With soccer’s Women’s World Cup poised to be perhaps the most-watched women’s sporting event of all time once it kicks off next week, a group of European sports betting leaders has released a global study titled “Breaking Barriers: Assessing Women’s Sports, Betting, and Integrity Challenges.”
The study, conducted by the German Sports University Cologne and unveiled at the iGaming Business Live! confab in Amsterdam on Wednesday, looked at the size and characteristics of the women’s sports betting market by focusing on five sports: soccer, tennis, basketball, cricket, and volleyball.
Among this quintet, soccer wagering led the way, exhibiting an annual growth rate of 20% since 2020 and more than doubling the level of participation of female bettors along the way. Tennis, basketball, and cricket showed annual growth of over 10% from 2017 to 2022, while the total volume of bets placed on women’s sports grew more among women and men.
“The dramatic growth of women’s sports is a hugely positive development — for sports lovers, the sports and athletes themselves, and also for the betting market,” Khalid Ali, CEO of the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA), said in a press release. “It is creating very significant and untapped opportunities for sports betting. However, with increased growth comes an increased responsibility for ensuring we get ahead of the game when it comes to sports integrity and the fight against match-fixing in women’s sport. There is no room for complacency.”
Education key to combating match-fixing
While the study concluded that match-fixing in women’s sports occurs with far less frequency than with men, there’s not enough data to draw clear conclusions. To this end, the study authors made a series of recommendations to bolster integrity in women’s sports, including:
- Strengthening monitoring and enhancing cooperation between sports governing bodies, betting operators, and law enforcement agencies
- Developing tailored education and communication programs for athletes, coaches, and support staff to raise awareness about the risks of corruption and match-fixing
- Promoting fair wages and economic transparency in women’s sports to reduce the risk of corruption and match-fixing
“This study wants to be the beginning of a conversation with the betting industry on how it addresses women’s sports,” said Christina Thakor-Rankin, co-founder of the All-in Diversity Project. “By understanding what this new and rapidly evolving landscape looks like, we put ourselves in the best possible position to keep customers, sports betting operators, athletes, and sport safe for all.”
In addition to All-in and the IBIA, the study was sponsored by Entain, Flutter, and Stats Perform.
