Study: Football Betting Attracts Twice as Many Female Since 2020

A new study reveals that the number of women betting on sports has doubled since 2020, with football showing the highest growth rate among 5 popular sports.

The study, presented at the iGaming Business Live! conference in Amsterdam, looked at the size and features of the betting market on women’s sports, focusing on five sports: football, tennis, basketball, cricket, and volleyball.

Football betting was the leader of the pack, growing by 20% annually since 2020. The number of women betting on football also doubled. Tennis, basketball, and cricket saw annual growth of over 10% from 2017 to 2022, with more women and men betting on women’s sports

“We are about to witness the best attended and most watched women’s World Cup ever, and where soccer leads other women’s sports are quickly following. The dramatic growth of women’s sports is a huge positive – for fans, the sports and athletes themselves, and also for the betting market. It is creating significant and untapped opportunities for sports betting. However, with increased growth, comes an increased responsibility for ensuring we stay ahead of the game when it comes to sports integrity and the fight against match-fixing in women’s sport”, stated Khalid Ali, the CEO of IBIA, in a press release.

The study also found that match-fixing in women’s sports happens much less often than in men’s sports, but there is not enough data to draw firm conclusions. To address this, the researchers suggested several ways to boost integrity in women’s sports, such as:

• Improving monitoring and cooperation between sports authorities, betting operators, and law enforcement agencies.
• Developing specific and tailored education and communication programs for athletes, coaches, and support staff to raise awareness about the risks of corruption and match-fixing and help create and reinforce a culture of integrity.
• Promoting fair wages and economic transparency in women’s sports to reduce the risk of corruption and match-fixing.