March Madness betting is on the rise.
The American Gaming Association estimates that $3.1 billion will be legally wagered in the U.S. on men’s and women’s college basketball tournaments this month. The industry trade group’s projection is up 15% from the $2.7 billion estimation in 2024.
“March Madness is one of the most exciting times in American sports, with fans fired up for both the men’s and women’s NCAA tournaments,” AGA SVP of strategic communications Joe Maloney said. “As legal wagering expands across the U.S., more fans than ever have the opportunity to bet legally and responsibly.”
The AGA credits the March Madness betting increase to a “growing trust in legal wagering options.” An AGA study showed that 75% of Americans support legal betting in their home state, and 90% see sports wagering as “an acceptable form of entertainment.”
Bigger than the Super Bowl
By comparison, the AGA estimated that $1.4 billion was wagered on last month’s Super Bowl. In 2024, BetMGM said it took four times as many bets on the two NCAA tournaments than the NFL’s premier event.
Thanks partly to the Caitlin Clark craze, the women’s tourney set a handle record and became BetMGM’s most-bet women’s event ever.
While the Super Bowl is just one game between two teams, the two NCAA tournaments include more than 130 games and hundreds more wagering opportunities, including player props in several states.
NCAA president Charlie Baker asked lawmakers and regulators to ban betting on individual player stats last March, but only a handful complied. Also, college basketball has dealt with several reported instances of suspicious betting activity among players this year.
Regulatory technology provider Vixio, which projects a $3.2-billion March Madness handle, reported that bettors in at least 16 states are unable to bet player props while bettors in at least 15 states can’t wager on in-state college teams.
"With the NCAA actively advocating for a national prohibition on all college player props, but sportsbooks increasingly reliant on props as a key component of their broader betting product offerings, the industry and college sports find their relationship at an inflection point as March Madness tips off this year,” Vixio chief analyst James Kilsby concludes.
Market madness
There are 38 U.S. states and Washington, D.C., currently offering sports betting. No new jurisdictions were added since last year’s NCAA tournaments.
North Carolina, which launched online wagering on March 11, 2024, is the latest state to introduce it. The basketball-centric Tar Heel State generated $659 million in bets last March, North Carolina’s all-time monthly high.
New York, the most lucrative sports betting U.S. market, produced a $1.85-billion handle in March 2024, a 3.6% year-over-year increase.
