New Study Reveals Women’s Sports Betting Growth

During the iGaming Business Live! Confab in Amsterdam, a new study surrounding women’s sports wagering was unveiled. The study that was dubbed, “Breaking barriers: Assessing Women’s Sports, Betting and Integrity Challenges,” was conducted by the German Sports University Cologne. It examined the size and characteristics of women’s sports wagering.

The study focused on five sports: soccer, tennis, basketball, cricket, and volleyball. Results indicate that more women are watching and wagering on women’s sports than ever. This is caused by the growing popularity of women’s sports and the accessibility of the best sports betting sites.

Women’s Sports Seeing Major wagering Activity

Per the study, women’s soccer wagering saw the most activity and annual growth. Since 2017, women’s soccer wagering is up approximately 20% and has doubled among female bettors. This development is reflective of the overall increase in popularity of women’s soccer in recent years, as sports betting has ballooned globally.

Moreover, the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup is projected to become the most attended women’s sporting event in history. A reported 1,032,884 tickets have already been sold for the event.

Wagers for women’s tennis, basketball, and cricket have each seen roughly 10% growth from 2017-2022, too.

The study also revealed a 62% growth rate of data coverage by Stats Perform of women’s soccer, basketball, and cricket between 2019-20. This rise indicates more attention from fans on these women’s sporting events.

What The Study Says About future progress

The data certainly reveals that women’s sporting events have grown in parallel to the growing popularity of betting. This maturation will ultimately see benefits for women’s sports and sports betting as a whole.

Growth and attention to women’s sports give more opportunities for athletes. Sportsbooks also see more action throughout the year with added attention to women’s sporting events.

“The dramatic growth of women’s sports is a hugely positive development — for sports lovers, the sports and athletes themselves, and also for the betting market,” Khalid Ali, CEO of the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA), said. “It is creating very significant and untapped opportunities for sports betting. However, with increased growth comes an increased responsibility for ensuring we get ahead of the game when it comes to sports integrity and the fight against match-fixing in women’s sports. There is no room for complacency.”

As fans and sportsbooks prepare for Women’s World Cup betting, the study shows that women’s sports are in a great spot. Alongside sports betting, women’s sports engagement is only expected to gain additional steam in the near future.