The 2022 World Cup in Qatar started on November 20 and will continue until December 18. The World Cup is expected to draw 5 billion viewers, making it the most-watched sporting event in history. For US stock investors, the following stocks are worthy of attention during the World Cup.

 

The sports betting industry may be the most affected by the World Cup. Since 2014, there has been a wave of legalization in the sports betting industry. Sports betting reporter Geoff Zochonde predicts that DraftKings (DKNG.US) and Flutter Entertainment (PDYPY.US) FanDuel will get a significant boost from the World Cup. He also believes the World Cup could be an opportunity for smaller U.S. bookmakers with roots abroad to showcase a deeper gaming market to U.S. customers.

 

 

Will Hershey, an analyst at Roundhill Investment, a well-known investment company, believes that the World Cup may benefit Entain (GMVHY.US) and European gaming stocks such as Kindred Group and 888 Holdings. Analysts also pointed to MGM (MGM.US) and Caesars Entertainment (CZR.US ) also benefiting from World Cup promotions. Smaller bookmakers like Bettson, Bet365 and Super Group's (SGHC.US ) Betway are likely to see big growth in the fourth quarter.

 

Outside of the sports betting industry, BofA expects beer sales at Ambev SA (ABEV.US), the largest brewer in Latin America and the fourth largest in the world, to typically ramp up during the World Cup. Evercore ISI believes that the global attention to the World Cup will bring great benefits to Budweiser InBev (BUD.US) in this quarter. Just a fraction of AB InBev's overall earnings from the World Cup.

 

The cryptocurrency market is hoping to create some positive news at the World Cup after a disastrous two weeks following the FTX crash. Investors will see promotions including fan tokens, Web 3.0, NFT-powered trading games, branded NFTs, and the Metaverse, with Roblox (RBLX.US) and Binance expected to be the focus of the World Cup.

 

 

In addition, Wells Fargo believes that the unique timing of the World Cup during the festive period provides an advantage for Electronic Arts (EA.US) to release the "FIFA" video game. Looking at it more broadly, Wells Fargo believes one of the main winners of this World Cup could be host country Qatar. The World Cup is expected to elevate Qatar's standing on the global stage and give it greater leverage in future economic affairs. Companies with business relationships in Qatar include: JetBlue Airways (JBLU.US), ConocoPhillips (COP.US), ExxonMobil (XOM.US) and Total (TTE.US). The iShares MSCI Qatar ETF (QAT.US) is up 3.67% so far this year, topping most global stock market indexes.