More Women Than Ever Betting On Sports

Author:

Edward Champion

Publish Date:

24/06/2022

Experiences:

Seasoned veteran in the world of gambling writing

The FSGA (Fantasy Sports and Gaming Association) has released a year-long study on various trends across the sports betting and fantasy sports industries. One of the most significant findings of the study was the large increase in women placing sports bets.

Growth across the board in sports betting

The FSGA unveiled the findings from a year-long study conducted on their behalf at their summer conference in Detroit. Their data was extremely positive for all areas of the sports betting industry. Significant overall growth was to be expected as many states have recently legalized sports betting, but the positive findings extended beyond simple increases due to more Americans than ever having access to a legal sports betting site.

The study highlighted the large increase in the number of women who place sports wagers at online sports betting sites, somewhat surprising given the stereotypical perception that both sports and gambling are hobbies traditionally enjoyed by men. In 2019, a year after the Supreme Court struck down the federal ban on sports betting but still before the majority of currently-legal states began allowing bets, 9.2 million females bet on sports, representing 20% of all sports bettors. The current study reports more than 20 million female sports bettors, more than doubling the past total and increasing the female portion of bettors to a whopping 34%.

Not a man’s world any more

Betting on sports has traditionally been a male-dominated pastime, but that is all changing. The data is clear that women are driving a significant portion of the growth in sports betting, as their increases in participation far outweigh increases among men. The newly legal access makes any sports bettor feel more comfortable as they know they can bet with a regulated and reputable sportsbook, but it likely has helped to spur the influx of female bettors in particular as legal and safe sportsbooks from top bookmakers are more accessible to new bettors. The increased confidence as well as better educational materials help to get past gatekeeping that has perpetuated the male-dominated status of the sports betting hobby.

In addition to an increase in women betting on sports as a hobby, female sharp bettors are becoming more visible as well. The MLB Network’s “Bettor’s Eye” show features a variety of guests including some females, notably Lucy Burdge. Burdge has a large social media following and provides top notch sports betting content to those that follow along. Erin Kate Dolan contributes to FanDuel and ESPN as well as hosting her own sports betting show on SiriusXM. “Kelly in Vegas” is a contributor to Barstool Sports as well as boasting a following of over 200,000 who are tracking her betting advice.

More diversity is great for the industry

The world of sports betting is definitely one that benefits from having a larger player pool as well as more top minds working to innovate. The FSGA Chair Stacie Stern (also known as the First Lady of Fantasy Sports) expressed her enthusiasm over the increased female participation as the organization released their findings.

The significant growth of female participation is a great sign for the industry, but there is still plenty of room for even more growth. Previous studies on women sport bettors indicate that younger females make up a large amount of the influx, indicating that the current data shows just the tip of the iceberg as to where the industry will go in the years to come.