Legal wagering on the March Madness could balloon to as much as $3 billion dollars this year at regulated U.S. sportsbooks, according to projections from PlayUSA, a leading source for news, analysis, and research on the U.S. gaming industry.
PlayUSA says the growth in NCAA tournament betting is a direct reflection of the growth in the U.S. market, which has doubled in size over the last year as new markets launched and existing markets expanded.
The top three markets for NCAA Tournament betting, New York, New Jersey, and Nevada, should draw roughly $400 million in handle apiece.
New York has rocketed into becoming the largest sports betting market in the country since launching online sports betting in January.
Last year, every NCAA Tournament game was played in Indiana, one of the largest legal sports betting markets in the U.S. But with fans limited, they say the bump in wagering activity in the state was muted.
In fact, NCAA Tournament-specific wagering could triple the nearly $1 billion in wagers taken in on last month’s Super Bowl as the most bet-on sporting event in U.S. history.
