Bet on it: Sportsbooks adding more wagering options as Clark brings more interest to women’s game
She has been an overwhelming presence on basketball courts the past couple of years, but those who have been riding under lately in Caitlin Clark point totals at the South Point have been rewarded.
The sportsbook has kept 20.5 on the WNBA’s star rookie for Indiana, and May 20 against the Sun, she tallied 17 points. May 30 against the Storm, 20. And last Saturday against the Sky, in a Fever triumph, Clark registered just 11.
The South Point has been offering four Clark categories, but in that trio of games, an over hit only once, with eight total rebounds (5.5 total, over -130) against the Sky.
Chris Andrews, who runs the shop, said Clark’s first season of pro ball, after wildly successful junior and senior campaigns at Iowa, has helped generate 10 times more handle, or overall wagers, than a year ago.
“Still relatively small, compared to other sports,” he said. “That shows you how small it was before, but it’s on a great trajectory.”
Some have wagered $2,000, the South Point’s WNBA maximum. Should that popularity continue, Andrews will expand his prop menu to include other players.
“For whatever reason, this girl has hit a nerve,” Andrews said of Clark. “Sometimes, you just never know how that happens. …Some say race means something, which is probably part of it. But you never know why certain things hit a nerve and others don’t. I can’t explain it. Probably nobody else can explain it, either.”
BUSINESS BOOSTS
The Westgate SuperBook has been offering WNBA props, too, but only on the hometown Aces. Executive vice president Jay Kornegay has noticed more interest in women’s hoops.
“I’d guess by about 25%,” he said.
