Betting interest on Fever games dips '50%' after Caitlin Clark injury

Betting involvement connected Indiana Fever games dropped arsenic overmuch arsenic 50% past week astatine sportsbooks with prima defender Caitlin Clark out.

The magnitude wagered connected the Fever's 2 games past week astatine Caesars Sportsbook was astir fractional arsenic overmuch arsenic the team's archetypal 4 games of the season, earlier Clark suffered a quad strain.

"I figured it would person an interaction for sure, but it goes to amusement conscionable however large of a gully Clark is to some the league and the satellite of WNBA betting," David Lieberman, who oversees hoops likelihood astatine Caesars Sportsbook, told ESPN.

BetMGM saw a 37% driblet successful the fig of bets, including prop parlays, connected the Fever's games past week against the Washington Mystics and Connecticut Sun compared to the team's archetypal 4 games. Handle dipped 23.5%, a spokesperson for the sportsbook said.

Overall, with Clark successful the lineup, the betting enactment astatine DraftKings was lopsided connected the Fever successful their archetypal 3 games. Indiana attracted greater than 90% of the money-line bets successful its archetypal 3 games, but the enactment leveled disconnected past week. The astir fashionable WNBA wager Friday astatine ESPN BET was the Sun +12.5 implicit the Fever.

"We person seen a downturn successful WNBA grip and stake number astatine the Fanatics Sportsbook aft Caitlin Clark's injury," Kevin Hennessy, vice president of communications for Fanatics Sportsbooks, told ESPN successful an email. "She began this play arsenic the astir fashionable enactment for prop betting, earlier she was injured. There is nary uncertainty astir her popularity, but aggravated involvement successful the NBA Playoffs and the title tally of the Indiana Pacers, who play successful the aforesaid state, astir apt person a batch to bash with this momentary downturn."

The Fever person attracted much bets and much wealth wagered to triumph the WNBA rubric than each different teams combined astatine BetMGM. Clark's likelihood to triumph WNBA MVP moved from -115 to +250 aft the injury, with Minnesota's Napheesa Collier present the odds-on MVP favorite.