Sports Betting Research 2026: Who Bets, How and How Often

There has been a substantial amount of emerging research in the early part of 2026 regarding sports betting market participation patterns, bettor profile changes and evolving sports preferences. Fans who make sports betting a part of their engagement with sport need to be aware of what the changing participation patterns mean to their platforms, like bizbet, and how these trends shape the evolving betting landscape. Below are the most recent findings from verified market research regarding sports betting participation and bettor profile changes in 2026.

Online sports betting participation has increased over three consecutive annual surveys, showing a rise in the number of users with active betting accounts every year since 2024. The sports betting audience is growing across multiple segments, with younger adults representing the largest and fastest-growing share of active participants globally, a trend expected to continue through the early 2030s.

Platform preferences follow participation patterns closely. The youngest bettors almost exclusively use mobile app versions of platforms rather than desktop versions, and research confirms that those using mobile apps place bets significantly more frequently than desktop users. Sports betting platforms like bizbet casino are already observing this shift as mobile-first users drive a larger share of session volume, particularly in live dealer and in-play markets. This change in structural format has fundamentally altered the pattern of how betting sessions are initiated and conducted.

Sport preferences among bettors vary considerably across different groups. The sport generating the most engagement globally remains football, while basketball and American football lead in specific segments. The following list covers the verified sport-level patterns among global sports bettors as of 2026 research:

• Football dominance: football remains the powerhouse of the industry, commanding nearly two-thirds of all global online sports betting activity.

• Generational preferences: basketball is the preferred choice for bettors under 35, while American football sees its highest engagement levels among older participants.

• Prop betting surge: roughly 75% of global bettors now engage with prop markets, cementing it as one of the most popular wagering formats.

• Live betting takeover: in-play wagering has officially overtaken pre-match betting as the primary format, now accounting for the majority of all sports betting handle.

Prop bets have recently gained significant popularity in online sports betting. They are wagers placed not on match results but on specific events that may occur during a game, which fits the profile of modern sports bettors who prefer following sport in real time across multiple simultaneous events.

The table below shows the main verified patterns in active sports bettors' behaviour in 2025 and 2026 according to current market research. These patterns reflect a market that has matured considerably over the past three years, with mobile platforms, prop markets and weekly engagement all rising simultaneously.

The shift toward mobile as the primary access point has had a cascading effect on session frequency, market diversity and the pace at which new formats like in-play and prop betting have been adopted across the active bettor base. Understanding these patterns is useful context for anyone following sport through a betting platform, because they reveal not just how often people bet but how the structure of a typical betting session has changed compared to even two years ago.

Weekly betting frequency in online sports betting has increased consistently, which means the need for responsible engagement tools on licensed platforms is greater than at any previous point. Most licensed platforms now offer deposit limits, session time reminders and self-exclusion options as standard features, and using these tools before a session begins rather than during one is the most effective approach for keeping engagement within chosen boundaries across a full week of activity.