Entering a new era of sports history
It was the last home game of the season when Caitlin Clark stepped to the line with just 0.3 seconds left in the first half. The Iowa Hawkeyes superstar coolly drained a pair of free throws, shattering the all-time college basketball scoring mark in front of a record TV audience. A month later, the NCAA championship game between Iowa and South Carolina drew peak viewership of 24 million people, surpassing the men's title game for the first time.
We’re entering a new era in sports history: one where women’s sports are front and center. Iconic athletes such as Caitlin Clark, tennis star Coco Gauff, and swimmer Katie Ledecky are impressing fans with their highlight-reel feats, and crowds are lining up to watch them perform.
Indeed, the first month of the WNBA 2024 season saw the league’s highest attendance in 26 years, with views nearly tripling last season’s average, while opening night saw a significant rise in bet count, according to data from FanDuel, Flutter’s leading U.S. sports betting brand.
The growing enthusiasm for women’s sports reaches beyond basketball. In 2023, the Women’s World Cup was the 3rd biggest soccer competition of the year by volume for Sportsbet, Flutter’s market leading Australian betting brand, behind only the Men’s World Cup and the English Premier League.
The momentum is two-fold: Women’s sports are bringing in the previously underrepresented female demographic, as well as helping male sports fans discover captivating new storylines, rivalries and drama. A recent survey found that 90% of men and women sports bettors expect to watch the same amount or more of women’s sports over the next year.
“Our customers are demanding women’s sports more than ever"
Parlaying women’s sports into growth
Sportsbooks have an immense opportunity to enable this growing wave of women’s sports fans to engage with their favorite teams, participate on game days, and build community.
Here are three ways Flutter is parlaying this trend into future growth:
- Creating parity drives broader interest
- Developing partnerships to create a rising tide
- Bringing in a new generation of fans
1. Creating parity drives broader interest
The 2024 Paris Olympics made history as the first to feature an equal number of men and women athletes, and women’s events had the same amount of prime-time slots as the men’s.
That helped reverse a trend of declining Olympics viewership. In one memorable moment, nearly 13 million people in the U.S. tuned in on a Tuesday afternoon to watch Simone Biles and Team USA win gold. And women’s sports moments frequently went viral, such as the U.S. women’s rugby team’s exhilarating bronze-medal win.
And the interest didn’t stop there, it carried over to betting: 24% of all Olympics bets placed through FanDuel were on Women’s events, with 60% of Olympics soccer bets placed on women’s matches and 79% of gymnastics wagers on women’s events.
Drawing more fans and bettors means being intentional about including women’s events in sports entertainment, such as by providing more forecasts and betting options for these contests and giving fans ways to engage with their favorite stars.
2. Developing partnerships to create a rising tide
Equality is a team sport — no one company can accomplish it alone. That means reaching out to leagues, teams, players, and industry associations to understand the nuances of the women’s game and what audiences want. It means listening and learning, and working together so that everyone benefits by delivering a fun and positive experience for fans.
To that end, Flutter is investing more than ever to meet growing demand for women’s sports. In 2017, we became the first major fantasy operator to launch a dedicated WNBA game. Since then, we’ve launched partnerships with the WNBA, the Indiana Fever, and the Women’s Tennis Association.
“As the audience for women’s sports continue to grow at an unprecedented rate, our partnership landscape is evolving to reflect new investments centered on female sports, commented Suzanne Brower, Talent Partnerships, Senior Director, FanDuel. We are proud to have notable talent ambassadors who are supporting women’s leagues and authentically engaging with betting content around women’s sports, and to sustain momentum, we will continue to partner with ambassadors who support and engage in betting women’s sports."
3. Bringing in a new generation of fans
Today, many fans follow and interact with their favorite athletes on social media. Sports entertainment offers another way for these digital and mobile natives to feel like they have a stake in the athletes and stories they care about.
To see the potential in engaging female audiences, just look at video games. Twenty years ago, video games were dominated by younger men. Today, the average player age is 36, and women make up nearly half of gamers, a vibrant market that has spurred creativity and growth.
When it comes to sports, every game and every season tells a story. Through compelling digital offerings, sportsbooks can help a new generation of fans engage with female athletes and their ongoing narratives.
More than a moment
The rise of women’s sports is an inspiring trend that promises to drive growth for the entire sports entertainment industry, and it’s just getting started.
“It’s translating into betting, more people watching a sport, people engaging in a sport that they may not have in the past, because now they have some skin in the game,” commented Jen Matthews, Vice President, Brand Strategy, FanDuel. We are making every moment count more for our fans.”
Just as Caitlin Clark’s future looks bright, the surge in women’s sports isn’t just a fleeting moment. It’s a powerful movement reshaping the landscape of sports entertainment. Women’s sports are here to stay, driving growth and excitement for generations to come.
Learn more about Flutter’s strategy for long-term growth.
