David PurdumJun 3, 2025, 10:25 AM ET
- Joined ESPN in 2014
- Journalist covering gambling industry since 2008
Betting interest on Indiana Fever games dropped as much as 50% last week at sportsbooks with star guard Caitlin Clark out.
The amount wagered on the Fever's two games last week at Caesars Sportsbook was roughly half as much as the team's first four games of the season, before Clark suffered a quad strain.
"I figured it would have an impact for sure, but it goes to show just how big of a draw Clark is to both the league and the world of WNBA betting," David Lieberman, who oversees basketball odds at Caesars Sportsbook, told ESPN.
BetMGM saw a 37% drop in the number of bets, including prop parlays, on the Fever's games last week against the Washington Mystics and Connecticut Sun compared to the team's first four games. Handle dipped 23.5%, a spokesperson for the sportsbook said.
Overall, with Clark in the lineup, the betting action at DraftKings was lopsided on the Fever in their first three games. Indiana attracted greater than 90% of the money-line bets in its first three games, but the action leveled off last week. The most popular WNBA wager Friday at ESPN BET was the Sun +12.5 over the Fever.
"We have seen a downturn in WNBA handle and bet count at the Fanatics Sportsbook after Caitlin Clark's injury," Kevin Hennessy, vice president of communications for Fanatics Sportsbooks, told ESPN in an email. "She began this season as the most popular selection for prop betting, before she was injured. There is no doubt about her popularity, but intense interest in the NBA Playoffs and the championship run of the Indiana Pacers, who play in the same state, probably have a lot to do with this momentary downturn."
The Fever have attracted more bets and more money wagered to win the WNBA title than all other teams combined at BetMGM. Clark's odds to win WNBA MVP moved from -115 to +250 after the injury, with Minnesota's Napheesa Collier now the odds-on MVP favorite.
