In addition to drawing millions of viewers, the NCAA men’s and women’s division college basketball tournament popularly known as March Madness is anticipated to arrive with millions in wagering as the growth of online sports wagering is on the path of rise.
The American Gaming Association has further predicted that $2.72 billion will be wagered once the tournament begins. The competition will be played throughout the month and is anticipated to pull in much more money as states have legalized sports betting.
According to Colorado Springs Gazette, Cait DeBaun who is the vice president of strategic communications and responsibility at the American Gaming Association has also shared via Washington Examiner, “Over the last year, we’ve had Kentucky go online with their legal marketplace. North Carolina just launched with online sports betting. Florida is currently online. And we have markets that are maturing that have also launched recently — Massachusetts launched a year ago.”
She further continued, “As each state goes online, we’re seeing that migration of Americans from the illegal marketplace to the legal marketplace, and that’s driving demand, and certainly this will be one of the most legally bet on March Madnesses in history.”
Before the NCAA basketball tournaments, North Carolina joined the list of other thirty-seven member states who have legalized wagering. Its online forum for betting was launched as per the report last week. With the Supreme Court’s ruling betting was legalized in 2018.
The other remaining states however are at different phrases considering legalization of sports wagering. DeBaun further mentioned, “It’s probably going to take a little bit longer to get across the finish line, and there’s some states that are probably never going to legalize. Utah has no form of legal gambling, and that’s probably going to remain the case. But that’s why this is the state’s decision. Each state has to determine what’s best for its constituents and how to protect them. Our belief is that legalized sports betting not only protects customers and provides oversight into this marketplace but generates a ton of tax revenue. For important priorities like infrastructure and healthcare and emergency services and education.”
According to Dave Forman, head of research for American Gaming Association, via ESPN shares, “March Madness is the biggest and most mainstream betting event of the year, especially with the brackets. But with legal sports betting having been around now for five years and available in almost 40 states, we wanted to turn our focus to the legal market.”
An estimated $2.72 billion will be legally wagered on men’s and women’s March Madness this year, according to the American Gaming Association.https://t.co/yL3BtFQaYP pic.twitter.com/HWJmMiJ70N
— Front Office Sports Today (@FOS_Today) March 19, 2024
According to Front Office Sports Today, “An estimated $2.72 billion will be legally wagered on men’s and women’s March Madness this year, according to the American Gaming Association.”
The wagering amount, which is estimated for the NCAA, is double as compared to Super Bowl LVIII.
