Soft tissue injury problems appear to be making things worse for WNBA star Caitlin Clark, who didn't usually battle with injuries throughout her illustrious collegiate career. She will miss today's all-star game (8:30 p.m. EST, ABC) due to a right groin injury.
Futures wagers on Clark and her team, the Indiana Fever, are being impacted by her persistent injury problems.
Clark, a captain of one of the all-star teams, and the league, which has benefited greatly from Clark's arrival in terms of attendance, ratings, and overall buzz and interest, were to be shown in tonight's game and yesterday night's 3-Point Contest.
The New York Liberty's Sabrina Ionescu won the 3-point competition last night with 30 points in the final round, and the second-year guard received the most votes (1,293,536 votes) from the fans for the all-star game.
The price of all-star game tickets fell sharply once it was announced last week that Clark would not be playing tonight.
In addition to missing 11 games due to a left quad injury and a left groin injury, Clark has sustained further injuries this season.
With a record of 12-11, the Fever are four games behind the New York Liberty, who were in first place at the time, in the Eastern Conference.
Fever futures are turning away bettors because to the Clark injury scenario.
ESPN Bet states that the Fever went from +475 to +550 before moving to +650 on July 13 and staying there as of right now.
Fever, with 27.9% of bets and 43.7% of handle, Lynx, with 19.3% of bets and 21.2% of handle, Liberty, with 25.6% of bets and 14.2% of handle, Mercury, with 6.9% of bets and 8.2% of handle, and Aces, with 6.5% of bets and 4.8% of handle, dominate the Championship Winner market as a whole.
John Ewing of BetMGM claims that the MVP market is where you can truly observe how Clark's injuries have affected betting lines: Last week, she was +650; on Tuesday, she was +2000; and now, she is +6600.
“Last week, the Fever were +550 to win WNBA title, they were +650 on Tuesday and remain at +650 to win title,” Ewing said.
A representative for DraftKings stated: "With a 58% handle, the Fever remain our most-bet team to win the Finals. However, this is less than the 83% handle on opening night.
In order to demonstrate Clark's market dominance and the effect she has on betting patterns off the court, Hard Rock Bet examined their betting statistics.
Neil Walsh, SVP of Sportsbook at Hard Rock Bet, claims that "Caitlin Clark makes an impact. Because of her absence, we are now predicting a 40% decrease in handle for this weekend's WNBA All-Star Game, which we had believed would see historic interest. She is a celebrity, and there is no doubting her influence on gambling behavior.
Team Clark +154, Team Collier -184 is the money line for tonight's all-star game at FanDuel. With Team Clark at +4.5 (-104) and Team Collier at -4.5 (-118), the O/U is 258.5 (-110).
New customers only. Min deposit £20. Wagering 40x bonus. Max bet £5 with bonus funds. 100% up to £99 bonus + 99 fee spins on 1st deposit.
We know a good player needs a gooad start to smash those spinning reels like a true pro and that’s why we present the best way to begin your victory quest.