New app plans to exclusively cater to women’s sports as sector sees growth

The GIST: Last week, Rival — set to be the first sportsbook built exclusively for women’s sports — shared its plans to be active in three U.S. betting markets by 2026. The platform will include bets across the NWSL, WNBA, NCAA women’s basketball, WSL, WTA, and more, differing from the existing platforms that center men’s sports.

• Although the sportsbook market is already saturated, smaller books are seeing the opportunity in women’s sports — and Rival may be onto something by creating a separate space for the women’s sports fan community. Turning the page.

The details: Rival is planning a regulated 2026 launch to reach bettors in Colorado, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, after which the app will expand to all 38 states where betting is legal. The platform was built by creative strategist and producer Kelly DiPaola and was inspired by her partner, Jodie Taylor, a former England Lioness who’s now an executive for Arsenal.

The landscape: As sports betting has become widely legalized, DraftKings and FanDuel have developed a duopoly that’s been tough to topple — ESPN is shutting down its betting operation after failing to break through. Other big players in the space include BetMGM and Fanatics. Notably, all companies have betting markets for women’s sports and partnerships with leagues or teams.

The Clark Effect: The WNBA and women’s college basketball (WBB) have seen substantial betting growth, much of which is fueled by Caitlin Clark. Clark has driven a significant portion of WNBA bets: On ESPN BET, 20% of all handle for 2024 regular-season games involved the Indiana Fever, and overall, Clark’s 2024 games drew twice as many additional bets as games without her.

• These trends existed when Clark was in college, where wagering increased 540% on 2024 March Madness games with the star. But even after her departure, this trend continues in the college space as BetMGM reported in March that 35% more money was wagered on WBB YoY.

The uphill battle: While most sportsbooks have seen betting percentage growth around women’s sports, these increases are from a small base. Per Rival, less than 5% of women’s sports competitions appear on major betting apps. The majority of bets by Americans are placed on football, while before 2024, W games generated about 5% of the money wagered on the NBA.

• It’s also worth noting that this isn’t the first such attempt in the sector. In 2023, Gaming Society — a sports betting platform focusing on women’s sports — ceased operations indefinitely after running out of funds.

Zooming out: Part of Rival’s rationale for entering the ecosystem is to amplify betting in women’s sports since most platforms still aren’t built with these fans in mind. We’ve seen the success of media entities built for women’s sports fans (The GIST, Togethxr, Just Women’s Sports) as well as the rising popularity of sports bars catering to the women’s sports community.

• Focusing on women’s sports leagues broadly, as well as fostering community, could be a winning formula in a saturated space, especially considering U.S. women’s sports fans follow more leagues than average. And let’s not forget that many female bettors — many of whom bet on women’s sports — are motivated by a sense of community. ‘Cause girls is players too.