Bet365’s 2024 Look-Back at Prop Bets, Women’s Sports, and Denver HQ
Perennial sports betting powerhouse Bet365 takes a look back at 2024
Key Facts:
- Player Pro Bets are fan favorites in NFL and NBA
- Huge surge in interest in Women’s NBA and NCAA action
- Media darling Kansas City Chiefs still attract most betting action in 2024
- Bet365 opened new US headquarters in Denver in September this year
Bet365 is an online sports and casino gaming powerhouse with more than 3 billion in revenues last year. It has over 90 million active users worldwide and competes in markets from the United States to Europe and Asia. It is growing every year in both South and Central America. So, it is always a pleasure to peruse its end-of-the-year look-back fact sheets.
Bettors Want Prop Bets
One of the more interesting details is the massive interest in prop bets on players. This is obviously primarily on professional games, as the NCAA and its President Charles Baker have barnstormed state legislators this year in a rush to ban all collegiate props that involve betting on individual players or their actions.
While the NCAA says betting on college props weakens the integrity of the game and puts players at risk of harassment, it was precisely the ability to bring these bad actors out into the light where any improper or suspicious betting patterns could be flagged and investigated that led many of these legislators to pass legal sports betting, to begin with.
The illegal sports betting market is reported to still be over $40 billion a year in the US. Forcing prop bets on college players back underground or to offshore betting sites doesn’t strengthen the integrity of the game, and worse, it hides bad actors and their suspicious betting patterns from US investigators.
Bet365 lays out the extent of the problem by noting that in many professional games this year, prop betting was more than the total bet on the actual money line. If professional sports bettors are betting mainly on props, it is only a matter of time before those bettors find ways to make bets on college props.
They also highlighted their plans to move forward with new micro-betting options on many new games and sports, not just in America but across the globe. These Flash Bets are small bets placed much like prop bets, but they involve the mechanics of the live game.
Is the next play a pass or run? Will the following play result in a first down? Is the next basket a two-pointer, or is it a three? Is the next pitch a strike, a ball, or an out? There is some hope that this can help cover the loss of college prop bets as more and more states make them illegal.
Significant Increase in Betting on Women Sports
Women’s sports in general, and the WNBA and Women’s UFC events in particular, saw a surge in betting interest last year. A bumper crop of new WNBA players like Caitlin Clark and A’ja Wilson, who have huge social media followings, helped put women’s basketball in the spotlight, and Bet365 says overall betting on the WNBA was up 67% across the country, but some states saw increases of more than 100%.
There was also increased interest in women’s UFC fights, especially title bouts or those along heavier advertised men’s bouts like Tyson/Paul, which saw substantial action on the undercard featuring Amanda Serrano and Katie Taylor.
Overall, even sports like women’s college basketball and professional tennis saw more betting action this year. The Women’s Pro Baseball League has plans to launch in 2026 with six franchises and may grow the market even more. Even 2025 looks promising with a new batch of WNBA stars joining the ranks out of college and the UFC recognizing the drawing power of women fighters such as Mackenzie Dern, whose next fight was moved to the main event spot in Las Vegas in January.
Bet365 Goes All In on Denver
Bet365 spent more than $40 million on a beautiful new, 120,000-square-foot headquarters near downtown Denver. The grand opening was greeted with much fanfare, and while corporate headcounts probably won’t exceed 300 this year, they hope to eventually house more than 1,000 employees in the glass tower at One Platte.
This is an apparent commitment to past growth and the future of online gaming and sports betting in America. They will also be well positioned for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup series, which is coming to twelve venues in the US this summer.
Bet365 will no doubt hope to capitalize on such a prestigious soccer event, making it to North America with a 32-team field. But regardless of individual sporting events, the future looks bright for continued growth for US sports betting and a well-prepared Bet365.
