The News
A boom in women’s sports led by the WNBA has massive untapped growth potential across leagues, the CEOs of FanDuel and Under Armour said Tuesday at Semafor World Economy.
FanDuel CEO Amy Howe said the betting platform, which sponsors the WNBA among other women’s leagues, is testing new ways to reach female sports consumers. And it’s not just women’s sports; she noted that 40% of the NFL’s user base is women.
“There’s a lot of innovation and experimentation that we’re doing right now that I think is gonna make that product much more accessible for women,” Howe said. “We view it as an exciting growth opportunity for us.”
Kevin Plank, Under Armour’s founder and CEO, described his brand’s bets on women’s sports, including sponsorships of volleyball tournaments and Olympic flag football teams, as part of a 10- to 15-year strategy. He noted the No. 1 pick at last night’s WNBA draft, Azzi Fudd, already has signed major endorsement deals.
Plank compared Under Armour’s bet to those made years ago by some of its athleisure competitors: “What yoga is to them, we’d like (to do for) women’s sports.”
Know More
As sports betting and prediction markets continue to add new options for bettors, Howe said a red line for her would be any betting on high school sports.
“For me personally, I think that’s going too far,” said Howe, who has three teenage sons. While sports is part of the culture from a young age via fantasy leagues, she said there’s a responsibility to ensure young people consume betting products in a responsible way.