The Indiana Fever returned from the Olympic break in high spirits after the WNBA announced the franchise will host the 2025 All-Star Game next July.
The team, which leads the league in attendance, is pacing the WNBA in several metrics, including its impact on Indiana sports betting.
WNBA betting quadruples
The popularity of Fever rookie Caitlin Clark and the surge of interest in women’s basketball have combined to increase WNBA betting handle in Indiana.
In its second-quarter earnings report, market leader FanDuel confirmed this. This season, the company saw a fourfold year-over-year increase in WNBA betting.
Peter Jackson, CEO of FanDuel’s parent company Flutter, remarked that improvements in its market-leading products, including the WNBA, helped to increase “pilot penetration, driving up our structural hold and player retention rates, resulting in continued strong returns on player acquisition investment.”
In July, DraftKings joined FanDuel to become an official sports betting and fantasy partner of the WNBA.
Matt Kalish, president of DraftKings North America, said the league has seen “tremendous growth.” In addition to having access to “marketing, activation, and hospitality opportunities around tentpole league events,” DraftKings became the presenting partner of the “WNBA Postseason Push” content platform that will debut during the final two weeks of the regular season in September.
All-Star Game comes to Indianapolis
This year’s All-Star Weekend in Phoenix was a high point for the league. The WNBA’s midseason showcase sold out more than a month before the game. And when the All-Star jerseys went on sale, Clark’s jersey sold out almost instantly. The rookie played for Team WNBA against the US National Team ahead of the Paris Olympics.
It was the most-watched WNBA All-Star Game ever, with 3.44 million viewers. Operators got in on the action by offering All-Star betting options on the game and performance of the players.
Next year will mark the first time the All-Star Game comes to Indianapolis. The game will be Saturday, July 19. It will be preceded by several popular events the day before, including the Three-Point Contest and Skills Challenge.
It won’t be the first time a major women’s basketball event will be held at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The Big Ten and the NCAA have hosted well-attended championships at the venue. The influx of tens of thousands of fans to the multi-day event next summer will also be a boon to regional businesses, including casinos, said Mel Raines, CEO of Pacers Sports & Entertainment.
“We are in the middle of a pivotal, transformational moment in the history of the WNBA and women’s basketball, and we are thrilled Indiana will be the center of it all with the game’s biggest stars on display during next season’s All-Star Game.”
Postseason hype already starting
With an overall 14-16 record, the Fever are in seventh place in the WNBA standings, three games ahead of Chicago and two games behind the Phoenix Mercury.
The top eight teams make it to the playoffs regardless of conference.
Since games resumed after the Paris Games, the Fever are off to a good start and Clark was recently the Eastern Conference Player of the Week. She averaged 25 points per game plus 9 assists and 5 rebounds per contest in games since Aug. 15. She continues to lead the league in assists per game.
The regular season ends Sept. 19, and the playoffs begin a few days later on Sept. 22.
