Picture this: It’s the night of Selection Sunday. Both the men’s and women’s tournament brackets are set. You log onto a sportsbook and see that you can wager on every scheduled men’s game. Depending on what state you’re in, you can bet on futures, specific rounds of the tournament, game lines, spread, player props and team props.
But the odds for the women’s games? Nowhere to be found.
The next day, Monday morning, still crickets.
A year ago, I wrote an article exploring the question of whether sportsbooks were keeping up with the growing popularity of women’s college basketball. The answer then was a resounding no. In all honesty, I set out to write this article expecting that I would find a similarly negative trend. And on the Monday morning after this year’s Selection Sunday, it looked like sportsbooks were behind the ball yet again.
But, slowly, a few markets started to roll in. DraftKings added the women’s tournament to its “popular” tab and had a point spread for every scheduled game, though not always a moneyline or total. FanDuel put up some game lines and player props for big names like Angel Reese (LSU), JuJu Watkins (USC), Hannah Hidalgo (Notre Dame), Paige Bueckers (UConn) — and a separate tab just for “Caitlin Clark Specials.”
The “Caitlin Clark effect” has hit sportsbooks.
(Note: The so-called “Caitlin Clark effect” — increased attention, viewership, ticket sales and profits in the women’s game — is bigger than just one player. Although Clark is likely the biggest factor this year, we might also call it the Angel Reese Rise, the South Carolina Surge … I could go on, but I will spare you.)
Ultimately, what I found in my research this year was a more positive trend than I expected in the number and variety of markets on women’s college hoops year over year — but still a massive opportunity gap between the men’s and women’s tournaments.
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Women’s college basketball has made huge strides. How have sportsbooks responded?
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