The International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA), All-In Diversity Project (AIDP), Entain, Flutter, and Stats Perform will unveil the results of a ground breaking study on women’s sports and women in sports betting, “Breaking Barriers: Assessing Women’s Sports Growth, Betting Trends, and Integrity Challenges,” during the 2023 edition of iGB L!VE in Amsterdam on 12 July.
The study, conducted by the German Sport University Cologne, analyses the economic development of five women’s sports: soccer, tennis, basketball, cricket, and volleyball. For the very first time it also takes a deep dive into the betting trends in women’s sports and examines the integrity of women’s sports.
Khalid Ali, IBIA CEO said: “Women’s sport has moved from the margins to the mainstream – it is the future of sport and sports betting. That is why understanding the transformation of women’s sports and what it means for the sports betting market and sports integrity is so important. With the Women’s Football World Cup due to start in July this is a great moment to kick-off the conversation about women’s sports, betting and integrity. We look forward to presenting the results of the study at iGB L!VE!”
The data confirms that the last 5 years have seen a dramatic rise in the popularity of women’s sports across the world. For example, last’s year’s Women’s Euros final set a new record for attendance of 87,192 for any Euros final, men or women, and the 2019 Women’s World Cup was also watched by 1.12 billion people across all platforms. 1 million tickets have already been sold for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup and it is set new records for attendance and viewing.
The growth of women’s sports is not just visible in soccer. Both women’s rugby and cricket are seeing similar popularity surges, with both World Cups attracting record crowds and viewers as mainstream broadcasters wake-up to the massive potential of women’s sport.
Sponsorship and investment are also on the rise. Women’s sport is attracting prestige brands, such as Visa, and in 2023, the Women’s Premier League saw one of the largest financial injections in the history of women’s cricket when five teams were auctioned for more than $570 million.
The study also analyses how the rapid growth of women’s sport is impacting on the number of bettors, bets placed, and betting volume, and assesses whether there are particular characteristics to women’s sports betting. Additionally, the study provides an assessment of the potential integrity threats to women’s sports, including the type of match-fixing, level of play, involved stakeholders, and financial and sports consequences.
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