The “woosh” of a dildo flying past your face. Tribalistic chants. Men making bets on your bodily functions.

This isn’t a cult—this is a day in the life of a modern-day WNBA player.

That last indignity on the list? It’s a sports betting strategy that’s been getting increasing play over the course of this WNBA season, which is wrapping up as the Las Vegas Aces and Phoenix Mercury face off in the finals. Dozens of dedicated gamblers online are making bets on players’ potential performance based on their “predictions” (or, rather, assumptions) about their menstrual cycles. Some actually call it “blood money,” because … of course they do.

One prominent figure making and predicting these wagers, who goes by FadeMeBets online, has garnered thousands of likes and shares on Instagram for his menstrual cycle betting strategy. He claims he’s been correct on 11 out of 16 of his period-related predictions, with about 68.75 percent accuracy. “What’s kind of good, but also kind of bad, is it brings more people to watch the WNBA, but, on the downside of that, it’s usually just all gamblers,” says FadeMeBets, who declined to be named, citing privacy concerns.

This WNBA season has been a record-breaker—more fans in the stands, more eyes on the screen, more viral moments. The league announced that attendance passed a historic 2.5 million earlier this summer. Meanwhile, high-profile players like Angel Reese, Paige Bueckers, and Caitlin Clark have added a boost and become household names.

The newfound interest in the league has more men watching the sport than women, and the overwhelming rise of sports gambling means some of them are betting on the games—and the players’ periods—which experts warn isn’t just pseudoscientific, but sexist, too.

“Not every woman is the same. Yes, there’s the traditional 28-day cycle, but everyone’s is different, and it varies person to person, month by month,” says Amy West, a sports medicine physician. “Someone being able to predict that? Someone who’s not very close to the menstruating person? It’s actually kind of silly.”

Methods to the Madness

FadeMeBets admits that predicting WNBA player performance based on menstrual cycle assumptions is more art than science. His typical menstrual cycle prediction videos all start with the vaguely menacing phrase: “We’ve got a victim, boys.” (By this, he says the victim is the betting line—the odds set out by sportsbooks that determine a person’s payout—not the player herself.) He then shares predictions about whether a specific player is menstruating, ovulating, or in their late luteal phase, which occurs after ovulation and before the period comes. For instance, he said this summer of Clark: “She is on the end of her late luteal phase, meaning a decrease in cardio, decrease in strength, decrease in aerobic system, she’s going to be tired more often than in a normal game.”

FadeMeBets told viewers to “bet the under” on Clark that game, projecting that she’d score lower than the number predicted by oddsmakers on sports betting apps, and, in this case, Clark did.

The EU on Friday demanded tech giants Apple, Google, Snapchat and YouTube explain what steps they are taking to protect children online.

The European Commission has sent requests for information under the Digital Services Act to Apple, Google, Snapchat and YouTube, EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen told reporters before a meeting of EU ministers in Denmark.

“Privacy, security and safety have to be ensured, and this is not always the case, and that’s why the commission is tightening the enforcement of our rules,” Virkkunen said.

“Just today we have sent requests for information on four online platforms. To Snapchat, to YouTube, to Apple Store and Google Play, also to look at what kind of practices they are taking to protect minors online,” she added.

She would not provide more information but said the commission would share details in a press release later on Friday.

Also before the meeting, Danish Digital Minister Caroline Stage Olsen claimed people were using Snapchat to sell drugs.

The EU’s demands are not the first under the DSA.

Brussels is also probing Meta’s Facebook and Instagram, as well as TikTok, over fears they are not doing enough to combat the addictive nature of their platforms for children.

Inspired by Australia’s social media ban for under-16s, Brussels is exploring whether such a measure could work in the 27-country bloc after several states including France and Spain pushed for limits on minors’ access to platforms.

Denmark, in charge of the rotating six-month EU presidency, has been pushing the bloc to take more action collectively to protect minors through new rules.

Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Tuesday Denmark planned to introduce a ban on social media for children under the age of 15.

The EU’s Digital Services Act, a mammoth law demanding platforms do more to tackle illegal content, contains provisions to ensure the safety of children online.

The ministers will discuss age verification on social media and what steps they can take to make the online world safer for minors.

They are expected to agree on a joint statement after the meeting on Friday in which they back EU chief Ursula von der Leyen’s plans to study a potential EU-wide digital majority age, according to a draft document seen by AFP.

Von der Leyen said last month she would establish a panel of experts “to assess what steps make sense” at the EU level on the issue.

© 2025 AFP

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has given Google strategic market status (SMS) for search and search advertising.

The regulator said that designating Google with SMS enables it to consider proportionate, targeted interventions to ensure that general search services are open to effective competition, and that consumers and businesses relying on Google can have confidence that they are treated fairly.

Before introducing such interventions, however, the CMA must carry out further public consultation on their terms and impact.

Google products covered by the SMS designation include Google Search, irrespective of how it is accessed, and all the information it returns, including through AI Overviews and AI Mode. “This ensures that our designation reflects the changing nature of Google’s search product. It also includes Google’s organic search,” said the CMA.

But although some people are using Google’s Gemini AI engine for internet searches, the CMA has not included Gemini as part of the SMS designation.

Will Hayter, executive director for digital markets at the CMA, said: “By promoting competition in digital markets like search and search advertising, we can unlock opportunities for businesses big and small to support innovation and growth, driving investment across the UK economy.

“We have found that Google maintains a strategic position in the search and search advertising sector, with more than 90% of searches in the UK taking place on its platform.

“Having taken into account the feedback received following our proposed decision, we have today designated Google’s search services with strategic market status.”

Numerous companies submitted comments to the CMA’s investigation earlier this year, which focused on whether Google should be designated SMS.

In its submission, browser developer Vivaldi discussed the significant support Mozilla Foundation, which operates the Firefox web browser, received from Google and the status of Google Search in the Firefox browser.

Vivaldi said: “We believe that Google and Microsoft’s search functionality should be available to any browser, and the revenue share should be the same percentage, whichever company uses their search. Neither search provider should be allowed to offer better terms to be default, nor dictate other terms, such as which other organisations a browser vendor partners with for search, or other revenue-generating deals.

“To create fair competition conducive to more innovation and higher consumer benefits, the playing field needs to be levelled for big and small companies. Otherwise, Microsoft and Google will maintain dominance across different market segments by refusing to share search revenue with smaller players.”

However, a comment submitted by airline IAG noted that while Google Flight Search (GFS) plays an important role in the market, IAG said it was not concerned about Google’s strategic market status in respect of its provision of general search and search advertising services. 

The CMA will need to balance the needs of e-commerce sites and those who are calling for Google to be forced to scrap the revenue-sharing deals it has with companies like Apple.

For instance, airline easyJet noted the changes made through the European Union’s Digital Market Authority had led to a significant shift in traffic from GFS to other vertical search services, such as online travel agencies and metasearch engines. “This shift has diluted easyJet’s direct web sales, impacting our ability to offer customers the best value and service,” it said.