Women’s football is growing in popularity and fans are breaking attendance and viewership records, but unlike sponsors and investors, sports betting has yet to fully follow suit.
As the industry continues to be of interest to many, it offers sports betting operators the opportunity to thrive in a growing market. But are they slowly turning their attention to sports? Or leave it behind? The betting industry may be lags behind the fans and sponsors.
In the world of sports, men’s football has long dominated many countries around the world, but this growth could offer operators the chance to accelerate their investment in the women’s sports market. The question now arises as to whether companies will develop with interest or whether the sole dominance of the men’s industry will prevail.
These changes challenge sportsbooks to rethink their approach to a rapidly maturing market.
Women’s football is becoming increasingly popular
Women’s football is growing rapidly, with more people than ever tuning in to watch games on TV and support them in person.
In one report SPORTFIVE found that the most common reason fans start following women’s football is interest in the national team. Recent tournaments have proven successful and the recent UEFA Women’s EURO was labeled as such best attended women’s European Championship always.
A total of 29 of 31 games were sold out and a record number of tickets were sold before the tournament even started. In total, more than 160 nationalities were represented among the total ticket holders, with the event being the most viewed and intense Women’s European Championship event ever on UEFA’s social media, even before the final.
While men’s UEFA tournaments still attract huge global audiences, women’s competitions are quickly catching up, with year-on-year growth ranging from 25% to over 400% depending on the event. Take the Women’s EURO 2025 for example: it attracted record-breaking total viewership and social media engagement increased by 55% in the group stage alone compared to the previous tournament.
The business behind women’s football is growing
As interest in women’s football has obviously increased in recent years, the business behind it has also grown.
It was only in July this year that the first woman passed the £1 million ($1.35 million) transfer mark when Canadian striker Olivia Smith completed the highly publicized move from Liverpool to Arsenal.
“It’s a privilege and an honor. Everything the club has achieved is so huge and I’m really pleased that I can now be a part of it.”
Watch Olivia Smith’s first ever Arsenal interview
— Arsenal Women (@ArsenalWFC) July 17, 2025
While transfers for male players are significantly higher, this move marked a change in women’s football as more money is being put into the teams.
Just a few months later, in September, the record was broken again when Grace Geyoro moved from Paris Saint-Germain to the London City Lionesses for $1.9 million.
The best sign of a great opportunity? When the experts say: "Don’t do it."
When I told Serena that I was starting a women’s soccer team, she balked. She knew how hard it would be. She had lived it.
This kind of resistance confirms that I am on the verge of something HUGE. pic.twitter.com/OVphRqqPL4
—Alexis Ohanian
(@alexisohanian) June 9, 2025
In the United States, women’s sports in general are growing exponentially. According to this, sales are expected to reach $2.35 billion in 2025, an increase of 25% compared to the previous year Deloitte.
Alexis Ohanian, founding and controlling owner of Angel City FC, said at the Fortune Global Forum in Riyadh that this increase was due to rising team valuations.
Investment in women’s sport had long been “suppressed”, he said, and while the sector was still “far from overheated”, valuations and sales were now “quickly returning”.
He pointed to Denver’s record-breaking $110 million National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) expansion fee as evidence that fees have increased “more than 100-fold” in just a few years. “That sounds like a tech story,” Ohanian said. “It’s a women’s sports story.”
Ohanian predicted that women’s sports will have billion-dollar teams within five years. For comparison, every NFL and NBA team is already worth over $5 billion, and more than a dozen MLB franchises are worth more than $4 billion.
Are there commercial opportunities for female footballers?
In one UEFA report 2022The study “The Business Case for Women’s Football” estimated that the commercial value would increase sixfold over the following decade, potentially reaching an annual value of 686 million euros (US$794 million) by 2033. It was also estimated that club sponsorship could rise to 295 million euros (US$342 million) during this period.
As the industry grows and more fans gather to watch games (either on television or in person), the potential profitability from a business perspective is one aspect that investors and sponsors are taking note of.
Betclic, a France-based online sports betting provider, announced its partnership with Arkema Première Ligue (APL) this summer. The company is already a partner of the French women’s national teams and Betclic reiterates its commitment to becoming a strong ally of women’s football.
Other non-gambling companies have committed to large investments or Sponsorship also in women’s footballincluding the UK-based bank Barclays, which has one multi-year sponsorship agreement as title sponsor of the Barclays Women’s Super League and the Barclays Women’s Championship.
What challenges do sports betting providers face in women’s football?
Compared to men’s football, women’s leagues do not have as much historical data or comprehensive statistics. This will change over time, particularly as investment in sport increases.
Another SPORTFIVE report Examining data from 2023 to 2024, it was found that the number of sponsors in women’s professional sports increased by more than 22% year over year between 2023 and 2024 across leagues, teams and athletes. As more money is put into a sport, teams can invest in technology that could provide greater data capabilities.
There have been decades in men’s football Records and intelligent game tracking systems The data used is useful for sports betting providers because they can use this data when creating offers. However, in women’s football, some leagues still lack full data coverage, making it difficult for operators to have all the information they need.
With increasing interest and investment, the infrastructure can be put in place to properly collect this data, which is now the case with the larger and more prominent leagues.
Another major challenge for sports betting is the demographic change in women’s football. According to a Spectator report “Women’s Sports”. As of 2023, the sport will reach a larger female audience than men’s football.
This change could be beneficial for many brands as women generally have higher purchasing power described in some reports than those who now drive the global economy.
However, gambling providers have not always noticed a high level of interest from this population group. A Statista survey from January 2025 A survey of adults in the United States shows that 30 percent of male respondents reported having an online sports betting account.
Meanwhile, only 15% of women said they had an account. With this in mind, can sportsbooks start to attract a larger demographic to keep up with the growing pace of women’s football?
One chapter of the book states: “Gambling and sport in the global age“The gender gap in sports betting presents a real challenge for operators and research shows that women bettors often approach gambling differently.
Young women’s betting is more influenced by peer influence and sports enthusiasm, and they are more likely to experience relationship-related harm than women who bet on other products, indicating distinct behavioral patterns and vulnerabilities.
Women’s sports fans also engage in social, digitally mediated environments where gambling is increasingly normalized. However, targeting this growing demographic raises ethical questions, as the report notes that female gambling has been “repressed” in the past and is now increasing through social pressure and marketing, rather than conscious choices.
The dynamic shows that attracting female bettors is not just a commercial opportunity, but a responsibility that requires careful, harm-conscious design rather than aggressive demographic expansion.
However, if operators begin to recognize the increasing momentum, women’s football could make a significant contribution and expand the betting market. As fan engagement increases and investment from big brands pours in, operators who ignore this area risk handing over an entire emerging market to more forward-thinking competitors.
The data gaps will be filled, viewership will continue to grow, and the commercial ecosystem will only get stronger. The question now is whether sports betting will decide to grow with the sport or stick with the old model. Those who hesitate may soon realize that the most dynamic opportunity in modern football has already been missed.
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