Women's Sports and Betting are Changing the Game

The study confirms that women’s sports have witnessed a remarkable increase in popularity in the last five years. For instance, the Women’s Euros final in 2023 broke the record for attendance with 87,192 spectators for any Euros final, men or women. The 2019 Women’s World Cup also attracted 1.12 billion viewers across all platforms. The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup is expected to set new records for attendance and viewing, with one million tickets already sold.

Women’s sport has also benefited from more sponsorship and investment. Prestige brands such as Visa have shown their support for women’s sports. In 2023, the Women’s Premier League received one of the largest financial boosts in the history of women’s cricket when five teams were auctioned for more than $570 million.

Betting on Women’s Sports

The study also analyses how the rapid growth of women’s sports has influenced the number of bettors, bets placed and betting volume. It also assesses whether specific features or preferences exist for women’s sports betting. Moreover, the study evaluates the potential integrity threats to women’s sports, such as match-fixing, level of play, involved stakeholders and financial and sports consequences.

Dr Sören Dallmeyer, a professor at the German Sport University Cologne, said that as women’s sports continue to gain popularity, so does the expansion of sports betting within this domain. He said that one of their roles as a research institution is to study this fast growth closely and to identify where threats to the sport’s integrity may emerge and how to best address them with evidence-based data and strategies.

Christina Thakor-Rankin, Co-Founder of All-In Diversity Project, said that the rise in women’s sports is bringing in a new, younger and more female generation of sports bettors whose attitude and approach to betting is very different from male bettors. She said this has implications for sports integrity, trading practices, market-making, and safe gambling. She said that by understanding what this new and rapidly evolving landscape looks like, they can ensure the safety of customers, sports betting operators, athletes and sport for all.

iGB LIVE to launch a ground-breaking study on women’s sport and sports Betting

Betting on Women’s Sports