Could sports betting help the growth of the women’s sports? Louisville women’s basketball head coach Jeff Walz is betting on it.

Ahead of the of the women’s 2023 ACC Basketball Tipoff in North Carolina on October 24, Walz said regardless of people’s feelings on gambling, it had a beneficial impact on the public’s overall interest in women’s basketball.

“Some like it, some don't, but I think the more Vegas keeps putting lines in our games, the better,” Walz shared, per USA Today. “You want casual viewers. We have the women's basketball fans – it's, can we get the casual sports viewer? Can we get somebody that’s going to flip on the TV and see a women’s basketball game and stay on? … I think Vegas helps with that.”

The latest data seems to back up what the Louisville women's basketball coach believes. The interest in both women’s basketball and women’s sports overall is growing based on viewership numbers from the 2023 NCAA Championship between LSU and Iowa.

The showdown, which featured women’s college basketball phenomena Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, drew a record 12.6 million viewers.

And speaking of Clark, the recent exhibition game between Iowa and DePaul set a record with 55,646 fans in attendance.

But there is still room for improvement. The men’s title game between UConn and San Diego state had an average of 14.7 million viewers – a record low.

The future is bright for women's sports

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What Louisville women’s basketball head coach Jeff Walz is definitely interesting. Fortunately, future for getting more interest in betting on women’s sports looks promising.

At Draftkings, women’s sports have increased by 61% year over year, according to Shebettor, an organization dedicated to get women more involved in sports gambling. FanDuel’s WNBA bet count also increased by over 270% in 2022 from the year before.

Other organizations such as Bet on Women, which is led by WNBA All-Star Marissa Coleman, are also pushing for more equitable betting lines in women’s sports.

And it doesn’t just stop at basketball. The 2023 World Cup saw a surge in women’s sports betting, Yadarisa Shabong of Reuters reported. Betting on women’s soccer has had an annual market growth rate of about 20% since 2020, per Reuters.

A study conducted by German Sport University Cologne called “Breaking Barriers: Assessing Women’s Sports, Betting, and Integrity Challenges” also showed a 10% spike in betting on women’s tennis, volleyball and soccer over the course of 2017-2022.

“The dramatic growth of women’s sports is a hugely positive development – for fans, the sports, and athletes themes, and also for the betting market,” Khalid Ali said, CEO of the International Betting Integrity Association, one of the study’s partners. “It is creating very significant and untapped opportunities for sports betting.”

Sportsbooks have gotten more consistent about posting odds on women’s basketball, but that consistency is not equal with men’s basketball or college football. Walz said that lines even for games that might have a predictable outcome should still be posted, which can help draw casual viewers.

“When all of a sudden there’s lines on games, there’s interest,” Walz said “Obviously, our kids aren’t gambling, we’re not gambling a stamp – but I’m not stupid to (not to recognize) that this is good for our game. The interest picks up.”