A new survey from the American Gaming Association (AGA) has found that 68 million American adults plan to wager $15.5bn on the 2023 March Madness NCAA men’s tournament.
AGA President and CEO, Bill Miller, said, “March Madness is one of the best traditions in American sports – and America’s most wagered-on competition. Critically, the expansion of regulated sports betting over the past five years has brought safeguards to more than half of American adults who can now bet legally in their home market.”
Of that 68 million people, 31 million plan to place a traditional sports wager either online, at a retail sportsbook, or with a bookie; while 56.3 million plan to participate in a bracket contest; and 21.5 million plan to bet casually with friends.
The AGA has also found that three quarters of online bettors say this will be their first time betting on March Madness online. Compared to last month’s Super Bowl, 18 million more adults plan to wager on March madness. However, the tournament’s wagers are expected to be $1bn less than those placed when the Chiefs beat the Eagles.
Kansas, Ohio, and most recently Massachusetts, have launched retail and mobile sports betting since March Madness 2022, with Maryland launching mobile wagering. The Kansas Jayhawks won the men’s division NCAA tournament in 2022, and this year Sunflower State residents can now wager on their current reigning champions.
March Madness 2023 will be played in 67 games over three weeks, and will be the first to feature Las Vegas as a regional host location.
Miller added, “With the excitement around March Madness, the AGA and our members want to remind anyone getting in on the action to have a game plan to bet responsibly.”
Kentucky is currently bettors’ choice to win the national title (9%), followed by Texas A&M (8%), and Gonzaga, UCLA and Alabama (6%).
