Women’s NCAA sports betting breaks records ahead of Final Four, led by Caitlin Clark obsession
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Expectations are high for tonight’s women’s NCAA Final Four, with the cheapest tickets for the women’s games outpacing the cheapest men’s tickets by about $200, according to data from StubHub early this morning.
In addition to increasing ticket prices, the number of bets on women’s NCAA games has reached record numbers, creating an opportunity for U.S. sports betting operators. Monday’s Iowa-LSU Elite Eight matchup, featuring stars Kaitlyn Clark and Angel Reyes, showed how profitable these matchups can be.
Online sports betting site BetMGM said Fast company in an email stating that the game was the most bet on women’s sporting event of all time, beating last year’s championship. Additionally, the women’s NCAA Tournament games that night outperformed all six NBA games on their platform in total bets and handle (amount of money wagered).
Overall, sports betting has been on the rise all year. According to the American Gaming Association, $23.1 billion was bet on the 2024 Super Bowl, which represents a 35% increase from 2023. By comparison, only $4.6 billion was bet on the Super Bowl in 2018, the year it was canceled Supreme Court Ruling 1992 Federal Ban on Sports Betting.
Now, in-person betting has been legalized in 38 states and the District of Columbia, and 30 states allow online betting. Bettors are set to legally bet up to $2.72 billion on the 2024 March Madness tournament, according to estimates from the American Gaming Association.
But while increased legalization contributed to overall increased betting in the March Madness season, Caitlin Clarke mania played a big role. huge BetMGM said.
“Everyone wants to bet on its games, and that will come into play later,” the company said.
As the season continues and demand for games increases, BetMGM has increased its offerings, noting that there is a huge appetite for Caitlin Clark player props (betting on how a particular player will perform). As of Monday, Clarke’s player props had received the second-highest number of bets out of all the women and men in the tournament.
Online platform Fanatics Sportsbook saw similar record numbers, noting that the Iowa-LSU matchup “was in a league of its own” in women’s play.
According to the company’s analysis, the game received more than twice as many tickets (bets) than any other contest in the women’s tournament, with the second-highest bet game — the USC-UConn matchup — falling on Monday. Iowa-LSU has the 16th largest pregame moneyline (multi-number bet amount) and live handle for any championship game at Fanatics Sportsbook, beating out men’s championship matchups including North Carolina-Alabama.
Heading into tonight’s Final Four, sports betting operators expect to continue setting records.
“It’s fair to say we’ll break another record next Iowa game. . . . With a Final Four game, there’s going to be a lot of interest on Friday night,” said Kevin Hennessey of Fanatics Sportsbook. Fast company.
According to fanatics, Iowa He actually generated more moneyline handles for tonight’s game than the two men’s semifinalists, UConn and Alabama.
Looking to the future, the popularity of the women’s NCAA Tournament could extend betting beyond college basketball, to leagues like the WNBA and women’s soccer, creating opportunity for the industry.
“It will be interesting to see if the NBA can continue the momentum that college stars have seen,” Hennessy said.
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