AGA Forecasts March Madness Betting Boost for Online Sportsbooks

A report from the American Gaming Association (AGA) stated that over $8.5 billion was wagered by 5.8 million people on March Madness in 2019 and that figure is expected to rise to 17.8 million people wagering online on this year’s event.

The AGA’s reported that three times as many Americans planned to wager on this year’s March madness via online sportsbooks compared to 2019.

Of course the event was cancelled last year and this year the pandemic has meant the men’s showpiece college basketball tournament is, for the first time in its history being held in a single state, Indiana.

The March Madness main schedule is as follows:

• March 18-19 – First Round
• March 20-21 – Second Round
• March 25-26 – Sweet 16
• March 27-28 – Elite Eight
• April 3 – Final Four
• April 5 – National Championship

The expansion of the legal sports betting market in the USA has seen 14 more states legalize online gambling which translates into 73 million more Americans who can legally place sports bets.  Since 2019’s March Madness much has changed – and companies such as DraftKings and FanDuel have grown their market and established themselves as major platforms for sports fans to compete for prizes.

45% of American adults are now living in a state with legalized sports betting.

March Madness Wagering Stats

Traditional sports betting on March Madness is forecasted to see an overall rise in 2021 with 30.6 million Americans expected to place traditional NCAA basketball bets on the popular March Madness end-of-season tournament. This is up by almost 18 million from two years ago the AGA said.

• 47.4 million American adults plan to bet on March Madness (that’s more than 20% of the population)
  
• 8.3 million bettors are expected to place a March Madness bet at a physical sportsbook, which is up 79% from 2019

• 17.8 million say they will place a bet online, up 206% from 5.8 million in 2019
  
• The odds of picking all 63 March Madness games correctly is 1 in 9.2 quintillion!

With more Americans turning to legal online betting on March Madness, the number of people who have said they plan to fill out a bracket this year has dropped to 36.7 million, down by 8% from 2019.

The latest March Madness Futures odds according to Vegas-Odds.com has the Gonzaga Bulldogs are favorites to win at +170 followed by Baylor (+375) and Houston (+800).

More March Madness Betting Stats

• Betting among friends and colleagues remains popular – March Madness is likely to generate $4.6 billion of bets from 40 million people wagering with friends and colleagues through a total 149 million brackets, the AGA said.
  
• Regulated Vs International Sportsbooks : The remaining $3.9 billion of bets will come primarily by way of international bookmakers / websites, though 4.1 million people will also place legal March Madness bets through licensed U.S based casinos and sportsbook operators.
  
• Interest in the tournament is up slightly from 2019 with 26% of Americans saying they are very interested in the NCAA tournament, compared to 23% two years ago.
  
• 42% of college basketball fans said they followed the sport more closely this season, with 70% of those attributing their increased attention to the availability of NCAA sports betting.
  
• 17.8 million say they will wager online, up 206% from 5.8 million in 2019
  
• 8.3 million expect to place a bet at a physical sportsbook, a rise of 79% from 2019

March Madness is set to conclude on April 5th with the Championship final being played at the Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis.