90 Million WNBA Viewers in 2026 – Is Women’s Basketball Becoming the Go-To Betting Market?

Women’s basketball has been around for some time now, but it’s safe to say that 2026 has been a very important year for the sport. According to research from Nostrabet.com, around 90M unique viewers watched the WNBA across the USA. Close to 3.8M people also attended these games, and the WNBA’s social media channels generated 4 billion views.

These stats are truly impressive, and they extend beyond traditional sports audiences. Some major bookmakers also reported significant activity in WNBA betting. One of the big names in the USA actually reported a 50% increase.

Following all of that information, many people would agree that women’s basketball is slowly becoming a popular choice among players. Let’s see everything you need to know about the stats and their future in sports betting.

WNBA’s TV Viewership Broke a New Record

Interestingly, the 2026 WNBA season is the 30th, and it brought loads of big records. Based on the stats, there were around 51 telecasts that averaged at least 1M viewers. This may not seem that much, but there were only 19 telecasts in 2025, so the growth is huge.

Speaking of growth, nine of the broadcasters reported more than 2M viewers, which is way more than last. NBC was leading the chart with an average viewership of 1.75M, followed by ABC with 1.56M. Interestingly, ESPN’s 1.24M represents a 32% increase over last year, the largest increase on the list. Keep in mind that these stats are based on the October 14 announcement.

The peak in the WNBA’s popularity this year came with the match between the Chicago Sky and the Indiana Fever. It averaged around 3.31M viewers across several networks, the highest since the league’s first weekend in 1997.

All of this popularity creates new opportunities for players, advertisers, casters, and sponsors. Needless to say, people into sports betting also started paying more attention to it.

3.8M People Attended WNBA Games

The TV figures mentioned so far are impressive, but they don’t show the full picture. A quick look at who’s visited the games shows that, on average, there were close to 3.8M spectators across the 330 regular-season games in 2026. When you do the maths, this is around 11.5K fans per game, which is really good.

For comparison, a total of 33 games were sold in 2025. In 2026, the number is 212, which is around 64% of the regular-season games. These stats are really impressive and show that the WNBA has taken off.

When it comes to records, the Toronto Tempo established the highest attendance with 20,996 spectators. This happened in their match against the Dallas Wings.

Keep in mind that the league has expanded and now features more teams than before. Their current number is 15 because Portland and Toronto joined in 2026.

All of these growing numbers represent a sigh for fan engagement, which is why it’s no surprise bookies also follow the action. This brings us to our next important heading.

WNBA Betting Activity is Increasing

Besides watching the WNBA games online and attending them in person, the WNBA betting stats are also on the rise. Some of the leading sports betting sites in the USA have reported a massive increase of up to 50%.

The fact that more people want to bet on the sport than before means that bookmakers also step up their game. If you analyze what’s available, you will most likely find a lot more markets. Bookies will also offer a range of features, including Cash Out and Live Betting.

In some instances, WNBA games will also include their own short-term bonuses. You can come across boosted odds and even free bets. These proposals make the league much more popular, as some people would give the sport and league a shot solely because of them.

What do WNBA Bettors Wager on?

People who are interested in betting on basketball know that most of the best bets revolve around moneylines, point spreads, and game totals. Despite that, bookies often offer player-specific betting markets with good odds. Fans can bet on how many points a player will score, whether there will be a double-double, and how many rebounds or assists they will produce.

A quick look at the stats for 2026 shows significant growth in WNBA player-prop betting. It seems like bettors appreciate these markets more because they have competitive odds.

According to league statistics, teams averaged nearly 87.1 points per game. The same is true for the assists (20.7 per game) and the three pointers (8.7 per game).

Considering these stats, we expect to see changes in some of the more popular WNBA betting markets. Bookies may provide more options or change the values of their existing ones.

The Role of Individual Players

Like the NBA, the WNBA has star players who play a major role in making the league more interesting to follow. Caitlin Clark is one of them, and she has gained significant attention since entering the league in 2024. Her performance and popularity have made the Indiana Fever one of the most-watched on TV.

Angel Reese is another interesting name that WNBA fans follow closely. She is a part of the Atlanta Dream and established a record. She secured 521 rebounds and 32 double-doubles.

Indiana’s Kelsey Mitchell is another big name who scored 1086 points during the regular season. Caitlin Clark is also worth pointing out, as she became the fastest WNBA player to reach 1K points and 250 assists. She also got 250 rebounds and did all of that in just 54 games.

The 2026 WNBA Finals – a Good Betting Example

Those of you who’ve followed the championship series between the Golden State Valkyries and Atlanta Dream probably remember that the event offered excellent betting opportunities. Golden State entered the markets at odds of +3500 to win, while Atlanta was at +1400.

What’s interesting is that neither of the two entered the WNBA season as the leading title favorite. The fact that the two ended up there surprised many people and bookies, so some of the odds were really good.

Speaking of the finals, we also have to note that they drew tons of attention. The stats from NBC and Peacock show that game one had around 2.1 million viewers, up 11% from last year. Game 3 was the most impressive, drawing 31% more people than the 2025 match.

Women’s Sports Could Generate $3B in 2026

Truth be told, the WNBA is not the only women’s sports league to have become much more popular recently. Research from April 2026 shows that the global revenues from elite women’s sports will reach $3B in 2026. Assuming that happens, this will be a massive 25% increase from the $2.4B generated in 2026.

The revenue itself will be distributed across several major categories. Commercial activities (sponsorships and such) will account for 45%, followed by matchday revenue at 30% and broadcasting revenue at 25%.

It’s probably not surprising that football and basketball are the two leading sports here. In fact, stats show that they will account for around 35% of global women’s sports revenue.

Women’s basketball, specifically, is going through really interesting changes. In the WNBA, for example, there is a new agreement that raised the team salary cap from $1.5M in 2026 to $6M ion 2026. There is also a new revenue-sharing system that increased player compensation.

The Younger Audience and International Expansion

We have to point out that the WNBA’s growth is related to how people consume basketball content nowadays. As mentioned earlier, all of the social media channels generated 4B viewers, which is 28% more than in 2025. The WNBA app alone had more than 700K downloads and 1.21m active users, which is really impressive.

According to ESPN, WNBA viewership among people aged 18 to 24 has increased by 27%. This shows that younger people are more interested in the league and mostly prefer to use social media content.

It’s worth noting that the WNBA features players from 30 countries outside the USA. The league was broadcast in more than 25 languages worldwide, and we expect these stats to increase further.

So, Is Women’s Basketball the next Big Betting Market?

Considering the 2026 stats related to the WNBA, women’s basketball betting seems to have a bright future. With more than 90M unique U.S. viewers, record attendance, and strong social engagement, the sport is flourishing.

Despite that, the WNBA remains a very small betting market compared to some of the more established options. Competitions like the NBA and the NFL remain more popular in the USA, but this doesn’t mean women’s basketball should be underestimated. In fact, the WNBA already proved that women’s basketball can attract a massive audience.

Most betting options nowadays focus on the USA, but we expect this to change in the near future. Basketball is one of the most popular sports for betting in Europe as well, and local bookies will start offering more options for women’s sports. This also includes basketball and the WNBA.