Of that amount, an estimated $240 million* will be wagered on the NCAA Tournament in Nevada, where sports betting is legal.
That means over $8 billion will be wagered on bracket pools, on offshore betting sites or with neighborhood bookies.
NCAA Tournament bracket pools, according to the AGA research, will account for more than $2 billion of the $9 billion in wagers (yes, it’s gambling). Almost 40 million people will fill out brackets – most of them more than one – and the average ante for a bracket pool is $29.
So, please NCAA, spare us your anti-gambling rhetoric.
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“Sports betting has played a major role in making March Madness the big-time event it is today,” Geoff Freeman, president and CEO of the AGA, said in a statement. “With more people filling out brackets than casting a ballot for President Obama – who makes his NCAA predictions in the Oval Office each year – it’s clear that Americans embrace gaming.”
*Last March, Nevada sports books handled $344 million in basketball bets, and Linemakers analyst Micah Roberts estimates 75 percent of that – about $258 million – was on college hoops. The books won $19 million that month, a hold percentage of 5.5.
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