Sports
Women’s college basketball is growing so why isn’t the gambling industry betting on it?
One Tuesday morning in late February, a fan in New York who logged into FanDuel’s online sportsbook would’ve found 33 men’s college basketball games listed to bet on and zero women’s games. That fan could place an online wager on some midmajor men’s contests, such as Western Illinois vs. Lindenwood, Troy vs. Texas State and Bowling Green vs. Eastern Michigan. However, no odds were listed for women’s games involving power conference programs like Arizona vs. Texas Tech or Iowa State vs. UCF.
The following day wasn’t much different. FanDuel posted odds on 49 men’s college basketball games for New York state bettors, compared to only seven women’s games. There was a 50-11 discrepancy on another day. You can guess which sport had more betting markets.
Now it’s March, and the 2025 women’s NCAA Tournament begins later this week. March and April are the sport’s shining moments — for players, coaches, fans and even sportsbooks. March Madness (men’s and women’s) is the biggest annual betting event in the U.S.
But in women’s college basketball, the March Madness betting boomlet masks regular-season betting inequities.
Women’s college basketball is in the midst of a historic growth period. Last year, the women’s NCAA Tournament championship game outrated the men’s final in viewership for the first time. Caitlin Clark’s popularity also sparked new records for sports betting on women’s college basketball during the tournament. But, in the regular season especially, the differences between how legal online sportsbooks in the U.S. handle the two sports remain stark. It leaves some sports gamblers wondering why it’s so hard to bet on women’s college basketball.
Industry experts point to a number of factors. Resource allocation, product placement and questions about demand are among them. Some see it as a chicken-or-the-egg dilemma.
“How does it get more attractive if you only get people there if they search for it instead of pushing it more aggressively out?” asked Laila Mintas, a strategic advisor and longtime executive in the sports, sports betting & iGaming space.
Sportsbooks are interested in creating markets — a type of bet someone can make, including moneyline, point spread and totals — they think will garner interest and be profitable. They make daily choices about what to list, what betting limits they apply to prospective wagers and about lines themselves.
Historically, online legal sportsbooks in the U.S. haven’t been as interested in women’s basketball markets.
“You have to be intentional about wanting to do this,” said Brett Abarbanel, an associate professor and executive director at UNLV’s International Gaming Institute.
That seemed evident last March as sports betting involving Clark’s Iowa games showed what was possible when books were intentional in their women’s college basketball listings. Johnny Avello, the director of sportsbook operations at DraftKings, said women’s college basketball betting was “pretty stagnant” until Clark rose to prominence. Then, “(it) became very interesting to bettors, especially in-game wagering,” he said.
The 2024 NCAA women’s championship broke BetMGM’s record for the most-bet women’s sporting event of all time. Clark player props were their most-bet tickets in last year’s NCAA Tournament (men’s and women’s).
Talk about being intentional: Clark bets were displayed front and center, often fed to users as one of the most prominent tabs or pop-ups on a sportsbook’s online app.
Hannah Luther, the women’s basketball trader at BetMGM, said she was curious about whether the “Caitlin Clark Effect” would wear off this season. But interest has remained. “We’ve been shown that people are definitely interested even though she’s moved on to the WNBA,” she said.
Yet, there is still a noticeable difference between how men’s college basketball regular season games and women’s college basketball games are displayed on online sportsbooks, according to Ceyda Mumcu, a professor of sport management at the University of New Haven. While men’s college basketball games are often presented prominently on legal sportsbook apps — found via a simple tap of an NCAAB button, for example — finding women’s college basketball games often involves thumbing through an online sportsbook’s listings. It might take two, three or four taps of a button to find a women’s game, instead of one on the men’s side.
“It is not as accessible, and you have to dig and click around to find it if it is there,” Mumcu said.
Added Mintas: “They make it so hard for us to bet what we’re looking for by hiding it somewhere down in the tabs.”
But presentation is just one factor limiting women’s college basketball betting. Industry insiders point to sportsbook staffing discrepancies as another reason for the still-stark difference between men’s and women’s basketball betting.
Promoting a sport takes a commitment to resources. Fanatics, for instance, has five full-time traders who handle everything basketball, but no singular person focused on women’s college basketball. Not until the women’s NCAA Tournament will they have traders solely working on women’s games.
Luther began working at BetMGM in January 2024 in a general trading role. Amid a flood of interest in women’s basketball, the company quickly realized it needed somebody to focus on women’s sports. So Luther took the lead on women’s basketball trading and is the first person to hold that role at the company. BetMGM has increased its investment in the sport; the company says it went from offering 250 games in the 2022-23 regular season to 1,200 this year. And yet, there is still room for growth, and many books still don’t have a specific role focused on women’s basketball.
Staffing is just one aspect of sportsbook resource allocation, however. Focusing on one sport can mean diverting resources away from other aspects of sportsbook operations.
“Developing an emerging sport for betting requires the obvious work, like building and testing pricing models and rejiggering your sportsbook to include the markets,” Chris Grove, a partner at Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, a gambling research and consulting firm, wrote in an email. “Then there’s the less obvious work, like learning the who, how and why of betting on the sport, building sport-specific promotional and marketing strategies and identifying and accounting for any integrity components that might be unique to the sport.”
Risk management is another factor that accounts for listing differences between the two sports. In general, sportsbook operators can set their own lines with the raw data they are fed from providers or take ready-to-go products compiled by prominent data collectors. For most markets, sportsbooks establish an automated process where odds are set and adjusted algorithmically based on these inputs.
But for emerging or test markets, traders may choose to set the odds manually — with prices inputted fully by the trader — to gauge interest. Fanatics basketball trader Ethan Useloff said they sometimes receive requests through customer service for specific women’s markets that the book doesn’t yet have available. In that case, if they aren’t sure the market will be popular, they will have a trader set the lines manually, a process that can be more time-consuming.
At BetMGM, some of the processes they automate for men’s college basketball, they don’t automate for women’s basketball. “So putting up a smaller game is going to take more effort if it’s a women’s game rather than a men’s,” Luther said.
Useloff said another way that a sportsbook can reduce risk is by setting limits on the amount of money a bettor can put down, so the book isn’t on the hook for as much. Lowering the limit also mitigates the risk of a sharper bettor catching a line that’s been entered wrong or gone off-market. But it also might make a bet less appealing to a potential consumer.
“The bookmaker is always trying to balance the book,” Mintas said. “You have to make sure you have enough volume to make sure your book is balanced.”
But, for those committed to betting on women’s basketball, there are still avenues for it. Interest is apparent when comparing legal sportsbook markets in the U.S. with illegal (anyone who’s offering gambling and does not have a license for their jurisdiction) markets.
According to YieldSec, a leading technical marketplace intelligence platform, there were more than 4.1 times as many illegal women’s basketball bet market offerings last year (in college and the WNBA), not including predictors, than legal offerings in the U.S. They found there was nearly as much money bet last year on women’s basketball illegally ($1.49 billion) as on men’s basketball legally ($1.55 billion).
“The lack of betting offers from the legal industry is weirdly, inadvertently, unconsciously, unknowingly, maybe, driving people into illegal gambling because they can’t find the bets they want on legal sites,” said Ismail Vali, YieldSec’s founder and CEO. “(Illegal gambling companies) just see it as more content equals more money.”
Like other historical investment gaps in women’s sports, it’s unsurprising to see similar differences between men’s and women’s basketball gambling. YieldSec tracked $5.2 billion in bets placed on illegal and legal offerings on men’s basketball (NBA and college) last year, compared to $1.83 billion on women’s basketball (WNBA and college).
But as women’s college basketball ratings continue to demonstrate, the sport is a growing marketplace. Gambling industry experts still see women’s college basketball as an avenue legal sportsbooks aren’t taking full advantage of.
“I think it’s a loss of a big revenue stream that they could have had,” Mintas said.
Some sportsbooks have adjusted. Luther, the BetMGM trader, said the sportsbook has seen a 750 percent increase in the number of bets over the last two years.
“Some of our growth can be attributed to the fact that we’ve been putting up more markets and more games, but not all of it,” Luther said. “We haven’t been putting up 700 percent more markets for people to bet on, so clearly, there’s also more interest in the sport.”
Assuming interest continues to grow, BetMGM plans to keep expanding its markets and narrowing the gap between men’s and women’s offerings. Avello, the DraftKings executive, said he expects this year’s women’s NCAA Tournament to be as big as any before. Nevertheless, he said the men’s and women’s tournament betting totals aren’t comparable.
Abarbanel said that she doesn’t expect such a stark disparity between men’s and women’s college basketball betting in five years. And yet, for now, many industry insiders still believe that those who put a dollar value on the games themselves don’t value women’s college basketball enough.
“The mentality needs to change, and we can’t necessarily see that across the board just yet,” Mumcu said.
Future tournaments will also serve as check-in points for that growth. But perhaps the true sign of how much the disparity has decreased — and how much more opportunity sits in the gap — can be found by opening a sportsbook on an otherwise unmemorable regular-season night.
— The Athletic’s Hannah Vanbiber contributed to this report.
(Illustration: Dan Goldfarb / The Athletic; Photo: Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Getty)
Sports
AJ Brown trade outcome: Dianna Russini paid a heavy price while Mike Vrabel emerged unscathed
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Mike Vrabel and A.J. Brown were winning on Tuesday because the long-rumored trade that reunited them was finally complete. Brown was free of his recent unhappiness with the Philadelphia Eagles, while Vrabel spoke easily and smartly about how his Super Bowl team was getting better.
It was one lovely victory lap for everybody.
Except for Dianna Russini.
New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel celebrates after the AFC championship game against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field At Mile High in Denver, Colo., on Jan. 25, 2026. (Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
MIKE VRABEL BREAKS HIS SILENCE ON DIANNA RUSSINI CONTROVERSY
Yes, this is about her as much as Vrabel and Brown. Those three names will be linked for a long time in NFL circles based on what happened going back as far as September of 2025, and then definitely through this offseason that was about, well, the relationship between the coach and the reporter.
If you aren’t up to speed on that relationship, you’ve got homework. And you will probably catch up easily because the reference material is everywhere — the photos of Russini and Vrabel together, the denials of anything untoward between two married people, the collapse of the professional friendship narrative, and everything after.
So, to the uninitiated, you’re excused. Go now and read the soap opera’s opening chapters. Because this might be the saga’s end, barring a major surprise.
And let me cut to that end:
Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown walks on the field during an NFL training camp in Philadelphia on July 29, 2025. (Matt Rourke/AP Photo)
Brown wins. He’s wholly unscathed, in fact, and happy as a clam with a new team he grew up adoring.
Vrabel wins, too. Yes, he took some lumps, suffered some humiliating moments in front of reporters and had some family conversations he termed “very difficult,” but he’s ultimately none the worse for wear.
And then there’s Russini. She lost. Big time.
FORMER NFL REPORTER MICHELE TAFOYA WEIGHS IN ON WHY RUSSINI’S CREDIBILITY IS GONE
It was saddening to watch Vrabel’s presser because it was Russini who first reported teams were calling the Eagles about Brown back in September of 2025. She first reported the Eagles weren’t interested in trading Brown.
Russini called it when she told everyone the Patriots were interested (so were the Los Angeles Rams, by the way). And she was right again when she said earlier this year that Brown wouldn’t be traded around the start of the league year in March but watch out for June.
She was dead-on accurate with practically all of it.
Dianna Russini, left, and Mike Vrabel, right, are shown in a split composite image featuring Russini with an ESPN microphone and Vrabel on the Titans sideline wearing a headset. (Imagn Images)
But everyone has surmised all that information came out of her relationship with Vrabel. All that insider work came from other alleged inside work.
Russini’s information was great but how she seemingly attained it eventually led to her resigning from The Athletic. And sullying her professional reputation.
Losses.
MIKE VRABEL STEPS AWAY INDEFINITELY TO SEEK COUNSELING
Vrabel? He seemed just fine on Tuesday.
About the hardest thing he had to do was answer a question about Brown’s obvious displeasure last year in Philly.
“I don’t know what happened,” Vrabel said. “I’m not trying to figure out what happened in Philadelphia. I’m trying to focus on what’s going to happen here and trying to get him acclimated to what we do and how we do it.”
Vrabel, during this press conference, congratulated a reporter for winning a marathon. He thanked Executive Vice President for Player Personnel Eliot Wolf for making the trade happen. And he took a bunch of football questions.
Dianna Russini attends the 2026 Fanatics Super Bowl Party at Pier 48 in San Francisco, California, on Feb. 7, 2026. (Cindy Ord/Getty Images)
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There was not one question about whether he indeed for months leaked to Russini details of where the Patriots and Eagles talks were. Not one question about how his family “counseling” sessions are going or if his marriage is certain to survive.
There was nothing uncomfortable because it seems the local media lost interest or its curiosity on a day the story that Russini beat them on for months was laid bare before them.
And, the thing is, if Vrabel didn’t have to sweat this occasion, he’s probably in the clear. He’s not likely to get tough questions about the whole affair (pardon the pun) again unless more facts come out that raise the issue from the grave.
So, yeah, Mike Vrabel has survived. He’s won.
FOLLOW ARMANDO SALGUERO ON X: @ARMANDOSALGUERO
Reaching the summit is a dream. But staying there? That’s an altogether different challenge.
Maja Stark has a special appreciation for that now, a year after winning the U.S. Women’s Open at Erin Hills and feeling the hefty weight of expectation that came along with it.
For her, the aftermath of that victory brought heightened anxiety, and searing criticism from outsiders when the Swedish professional’s play took a dip.
“You get comments and stuff saying, ‘What happened? You just won a major; why do you suck all of a sudden?‘” Stark said at the Chevron Championship in April. “That does take some energy and just makes you focus on the wrong things. Then I got even more stressed and anxious.”
Maja Stark plays a shot from a bunker on the 17th hole during the third round of the Chevron Championship on April 25.
(Alex Slitz / Getty Images)
Stark said she sought professional help in the form of a mental coach, sports psychologist and therapist and now believes she’s better able to withstand the scrutiny that comes with winning at the highest tier.
That career-shaping pressure will be on display again this week when the USGA brings the U.S. Women’s Open to Riviera Country Club for the first time, merging the game’s most prestigious women’s championship with a historic venue celebrating its centennial year. The tournament takes place Thursday through Sunday.
Riviera is a theater, sitting low beneath high hillsides that almost serve as balconies. Players have described the course as a stage because it can feel as if you’re being watched even when you’re alone.
“I think there’s something very nostalgic about the facility,” said Jim Richerson, Riviera’s general manager. “The golf course has never had any major renovations or changes. The clubhouse is the exact same footprint today as it was when it was built in the 1920s.”
The U.S. Women’s Open is the oldest of the LPGA Tour’s five majors, and has long served as the standard by which women’s golf measures itself. It’s open to professionals and elite amateurs through a qualifying process, and the tournament is known for identifying the player who can withstand the most pressure under the most demanding conditions.
NBC will televise the championship and although Mike Tirico will not call the event, he knows the significance of holding it at Riviera.
“Without there being a Masters for women’s golf, that tournament really is the crown jewel of the sport,” Tirico said. “It has become the event people dream of winning. … It’s just appropriate that it’s contested at a place like Riviera that for so many generations has come to define a great championship test of golf.”
A look at some of the players to watch:
Nelly Korda
Nelly Korda celebrates after winning the Chevron Championship on April 26.
(David J. Phillip / Associated Press)
The world’s No. 1 player is a major needle mover for women’s golf and is a significant source of ratings when she’s in contention. She had a record five consecutive victories last season and seven overall. Her missing major is the U.S. Women’s Open. She finished in a runner-up spot last year and left Erin Hills firmly believing a win was within reach.
Jeeno Thitikul
Jeeno Thitikul plays a shot from the fairway during the first round of the Queen City Championship on May 14.
(Jeff Dean / Associated Press)
The former World No. 1 is still in pursuit of her first major championship. She’s a big question mark in the field.
Lydia Ko
Lydia Ko hits from the fairway during the second round of the LPGA Honda Thailand on Feb. 22.
(Kittinun Rodsupan / Associated Press)
This Hall of Fame player is the only golfer in modern Olympic history to win a complete set of medals — gold, silver and bronze — across three different Olympic Games. She’s still looking for her first U.S. Women’s Open win.
Charley Hull
Charley Hull hits off the 16th tee during the first round of the Mizuho Americas Open on May 7.
(Seth Wenig / Associated Press)
A colorful character who went viral during the 2024 Open for smoking a cigarette while signing autographs and playing. She was among a cluster who finished second in that tournament. She has three victories on the LPGA Tour but has yet to win a major.
Rose Zhang
Rose Zhang hits from the ninth tee during the final round of the Queen City Championship on May 17.
(Dylan Buell / Getty Images)
Zhang, who has been splitting time between Stanford and the LPGA, amassed a remarkable collection of victories as an amateur and three years ago, became the first player in 72 years to win an LPGA Tour event in her professional debut.
Minjee Lee
Minjee Lee prepares to putt during the third round of the Chevron Championship on April 25.
(Sarah Stier / Getty Images)
Lee, an Australian star, has won three majors including the U.S. Women’s Open in 2022. Her younger brother, Min Woo, won the 2016 U.S. Junior Amateur, making them the first brother-sister tandem to win the USGA’s junior championships.
Yuka Saso
Yuka Saso lines up a putt during the first round of the Mizuho Americas Open on May 7.
(Seth Wenig / Associated Press)
She is the anomaly of anomalies, with zero wins on the LPGA Tour with the exception of two U.S. Women’s Open victories. She won the first of those at 19 years, 11 months and seven days — astoundingly tying her for the youngest player to win the Open with Inbee Park, who was precisely that old when she won in 2008.
Lilia Vu
Lilia Vu watches her shot from the seventh tee during the third round of the Queen City Championship on May 16.
(Dylan Buell / Getty Images)
Vu grew up in Fountain Valley and was a standout at UCLA. She won two majors in 2023 but lately has been battling back problems.
Michelle Wie West
Michelle Wie West of the United States hits from the third tee during the first round of the Mizuho Americas Open on May 7.
(Sarah Stier / Getty Images)
Wie West retired three years ago after the Open at Pebble Beach, but is coming out of retirement to use her last year of exemption to play at Riviera. Her husband, Jonnie West, son of late NBA icon Jerry West, will be caddying for her.
Sports
Tomas Hertl scores game-winner as Golden Knights rally to beat Hurricanes in Game 1 of Stanley Cup Final
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The Vegas Golden Knights have taken Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final, erasing the Carolina Hurricanes’ early 2-0 lead to win a thrilling 5-4 game in Raleigh and set the tone for this best-of-seven series.
It’s a seven-game win streak for Vegas now, as they haven’t lost since Game 4 of the Western Conference Semifinals against the Anaheim Ducks. They surprisingly swept the Colorado Avalanche to win the West, and they kept that momentum going on the road.
Tomas Hertl was the hero for the Golden Knights in Game 1, as he scored the game-winning goal on a snipe with 3:25 left in the third period.
Tomas Hertl of the Vegas Golden Knights celebrates a goal during the second period against the Carolina Hurricanes in Game One of the 2026 Stanley Cup Final at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina, on June 2, 2026. (Josh Lavallee/NHLI via Getty Images)
But it wasn’t easy for Vegas in the first period when the Hurricanes were quick to assert their home-ice advantage just 25 seconds into the game.
It was the first shot on goal for either side when Nikolaj Ehlers poked a puck past an aggressive Shea Theodore for Vegas, and he sprinted down ice toward Carter Hart, who mans the Golden Knights’ net. Ehlers, though, had the perfect shot, ringing the post and sending the Hurricanes faithful into a frenzy with the 1-0 lead before some could even get to their seats.
DESPITE POTENTIAL RATINGS NIGHTMARE FOR NHL, VEGAS-CAROLINA STANLEY CUP FINAL STILL HAS PLENTY OF INTRIGUE
Then, midway through the period, Ehlers found himself in yet another breakaway scenario, and he didn’t squander the opportunity to take advantage. He put a nifty move on Hart, and his backhand found the net to make it 2-0.
Jalen Chatfield also had his eye down ice, recognizing that Ehlers was uncovered and quickly turned Jack Eichel’s turnover into the opportunity.
But if there’s anything the Golden Knights have proved in these Stanley Cup Playoffs, it’s to never count them out. Another example of that was seen on Tuesday night.
Theodore made up for his mishap to start the game with an absolute rocket off his stick on a one-timer that saw its way through traffic and past Frederik Anderson in net to get Vegas on the board shortly after Ehlers’ second goal.
Then, as the second period got underway, it was Ivan Barbashev who decided to return the favor of scoring in 30 seconds or less. As Vegas entered the offensive zone with speed, the puck found Jack Eichel’s stick. He quickly spotted Ivan Barbashev cutting through the slot, and Barbashev fired a shot over Frederik Andersen’s right shoulder before the goalie could react.
Nikolaj Ehlers of the Carolina Hurricanes scores his second goal against the Vegas Golden Knights during the first period in Game One of the 2026 Stanley Cup Final at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, N.C., on June 2, 2026. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
With that, the Golden Knights tied this game up, but they didn’t let the momentum go. William Karlsson, who already has a cup under his belt for Vegas, did his part in seeking the next trophy. Mitch Marner had a tremendous backhand pass from behind the net that found Karlsson’s stick all alone out in front, and Anderson had no chance as Vegas took a 3-2 lead.
At that moment, the air in the Lenovo Center was taken right out of the fans’ sails, but a trusty veteran restored that later in the period. Jordan Staal, who watched his brother and 2006 Stanley Cup champion with the Hurricanes, Eric Staal, get the crowd going with the siren at puck drop, potted his third goal of these playoffs.
Jordan Staal snapped a wrister past Hart thanks to a heads-up play by K’Andre Miller to keep the puck onside and find his teammate fast for the grade-A chance.
The bleeding was stopped, but the third period was bound to be a thriller based on how these two teams were finding clear chances to score. Who broke the tie first was the major question, and Brett Howden had the answer just 1:21 into the period.
The playoff leader in goals, Howden had a beautiful tip on a shot by Theodore for his 11th of the playoffs and perhaps his most important in Game 1. The scoreboard remained silent for some time after that, with both teams trying to set up solid forechecks, but to no avail. The Hurricanes even had a power play, but they couldn’t find the back of the net.
William Karlsson of the Vegas Golden Knights celebrates his goal with teammates during the second period of Game One of the Stanley Cup Final against the Carolina Hurricanes at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, N.C., on June 2, 2026. (Jeff Bottari/NHLI via Getty Images)
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Then, with 8:41 left, some puck luck found the Hurricanes, as defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere saw an offensive zone face-off biscuit fall right into his lap with no one around. He secured the puck on his stick blade and wristed it past Hart for the 4-4 tie.
However, the rollercoaster ride for the Hurricanes didn’t have a happy ending when they got off, with Hertl’s goal, assisted on a crafty Sissons’ pass following a face-off, being the final say in this one.
Game 2 of this series will be played once more in Raleigh on Thursday night at 8 p.m. ET.
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