NFL Bettors are Driven by Fandom, Prefer Live Action per New Study
Jori Negin-Shecter• News Editor5+ years betting experience
Updated:
Sep 4, 2026 , 10:59 AM ET
• 4 min read
Optimove’s latest study ahead of NFL kickoff has unearthed a host of fascinating findings on betting habits when it comes to The Shield.
NFL fans are gearing up for the regular season with a Super Bowl rematch this coming Wednesday, and a new study shows fans are likely to put their money where their mouth is too.
Key Takeaways:
- Optimove’s latest NFL betting study found that 90% of bettors are certain or likely to wager on games involving their favourite team.
- Live betting is highly popular, with 84% of bettors typically wagering during games.
- The regular season is expected to drive more betting activity than the postseason.
A new report from Optimove on upcoming betting habits shows that fans overwhelmingly prefer to bet on their favourite teams, with most bettors typically placing live bets during the action.
Per Optimove, as much as 84% of bettors typically live bet, with most driven by on-field performance, and more interestingly, team loyalty.
“Intentions collected in August describe a starting position, not a season,” said Pini Yakuel, CEO of Optimove. “By Week 11 a bettor’s team may be eliminated from contention, they may be making live bets, and their weekly budget may already be spent. The sportsbook still needs real-time insights to know which of those is true.”
Indeed, the study found that 90% of bettors were either certain or likely to bet on games with their favourite team involved, with that number dipping to a still strong 78% saying they intend to after their team is eliminated.
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Surprising findings on when bettors get involved
Beyond what leads bettors to wager, including the latest Super Bowl odds, the study found a surprising spread in when bettors intend to be most active. Despite the high intensity of January and February playoff football, most bettors shared that the regular season, with its scheduling consistency, is where they intend to spend most of their energy.
“Seventy-eight percent (78%) of bettors expect to wager during the regular season, while individual postseason stages draw between 40% and 50%,” the study outlines. “The weekly rhythm of regular-season games, not the marquee January and February playoff events, is where the majority of planned activity sits.”
Optimove’s study, which also explored betting preferences such as preferred bet (point spread) and betting budget (typically week-to-week), the study also found a compelling answer as to how bettors prefer to be contacted.
Overwhelmingly, bettors looked to mobile applications as their primary means of contact, with upwards of 53% of bettors sharing it as one of their three preferred methods. Email and text messages, 36% each, were a distant second and third.
“Getting the right message to the right bettor at the right moment across an eighteen-week season means thousands of small decisions about who to contact, with what message, on which channel, and when to stop,” Yakuel added. “Often marketing organizations aren’t restill decides what a bettor should see. AI is what gets it in front of them the same week.”
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Jori Negin-Shecter
News Editor
Jori Negin-Shecter is a sports writer and podcast host, with previous work featured in publications including Sportsnet.ca, Yahoo Sports Canada, and the Nation Network. In addition to joining Covers in 2024 as a contributor, Jori also works as an Associate Producer on Sportsnet Central, and co-hosts the Bird’s Eye View Podcast, a show focused on the Toronto Blue Jays.
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