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The common consensus is that the majority of sports bettors across the world are men and it makes sense because most sports fans are men.
While this is true, women also watch sports and are not shy when it comes to betting on their favorite sports.
New research from marketing group Hot Paper Lantern shows that around a third of the sports bettors out there are women. This research is an eye opener for a lot of sports betting operators as it means there is a big untapped market that has not been targeted.
The study is backed up by data from the American Gaming Association (AGA) that revealed that around 32 percent of bettors were women during 2019.
The CEO PlayUp’s U.S. operations, Dr. Laila Mintas said that this is a big chance for sports betting operators to target a new audience. She points out that nearly 50 percent of sports fans are female and it only takes a small push for them to start betting on their favorite sports.
Las Vegas Review-Journal
Most sports betting operators tend to only target the male customer and as a result have left a lot on the table. Mintas points out that understanding and encouraging female sports bettors would be a big boost to the overall sports betting market.
For a demographic breakdown, women bettors are mainly young women. Gen Z women make up 27 percent of the sports betting population while Millennials comprise of 28 percent. Those who are older are less consistent about their betting. They mainly wager only on the big sporting events like the Super Bowl or the Kentucky Derby.
Based on the Hot Paper Lantern study, the group of women bettors is only starting to grow and this is the ideal time for betting operators to target female sports fans. Since the sports betting market is new in the United States, the majority of betting operators target sports bettors in general. However, these trends will change as competition increases and betting operators will target a specific demographic going forward.
Women Focus On Different Things
An interesting example of how sports betting operators should change their focus is by focusing on what interests women. Many female sports bettors like Kelly Stewart are not into sports betting for the money alone. They lean towards social betting, which means they mainly bet on big social events so that they can connect with their peers.
Research shows that female bettors tend to do a lot better than their male counterparts because they don’t bet emotionally. A 888Holdings study showed that female bettors in NJ brought in 20 percent more returns than male bettors in 2020.
I was just talking about this at breakfast with another women in gaming law. That no one is tailoring their sports betting products to women. Ask us what we want! We like and watch sports- both men’s and women’s. We have fantasy football leagues. We are a market just begging to be tapped. I see a female revolution in sports AND sports betting rushing in. And I’m here for it.