WNBA games featuring Caitlin Clark or her team, the Indiana Fever, bring an average increase of 380 percent in more bets compared to a WNBA baseline game according to a recent analysis by Optimove’s analytical and research arm, Optimove Insights, using data from more than 15 million bets placed on 43 WNBA games.
The largest increase in wagers of 544 percent was recorded when the Indiana Fever faced the Connecticut Sun, with Clark’s presence cited as “a major factor in boosting betting activity” by Rony Vexelman, vice president of marketing at Optimove.
“She highlights the importance of star power in driving fan engagement and betting interest. Sophisticated sports betting operators and marketers pay close attention to key players like Caitlin Clark, as their influence extends beyond the game and into the broader betting ecosystem,” Vexelman said in a news release.
Still, the WNBA League as a whole has seen a hike in wagers this season, with games not featuring Clark seeing a 162 percent betting increase.
This isn’t the first study Optimove has conducted on Clark. In May, the company analyzed around 4 million bets placed on nine March Madness games and found that the Iowa Hawkeyes’ games – Clark’s former team – had an average increase in bets of 540 percent, while games without Clark had a 195 percent increase over the baseline.
“We expect records to be broken on a weekly basis” of Clark’s participation in the league, Caesars Sports Vice President of Trading Craig Mucklow told the Associated Press at the beginning of the WNBA season.
