Posted on 03/12/2023 7:44:40 PM PDT by Libloather
March Madness tips off this week and about one-quarter of all American adults are poised to collectively bet $15.5 billion on this year’s NCAA men’s Division I basketball tournament, according to data from the American Gaming Association (AGA).
The AGA conducted a survey that found 68 million American adults will place bets on March Madness this year, with the vast majority – 56.3 million – planning to participate in a bracket contest. About 31 million Americans will place a traditional wager online, with a retail sportsbook, or with a bookie, while another 21.5 million plan to bet casually with friends. The figures represent a significant jump from the 45 million Americans projected to wager $3.1 billion on March Madness last year.
Casey Clark, senior vice president of the AGA, told FOX Business that March Madness and the Super Bowl are the "two biggest betting events of the year" in part because of how close together they occur, but also because the number of "casual bets that happen between friends or a bracket pool" is significant and brings more people into sports betting than at other times of the year.
Based on AGA’s survey, 18 million more Americans will bet on March Madness than did so on last month’s Super Bowl, although the value wagered on the 67 college basketball games as they’re played over the next three weeks will be about half a billion dollars less than the Super Bowl.
Among bettors planning to wager on March Madness, the Kentucky Wildcats were the most popular choice to win the national championship with 9% of bettors backing them.
Other favorites include the Texas A&M Aggies with 8%, followed by a three-way tie between the Alabama Crimson Tide, Gonzaga Bulldogs, and UCLA Bruins with 6% each.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxbusiness.com ...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.