While women’s sports receives less than 15% of total sports media coverage, WNBA stars Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese have captured a unique segment in the betting market
Backed by a new study published in the Journal of Gambling Business and Economics, a 2020 prediction is starting to be proven right.
Half a decade ago, it was suggested that sports betting could boost fan engagement in women’s sports. While interest for gambling existed then, there was a wide gap in media coverage and promotions, compared to men’s sports.
Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark and Chicago Sky’s Angel Reese are changing all that. The basketball stars had electrifying rookie seasons in the WNBA and have done a lot towards popularizing the sport.
Apart from their popularity, which led to a rise in fan engagement, there was also a notable interest among sports bettors. The global sports betting market is valued at approximately $102.21 billion in 2025 and is only projected to get bigger in the coming decade.
Women’s sports could benefit from the increasing trend of fans betting on games involving star female athletes. Dr. Gina Pauline, the study’s co-author and an Associate Professor of Sport Management at Syracuse University, observed that the growing star power among players correlated to the rising popularity of the women’s game.
She noted that: “The growth of women’s sports over the past few years has been remarkable. We wanted to explore a potential pillar of this growth and increased fan engagement by taking a look at women’s basketball, specifically due to the star power within the sport.”
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