Stephen Trammel, right, walks a person through the sports betting selection process at Harrah’s Ak-Chin Casino./Howard Waggner/PinalCentral
By Alex Amado | Cronkite News
The image of a typical sports gambler is ever-changing. What was once a man in a smoky casino now includes a woman looking at point spreads on her smartphone.s
More than 4.6 million U.S. women joined sportsbook betting apps in 2021, with female user rates growing 115% compared to 2020, according to data analysis company GWS.
Though the number of male users still exceeds female by 250%, the rate of men using sportsbook betting apps grew by 63% in the same time period.
“It doesn’t surprise me that there’s more growth among women just because, historically, there have been fewer women who wagered on sports, so now that they have access to that, it’s natural that the percentage growth is going to be higher than men because the male market was more mature,” said Mike Seely, a sports betting journalist for SportsHandle who has written about the growth.
