsbook app to place wagers through DraftKings, the exclusive digital operator in New Hampshire. Sports fans can place bets on the DraftKings Sportsbook app via iOS and Android or online at Sportsbook.DraftKings.com.
Together, DraftKings and the New Hampshire Lottery lead the industry in responsible engagement by promoting customer awareness, use of budget and control tools and resources like deposit limits, cool-off periods and self-exclusion to help customers have a fun source of entertainment with a brand they can trust.