Betting on Women’s vs Men’s Sports – Economic Divide and Early Momentum: Part 1

Author: Matthew Haynes

The global sports betting industry has long functioned as a reflection of wider cultural patterns. It has mirrored the dominance of men's competitions, the fascination with star athletes, and the willingness of audiences to channel their passion into wagers. Yet over the past decade, a subtle but significant change has emerged. Women's sport, once pushed to the margins both in terms of media coverage and betting markets, is beginning to find its place.

This transformation has not exactly been uniform. Men's sport continues to attract the lion's share of betting volume, sponsorship, and coverage, with many competitions operating on an entirely different scale from their female equivalents. Yet there are areas where progress is evident, from the sudden growth of betting on women's football tournaments to the symbolic equalisation of prize money in tennis. In order to understand the extent of this shift, it is necessary to examine specific sports, compare commercial and cultural realities, and consider the way betting both shapes and responds to demand.

The Economic Divide in Basketball

Basketball is perhaps the most useful example when it comes to comparing men's and women's sports within the same discipline. The National Basketball Association is one of the most lucrative sporting enterprises on the planet. Teams such as the Los Angeles Lakers or the Golden State Warriors are valued in the billions, and global broadcasting contracts provide the league with staggering revenues.

For bettors, the NBA is an extraordinary playground. Every match generates an array of markets, with thousands of opportunities ranging from the final score to obscure player statistics. The data underpinning these wagers is vast. Advanced analytics at NBA.com allow bettors to interrogate shooting percentages, efficiency ratings, defensive metrics and even possession usage. The league is awash with statistical richness, and this makes it a paradise for those who employ modelling and prediction systems. The scale of NBA wagering has also exposed the league to integrity risks, with recent NBA betting scandals involving Jontay Porter, Malik Beasley and federal probes highlighting how closely sportsbooks and regulators now monitor performance-linked betting activity.

The Women's National Basketball Association is in a very different financial position. Average attendance for WNBA games sits at roughly a third of the NBA's figure, and broadcasting rights are sold at a fraction of the value. Salaries reflect this gulf, and the ongoing debate around WNBA salary vs NBA earnings highlights how revenue disparities continue to define investment, media exposure, and ultimately betting volume across the two leagues. The comparison is stark and exposes the scale of commercial inequality.

Basketball offers the clearest illustration of how commercial scale shapes betting demand. The contrast in WNBA vs NBA viewership feeds directly into pricing depth, liquidity and promotional focus, with the NBA generating audiences that dwarf its female counterpart. That imbalance in attention inevitably influences how sportsbooks allocate markets, visibility and promotional spend across the two leagues.

Yet 2024 marked a watershed moment. WNBA betting futures increased by 78% in tickets and 145% by handle year-over-year at BetMGM, while ESPN BET reported a 150% spike in WNBA betting handle. Google search interest surged 583% from 2023 to 2024, reaching over ten million searches. The Caitlin Clark effect proved transformative, with Indiana and Chicago garnering unprecedented championship betting action.

The difference also plays out in the betting landscape. WNBA matches are offered across major sportsbooks, yet the depth of markets rarely approaches that of the NBA. Data is available through the official league site, but it does not reach the same level of sophistication or breadth. For professional bettors, this presents a mixed picture. On the one hand, the smaller sample sizes and less liquid markets mean opportunities exist where bookmakers may have mispriced odds. On the other hand, it is difficult to sustain large-scale betting when the maximum stake limits are lower, and liquidity is thin. The WNBA is therefore caught in a space where dedicated followers can find value, but mass-market adoption remains distant.

The Demographic Shift: Who Is Placing Bets

The composition of the betting market itself is evolving. As of 2024, approximately 25% of sports bettors in the United States are women, with global participation reaching 30%. This represents significant growth from previous years, with a 115% increase in women signing up for mobile sports betting apps between 2020 and 2023.

Regional variations reveal interesting patterns. New Mexico leads with 35% female participation despite lacking online betting, followed by Iowa at 32% and Virginia at 29%. States with accessible online platforms see women embracing sports betting at accelerating rates, challenging the traditional male-dominated perception of the industry.

The psychology behind this change is revealing. Bettors are drawn not simply to markets but to narratives. The success of England's Lionesses, the charisma of Megan Rapinoe, or the rise of (Caitlin) Clark in college and professional basketball all serve as storylines that bring casual fans into betting environments. The act of wagering often follows attention, and attention in women's sport has grown thanks to media coverage and cultural momentum.

Growth in Betting on Women's Competitions

While disparities are clear, women's sport has undeniably become a growth area for sportsbooks. Reports from operators such as Flutter Entertainment have indicated that women's sport betting activity more than doubled in the early 2020s, with football leading the surge. Similar trends were reflected in a BetMGM report on rising women’s team betting, which highlighted sharp increases in WNBA and women’s NCAA wagering alongside record World Cup activity. This spike in handle surprised even seasoned bookmakers.

During the 2023 Women's World Cup, female bettors accounted for 21% of wagers on England's first three matches, compared with 17% during the 2022 Women's Euros and just 13% during the 2019 World Cup. The final between Spain and England generated solid handle with steady action, demonstrating sustained commercial interest beyond casual viewership.

Still, growth begins from a smaller base. On online forums devoted to football betting, there is frequent acknowledgement that most wagers on women's competitions are tied to major tournaments rather than domestic leagues. The Women's Super League in England or the NWSL in the United States remain modest betting products outside of finals or high-profile matches. Bookmakers mirror this demand by limiting the breadth of markets, offering lower maximum stakes, and often giving women's fixtures less visibility on their platforms.

Viewership, Salaries and Commercial Power

The imbalance between men's and women's sport is most plainly demonstrated by television audiences and the financial packages that follow them. NBA Finals games attract audiences well above fifteen million in the United States, creating the kind of spectacle that advertisers and broadcasters covet. The WNBA Finals, though passionately supported, typically draw audiences below one million. That scale inevitably filters down into every other aspect of the sport, from salaries to sponsorships to merchandising.

A rookie in the NBA can earn more than the highest-paid star in the WNBA. A'ja Wilson or Breanna Stewart may be icons of their league, yet their salaries remain in the hundreds of thousands rather than the millions. Despite increased revenue streams through capital raising, renegotiated media rights, expansion fees, and strategic partnerships, the WNBA still operated at an estimated fifty-million-dollar loss in 2024.

From a betting perspective, the implication is simple. Operators design their platforms around the largest audiences and the most profitable products. It is rational for sportsbooks to flood the NBA market with options and promotions because the underlying demand is immense. The WNBA, while significant in cultural terms, is not yet able to command the same commercial force.

The broader landscape of women’s vs men’s sports betting reveals both imbalance and momentum. Basketball highlights the commercial gulf but also the sharp rise in betting interest around the WNBA, while demographic data shows that the bettor base itself is changing. Yet these shifts represent only part of the broader transformation underway. In the second part, we turn to football’s rapid expansion, tennis’ unique position of symbolic equality, and the deeper psychological forces shaping how and why people place their bets.