Rising Interest In Women’s Sports Betting Prompts Concerns For Match Fixing Per Study

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USA Women's Soccer Team Celebrating

A newly conducted study reveals a significant rise in the popularity of women’s sports globally. This uptick in attention has also resulted in increased activity at online sportsbooks regarding betting on female athletics.

Should athletic commissions be concerned about the potential for match-fixing in women’s sports? The study implies that to be the case.

With so much attention paid to regulating men’s sports, perhaps it is time to get ahead of the game in regard to monitoring women’s athletics. The expansion of gambling on women’s sports betting has peaked in 2023 and continues to trend upward.

Betting On Women’s Sports – The Most Popular Games

The report – titled “Assessing Women’s Sports, Betting and Integrity Challenges” – focuses on the following five sports. 

  • Basketball
  • Cricket
  • Soccer
  • Tennis
  • Volleyball

Leading the surge is women’s soccer. The game has been the catalyst for all female-based athletics. There has been a 20% increase in betting on female soccer matches in the last three years.

The rise began with the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup and has culminated with this year’s tournament.  

Between 2017 and 2022, a 10% spike in betting on women’s basketball, tennis, and cricket occurred. What’s intriguing is that the data reveals an identical rise in female and male bettors in all sports studied save for volleyball. 

Required Steps For Match-Fixing Regulation

The publication reports that there is, indeed, game-fixing and corruption in women’s sports. However, It occurs at a much lower rate when compared to men’s sports.

That said, there is no reason to delay getting ahead of the problem. With increased betting on women’s tennis and soccer comes an increased need for scrutiny. 

Dishonest actors are at play that can alter game outcomes in various, discrete ways. To combat the potential for fraud, the study proposes:

  • Getting together the governing bodies to devise a plan to actively monitor games for fraud. This would include league front offices, sportsbook operators, and local and federal governments.
  • Create educational materials to raise awareness regarding the dangers of match-fixing. Training would be issued to female players, coaches, team staff, and league executives. 
  • A proposal that wages are raised to be more in line with what male players of similar sports earn. This lack of financial disparity could negate the enticement of a bribe. 

“[A]s women’s sports continue to grow, so does the risk of participants being approached by individuals seeking to profit from sports-related corruption. This is an area that Flutter takes very seriously, with our betting integrity team working closely with both sport’s governing and trade bodies… to ensure that we, and the markets we offer, uphold the very highest level of sporting integrity.”

Ian Devlin – Sports Integrity Manager at Flutter

Are Offshore Sportsbook Sites Impacted?

Collusion, point shaving, and game fixing can impact any sportsbook carrying lines on the event, game, or match in question, including our recommended sites that allow online betting at 18 years old.

While these venues are heavily regulated and adhere to local gaming laws, games can still be fixed. There is little that bookmakers can do about outside party influence other than monitoring for irregularities. 

The venues included in our gambling site reviews will pull betting lines once they notice any activity indicating deceit. All wagers will be canceled and refunded to accounts if the deception is confirmed. 

The “Assessing Women’s Sports, Betting and Integrity Challenges” report was compiled by:

  • The All-In Diversity Project
  • Entain
  • Flutter
  • Stats Perform
  • The International Betting Integrity Association.

Read the official report at the Official IBIA website to learn more about data collection techniques and their ultimate findings.