New Mexico Tops List of States With Most Female Sports Bettors

New Mexico has the highest percentage of female sports bettors in the U.S., according to a recent survey by Play NJ. While only 12% of women in the U.S. engage in sports betting on a monthly basis, a staggering 35% of New Mexican women gamble at least once a month.

Female bettors in New Mexico could be placing wagers at retail sportsbooks since online is illegal

Since New Mexico has yet to legalize online sports betting, this means a third of the female population betting on sports is placing the wagers in person at one of the top 23 land-based casinos.

Although the Land of Enchantment is the only state where more than a third of all women are engaging in sports betting, Iowa (32%) and Virginia (29%) are still in the top three. Four other states surpass the 20% mark: Tennessee (27%), New York (26%), Arkansas (22%), and Connecticut (20%).

On average, American women spend 4% of their take-home income on sports betting.

However, New Mexico is not in the top five for states with the highest percentage of take-home pay used for betting. Delaware tops the list at 20%, followed by Massachusetts (18%), Michigan (17%), Mississippi (15%), and Connecticut (13%).

Men’s football is the most wagered-on sport among female bettors

Additionally, New York passes the national average of female bettors by 14%. The Empire State also ranked ninth overall for the highest percentage of income women use for sports betting, at 6%.

Based on Play NJ’s survey of 2,000 American women, the most frequently bet-on sports include men’s football (24%), men’s basketball (19%), women’s basketball (11%), women’s soccer (9%), and men’s baseball (4%).

In the survey, 51% of women said friends or family influenced them to wager, followed by 15% from social media influence, 15% from promotions by betting platforms, 14% from someone they were dating, and 4% from excitement of following stars like Caitlin Clark.

According to NJ’s survey, 38% of participating female respondents said sports betting is becoming more popular among female bettors. Online availability through mobile apps, live streams, and betting sites has made wagering easily accessible.