Basic Takeaways
- Legal wagers on this year’s NCAA “March Madness” basketball tournament are projected to reach $2.7 billion, according to the American Gaming Association.
- The availability of online gambling and the expansion of the legalization of sports betting in all states have contributed to the increase in the number and size of bets on this annual sporting event.
- Growing interest in women’s college basketball has also fueled growth, with betting expanding dramatically year over year.
- Sports betting companies will also benefit from the frenzy surrounding the NCAA tournaments.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) 2024 Division 1 college basketball tournaments, known as “March Madness,” kicked off this week, sending fans and sportsbooks into a frenzy. The event may also benefit the shares of some companies in the sports betting industry.
Bettors are expected to legally bet as much as $2.72 billion on “March Madness” this year, according to the American Gaming Association (AGA). That figure appears to exclude bets with friends and family and office brackets, which were counted as part of the AGA’s previous March Madness betting surveys.
“It wasn’t that long ago that if you wanted to place a bet, you either had to go to the Nevada casino sportsbook or you had to participate in the more casual betting between friends,” said AGA Vice President of Research Dave Forman. he said CBS News in an interview. “[Online betting] it has led many young people into this legal market.”
The number of players in all sports has grown steadily in recent years as regulatory laws in 38 states and the District of Columbia have been relaxed.
Totals similar to Super Bowl bets
In 2023, 75% of fans bet on March Madness for the first time, a market research firm reported.
Last year, the AGA projected that 68 million Americans would wager as much as $15.5 billion on the tournament, which features more than 100 games played by men’s and women’s teams over three weeks. Of that number, 31 million planned to place a sports bet through online betting, traditional sportsbooks or bookies, while 21.5 million planned to casually bet with friends.
By comparison, last year’s NFL Super Bowl – the single most heavily bet game in US sports – drew 50 million adults to wager $16 billion. This year, with the Super Bowl appropriately played in Las Vegas, that number jumped to 68 million gamblers betting $23.1 billion, according to sports network ESPN.
Bets placed on women’s games almost tripled
Part of the push for more March Madness betting is the growing interest in women’s college basketball.
The success of talented players like the University of Iowa’s Caitlin Clark and Louisiana State University’s Angel Reese has caused women’s basketball bets to nearly triple this season compared to last year, according to Caesars Sportsbook.
As the NCAA basketball tournaments were set to begin, equity analysts at Jefferies said in a research note on March 13 that gaming “investor interest remains focused on the growing U.S. market where state legalization,” along with deals and the path to profitability is still being debated. .
Analysts at Bank of America Securities in a research note in mid-February highlighted DraftKings Inc. (DKNG). BetMGM, owned by MGM Resorts International (MGM). and PENN Entertainment Inc. (PENN), which runs ESPNBet, as gaming companies to watch.