“It’s the biggest betting event of the year.”
David Foreman, senior director of research at the American Gaming Association, on the significance of March Madness.
Published on
mar 15, 2022
- March Madness is a single-elimination, seven-round college basketball tournament. Games begin today and will last through the beginning of April.
- According to a new report by the American Gaming Association, about 45 million Americans will bet $3.1 billion on this year's tournament. The Super Bowl, "which is the largest single sporting event in the U.S.," attracted $1 billion in legal bets.
- This year's women's championship tournament is *also* branded as March Madness - for the first time ever.
Why It Matters: Legal operators are expecting a surge in wagers this season - in part because of an increase in legal online betting. This is also the first "normal" March Madness in three years; the pandemic forced its cancellation in 2020, while last year it was held in a single-location "bubble" with limited attendance.
Americans Expected To Wager $3.1 Billion During March Madness
