March Madness, the 2021 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, tips off later this week amid projections it will be the first US sporting event to top $1 billion in legal wagers, and warnings that the increasing availability of sports betting means awareness of problem gambling is needed.
According to projections by analysts for the PlayUSA Network, the confluence of several factors could push the amount wagered over the next three weekends of basketball to nearly $1.5 billion.
The coronavirus pandemic shut down the sports world one year ago this week, just as the 2020 NCAA Tournament was ready to go. That pent-up demand is expected to be fueled by the radical changes in regulated sports betting since the last time March Madness was held in 2019. Back then, only seven states had legalized sports wagering.
Just two years later, some form of sports betting is legal in 20 states plus Washington, DC, meaning approximately 86m adults can bet legally in their home states compared to just 26m in 2019.
Because of all these changes, predicting exactly how much money will be wagered on this year’s Madness is nearly impossible, cautioned Eric Ramsey, analyst for PlayUSA.
“The 2021 NCAA Tournament will be the most widely bet-on sporting event in US history,” he said in a statement. “The popularity of the NCAA Tournament, combined with such a high number of games, typically makes March Madness the largest sports betting holiday each year in terms of handle, and there is no reason to suspect that will not be the case this year.”
Dustin Gouker, lead analyst for PlayUSA.com, added that pandemic-related restrictions could limit in-person betting in Nevada, which relies on its retail sportsbooks, while New Jersey takes 90% of wagers online.
For the first time in history, every game of the NCAA Tournament will be played in a legal sports jurisdiction. As such, Ramsey said Indiana has the potential to far outperform what would normally be expected of the nation’s fifth-largest sports betting market.
March is Problem Gambling Awareness Month
Because of the popularity of the NCAA Tournament, 19 years ago the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) and the National Association of Administrators of Disordered Gambling Services (NAADGS) designated March as Problem Gambling Awareness Month (PGAM).
This week, the two groups said awareness of gambling addiction is necessary due to the expansion of legalized betting opportunities.
“NCPG and NAADGS created Problem Gambling Awareness Month as an annual campaign to focus the public on identifying and helping those affected by gambling addiction,” said Keith Whyte, NCPG executive director. “We leverage March Madness to aid that effort because sports bettors can be especially vulnerable to this problem. We fully expect calls to our National Problem Gambling Helpline and other helplines to peak during this month and we stand ready to help.”
Stacey Frohnapfel-Hasson, president, NAADGS, added: “States across the country have decided to expand options for gambling in recent years. The need for awareness of responsible gambling practices is more vital now than ever before.”
