Odds of changing gender appeal in sports betting

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Sports betting has historically been thought to be an overwhelmingly male interest, but the odds may be changing, a University of Queensland study has found. The research is published in the Journal of Australian Studies.
PhD candidate Rohan Irving, from UQ’s School of Human Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, explains why nearly nine out of 10 regular sports bettors are men and what betting companies have done to attract women. We analyzed the history behind it.
“Historically, sports betting has been confined to predominantly male-dominated spaces such as TABs (Total Agency Boards) and pub betting parlors, but thanks to technology such as smartphones, gambling has become much more accessible to women. It’s more accessible,” Irving said. Said.
“It’s no surprise that betting companies are looking to take advantage of this change, targeting women with novel bets like how many awards Taylor Swift will win at this year’s Grammy Awards. “The Island” also has innovative bets on the winners of reality shows like “Love”, which are aimed at potentially involving more women. ”
Mr Irving said there were many reasons for the current gender disparity, many of which stemmed from Australia’s colonial gambling practices.
“Historically, men have controlled the financial means of the household and limited women’s access to gambling,” he said. “The first law to license bookmakers in 1906 made it a crime to accept bets from women. Women have also been welcomed at racetracks for many years, but historically at horse racing events It has been treated as an object of decoration.
But Irving said the gendered nature of sports betting could change in the future, and smartphones could have an impact.
“In some ways, this change represents women gaining access to gambling venues from which they have historically been excluded,” she said. “However, this also reflects that women are at greater risk of suffering many of the harms caused by Australia’s gambling culture. Strategy is a change that should be handled carefully.”
Mr Irving is also employed by the Australian Center for Gambling Research, which found that almost nine out of 10 patrons of sports betting, Australia’s fastest growing form of gambling, are men. .
Further information: Rohann Irving, ‘Sport, Gambling and Masculinity: The Gendered History of Sports Betting in Australia’, Australian Research Journal (2024). DOI: 10.1080/14443058.2024.2437576
Provided by University of Queensland
Source: Odds shift gender appeal in sports betting (January 13, 2025) from https://phys.org/news/2025-01-odds-shift-gender-appeal-sports.html 2025 Retrieved January 13,
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