Why are more women joining the online betting space?

In the past, placing wagers was widely viewed as a man’s world. Men would gather in crowded betting shops, debate odds and dominate conversations about sports predictions, while women were often left on the sidelines. But over the years, this industry has continued to open its doors to almost everyone. In fact, if you scroll through social feeds today, you’ll likely be met with a good number of females discussing wagering tips.

Of course, such a change doesn’t just come at once. It has taken years of shifting cultural norms and women themselves recognizing that betting, like any other form of entertainment, isn’t reserved for one gender. And while men still dominate this sector, the number of female bettors has been increasing steadily. Consider a country like the US, for instance.

According to the American Gaming Association, women account for about 26% of sports bettors in the country. This is after the number of female Super Bowl bettors increased by 51% between 2023 and 2024. And one thing you’ll agree on is that these individuals do not just flock into online betting sites merely to place bets. There must be something that makes this practice resonate so strongly with females more than ever before. What do you think that could be?

Accessibility and the rise of friendly platforms

One reason past wagering shops were dominated by men was that they felt unwelcoming. Just try to imagine a woman in a crowded wagering shop where conversations are dominated by men shouting over one another. To some women, such an environment can feel intimidating or even alienating. But thanks to online platforms, the barrier to entering a male-dominated space has been replaced by the convenience of remote wagering.

But as already mentioned, today’s sportsbooks offer more than just convenience. Aware that users, including women, want smooth experiences, sportsbooks have been working hard to align their platforms with shifting behaviours, such as mobile usage. Many of them now use responsive design to create websites that work well even on small-screen devices.

As a result, a female bettor can effortlessly wager on a smartphone or tablet without worrying about the stress of clunky websites. And mark you: several studies agree that women tend to spend more time on their mobile devices than men. Ofcom, for instance, claims that these individuals spend 33 minutes more on smartphones and tablets than their male counterparts.

And since most sportsbooks have tailored their platforms for mobile access, it’s not a surprise that more women are joining this industry. There are also personalized push notifications that keep users engaged without feeling intrusive. These alerts can highlight upcoming matches and suggest bets based on past activity.

Community and social engagement

For a moment, try to picture the online betting industry in 2010. If you were to ask someone why they bet, many would likely point to chance. But the industry has advanced, providing many more reasons than mere luck for why people bet. And one of them is the sense of community. Remember, this is one of the areas where early online sports books really struggled.

As much as those platforms offered greater convenience, they were limited in their ability to replicate the social experience of being part of a community. It wasn’t possible to easily share predictions or discuss strategies.

But with the rise of social feeds and chat rooms, a woman can conveniently engage with her friends. Think of it as an experience where a group of friends predict the outcomes of a weekend of matches without leaving their homes. This almost feels like a modern-day living room gathering, but with the flexibility to join in from anywhere.

Adding leaderboards to this experience only makes it more engaging. When a woman can see how her predictions compare with others’ on a platform, it adds an element of friendly competition. This, in turn, encourages participation, further explaining the popularity of online betting among women. Interestingly, leaderboards can boost engagement by up to 30%, says ProveSource.

A growing emphasis on security

It’s not a surprise that some experts consider women to be the most targeted gender by cyber attacks in some places. In Bangladesh, for instance, almost six in ten (59%) of cyber crime victims were females. But as cyber attacks increase in popularity, women are becoming more security-conscious.

A good number of them won’t sign up for a platform if it lacks features like SSL encryption and two-factor authentication (2FA). These features are important because they demonstrate a platform’s commitment to protecting users at all costs. Without them, trust quickly erodes, and users become far less likely to engage.

But since no forward-thinking sportsbook would want to lose customers over trust issues, many have adopted these security features. As a result, bettors are able to interact with peace of mind, providing reasonable grounds for the industry’s growth among women.

So, as you can see, convenience is not the only reason why female bettors are increasing. Well, it’s a strong reason, but other factors like social engagement and security have played a huge role. Convenience only gets them to the door, but security determines whether they’ll be at peace while inside. And once security is in place, bettors should also be able to participate effortlessly across all devices. Thankfully, modern sportsbooks support that, making the online betting industry appealing to individuals who were initially left out, including women.