Caitlin Clark’s arrival has had an immediate effect on the amount of bets and money wagered on WNBA betting markets at BetMGM.
Close to three times the number of bets have been placed on WNBA betting markets in the first half of the 2024 season compared to previous year-over-year data. There are over twice the number of women betting on WNBA games in the first half of this season using the same year-over-year comparison metrics.
“BetMGM has already taken as many bets for the first half of the 2024 season as we did for all of 2023,” said Michael Ranftle, BetMGM senior sports trader. “Between more player prop offerings, the ‘Caitlin Clark Effect’ and the incredible rise in popularity of the WNBA, we’re experiencing historic increases in betting on the WNBA.”
Per BetMGM, WNBA bettors are placing nearly five times more player prop bets on Clark than any other WNBA player during the first half of the season, followed by fellow rookie, Angel Reese.
Entering the WNBA as the No. 1 overall pick from the University of Iowa, Clark hasn’t taken much time to grab the spotlight.
Clark's Indiana Fever are also the most heavily bet team to win the WNBA Championship, receiving 21.6% of tickets at BetMGM. Clark is the overwhelming favorite to win MVP, earning 54.9% of tickets and 43.9% of the betting handle for the award.
The Caitlin Clark effect on and off the court
Optimove Insights studies found a similar outcome, with a 380% increase in Fever wagers placed in 2024. This has led to a 162% rise in non-Clark games over the baseline.
Perhaps the biggest off-the-court indicator of Clark’s impact can be measured with fan attendance this season. The average attendance at a 2024 WNBA game is 9,300, which is the highest mark the league has seen in more than two decades. This includes two games with more than 20,000 fans in attendance.
Before 2024, only four games recorded 20,000 spectators since the WNBA became a league in 1997. Fever home game attendance has spiked from 4,000 fans per game in 2023 to 16,800 with Clark on the court in 2024.
Clark statistics
Clark leads the league in assists per game (8.2) and recently broke the WNBA record for most assists in a game, finishing with 19 assists in a losing effort against the Dallas Wings on July 17.
She also performed well in the WNBA All-Star Game, helping the All-Star lineup beat Team USA 117-109, with 10 assists, two steals, four points, and one rebound.
Clark has scored 20-plus points in 10 out of 26 games played during her rookie campaign with the Fever. She’s also recorded at least 10 assists per game in seven of her past nine games, demonstrating her elite passing ability and helping the Fever rank sixth in total points (81.8) per game.
Her biggest single-game feat came in taking down the league’s best team, the New York Liberty, when she recorded a triple-double, finishing the game with 19 points, 13 assists, and 12 rebounds.
