Everywhere Iowa goes (let’s be honest, everywhere Caitlin Clark goes), people follow. Last week LSU-Iowa set records as the biggest betting game in NCAAW history for a number of sportsbooks, and on Sunday Iowa-South Carolina topped it — and then some. The NCAAW Championship Game was the No. 1 most bet women’s sporting event in history for BetMGM and FanDuel.
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
On top of its big day for BetMGM and FanDuel, Iowa-South Carolina also was the most bet women’s college basketball game for Caesars Sportsbook, Fanatics, ESPN BET and DraftKings. And as a Caesars’ vice president said, this all happened without the game taking place in primetime — it aired at 3 p.m. ET.
Last year’s LSU-Iowa championship was a crowning moment for Clark’s popularity and that of women’s basketball as a whole, and yet its betting numbers pale in comparison to this year’s. Iowa-South Carolina had a 155% greater betting handle for FanDuel and a 205% increase in the number of bets.
This was ESPN BET‘s first NCAAW season as a sportsbook, so we can only compare with previous rounds. That said, Sunday’s championship featured 20% more bets for ESPN BET than Iowa’s Final Four matchup against UConn. Meanwhile, Caesars saw twice as many bets as that Final Four game.
The big question moving forward will be whether this was Clark’s impact or true growth from the sport as a whole. Clark is headed to the WNBA, so we will find out next year if this NCAAW basketball bet volume has staying power.
