The NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament final between Iowa and South Carolina set a record for most total bets and money wagered on a women’s sporting event, according to BetMGM and FanDuel.
On Sunday, BetMGM saw the most bets and total handle ever for a women’s event in their history, according to a spokesperson for the company.
The Gamecocks of South Carolina completed their perfect season by defeating the Iowa Hawkeyes, 87-75.
BetMGM Sportsbook posted on X that the college hoops final was the “most bet on Women’s sporting event ever at BetMGM.”
The Iowa-South Carolina Title Game is the most bet on Women’s sporting event ever at BetMGM
— BetMGM 🦁 (@BetMGM) April 7, 2024
Related Pages: March Madness Odds | Sportsbooks With Fastest Payout | Iowa Sports Betting
FanDuel’s Monday morning email newsletter led with details of the historic betting around the game, which featured Iowa’s superstar Caitlin Clark, and a South Carolina team that many feel is one of the greatest in women’s college basketball history.
According to FanDuel, the Sunday title game, broadcast on the ESPN family of networks, broke the total handle record for a women’s event. This marked three consecutive times that the record was set in a week.
FanDuel announced that the victory by the Gamecocks was the most bet event on their odds board for Sunday, surpassing all professional games in the NBA, MLB, European soccer, and more.
The growth in interest around the women’s NCAA tournament compared to last year’s final was staggering.
“Yesterday’s National Championship game garnered a 155% increase in handle and 205% increase in bet count on FanDuel over the 2023 National Championship,” FanDuel revealed.
Iowa vs. South Carolina 𝗕𝗥𝗢𝗞𝗘 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗦 🤯
▹ Biggest women's single betting event of ALL-TIME
▹ No. 1 betting event in ANY SPORT Sunday
▹ 205% increase in bet count compared to last year's National Championship
Change the game ✅ pic.twitter.com/8hhOzI3wsa
— FanDuel Sportsbook (@FDSportsbook) April 8, 2024
Those tremendous numbers cannot be solely attributed to Clark, a dynamic, long-range shooter who has spiked sales of her jersey and drawn many young girls and women to the sport. South Carolina star Kamilla Cardoso is a defensive and offensive juggernaut, and other great women are playing the sport. The excitement around college women’s hoops seems like a seismic shift of permanence rather than a blip.
The Gamecocks were 6.5 point favorites in the title game, a rematch of the 2023 national semifinal game won by Iowa. The Hawkeyes are the only team to have defeated South Carolina in the last two seasons in the span of 75 games.
Clark and Cardoso will be picked at the top and near the top of the WNBA Draft later in April. Whether or not their popularity can infuse that league with excitement and attract more betting on pro women’s basketball remains to be seen.
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