(INDIANAPOLIS) – The NCAA men’s basketball tournament is expected to shatter records for sports betting.
Only seven states had legal sports betting in 2019. There are now 30, including Indiana, but the pandemic canceled the 2020 tournament. Last year’s tournament, the first you could legally bet on in Indiana, ended up being played entirely in the Hoosier State.
Jake Garza with the gaming research group PlayIndiana.com says Indiana sportsbooks handled $161 million dollars in basketball bets last March, most of it on the tournament. He says the fact Indiana hosted all 67 games probably brought in more wagers, from fans who flocked to Indiana to root for their teams — especially those coming from states which haven’t legalized sports betting.
But while Indiana got a double boost from the novelty of sports betting and its status as host, the all-in-Indiana tournament may have held betting nationwide in check. With the return of the usual eight subregionals, four regionals, and the First Four and Final Four, Garza expects this year’s handle to double to three-billion dollars.
That increase reflects not only the return of full-blown March Madness, but the legalization of sports betting in five more states since last year’s tournament: Arizona, Maryland, Washington, South Dakota and Wyoming.
Garza still expects Indiana betting to grow by about one-fourth. While Purdue is in the tournament for a sixth straight year, IU is appearing for the first time in six years, and Notre Dame for the first time in five. Garza says that’s likely to increase wagering interest.
With 67 games in 20 days, the tournament is traditionally the biggest sports betting event of the year, generating three times as much action as the Super Bowl. That’s not even counting your office pool.
