Caitlin Clark may no longer be at Iowa, but her impact is still being felt throughout women’s college basketball.
Take, for example, this weekend. All eyes will be on the Final Four in Tampa, Fla.
Interest is still booming. Across all platforms, viewership remains up. Attendance has dipped a tad, though this year’s figures are still historically high.
Among those reaping the benefits: U.S. sportsbooks.
More and more people are betting on women’s basketball. BetMGM reported prior to the tournament that total wagers had increased 35% from last season, when the sharpshooting Clark was the main attraction. And since 2022-23, the amount has skyrocketed nearly 600%.
“She (Clark) got the ball rolling,” BetMGM sports trader Hannah Luther told RG. “That’s a good way to put it. You didn’t see women’s basketball players on TV five years ago. Now you’ve got five or six of them in commercials — better TV coverage, more high-profile players.”
From UConn’s Paige Bueckers to JuJu Watkins, Flau’Jae Johnson and Hailey Van Lith, women’s basketball is still oozing star power. And that’s just the short list.
Comparing this year’s tournament to 2024, BetMGM’s handle is up 5%. While that’s not a significant jump, more growth is expected as the tournament reaches its conclusion. Friday’s national semifinals at Amalie Arena will feature a pair of heavyweight matchups, with South Carolina playing Texas, followed by UConn taking on UCLA.
Although No. 2 UConn is the lowest seed remaining, the record 11-time national champion — and, not to mention, the sport’s biggest brand — has separated itself as a -165 favorite at BetMGM to cut down the nets. That’s largely because of Bueckers, the presumptive No. 1 pick in the upcoming WNBA Draft.
Bueckers is averaging 29 points on 58.7% shooting in the tournament, including a 40-point effort in the Sweet 16 against Oklahoma.
Defending champion South Carolina is next in the futures market at +275, followed by UCLA at +800 and Texas at +850.
Thirty-eight states and Washington, D.C., now have legalized sports betting, though not all offer college player props. Even though these bets make up a small percentage of BetMGM’s overall handle, they have still been key drivers of growth.
Unsurprisingly, Bueckers has been the tournament’s most bet-on player, according to Luther. USC’s Watkins, the Naismith National Player of the Year, was right there too prior to her season-ending knee injury in the second round. There’s also been a lot of action on TCU’s Van Lith and Sedona Prince, UCLA’s Lauren Betts, and Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo.
Luther said the sportsbook has been looking for ways to keep pace with the growing momentum around women’s basketball, including offering more games and an unprecedented number of markets.
“We definitely plan to continue expanding in future years,” Luther said.
“We’re putting up player props and halftime props earlier this year. Last year, I think we started in the Elite Eight. As long as we can continue to see growth, we’ll continue to give more people things to bet on.”
The same goes for the WNBA, whose season tips off May 16. Handle was up 96% year-over-year during Clark’s rookie season with the Indiana Fever.
“A lot of that was Caitlin Clark,” Luther said, “but we did see a lot of increase in player props and teams that weren’t the Indiana Fever. It’s definitely encouraging to see that as well. We are working on our WNBA offerings, continuing to expand those.”
Doug is a seasoned sports writer/editor with bylines for the New York Times, Associated Press and CBS Sports. He also has extensive experience in the betting industry, including work for Point Spreads. Prior to that, he covered UConn women's basketball and football for Hearst Connecticut Media.
