March Mad Money: 68M Will Wager $15.5B On Men’s Hoops, Houston The Favorite
Monday, March 13, 2023 at 04:24PM By Barry Janoff
March 13, 2023: Houston, we have a favorite.
Calling it “America’s most wagered-on competition (in terms of number of people participating),” some 68 million adults plan to wager $15.5 billion on this year’s NCAA Men’s Div. I Basketball Tournament, according to a new survey from the American Gaming Assn.
An estimated 31 million American adults plan to place a traditional sports wager online, at a retail sportsbook or with a bookie; 21.5 million plan to bet casually with friends and 56.3 million plan to participate in a bracket contest.
“March Madness is one of the best traditions in American sports — and America’s most wagered-on competition (in terms of number of people participating),” American Gaming Assn. president and CEO Bill Miller said via the organization.
The 68 million American adults who plan to wager on March Madness is figure is 18 million more than wagered on Super Bowl LVII.
However, the $15.5 billion wager figure is half a billion dollars less than the estimated amount wagered on Super Bowl LVII last month.
An estimated record 50.4 million American adults bet on Super Bowl LVII, a 61% increase from the record set in 2022, wagering an estimated $16 billion, more than double estimates for Super Bowl LVI. according to American Gaming Assn.
The No. 1 seeds are Alabama, Houston, Kansas and Purdue.
Among those surveyed by American Gaming, Kentucky is the most popular choice to win the national title (9%), followed by Texas A&M (8%), and Gonzaga, UCLA and Alabama (6%).
That list is markedly different across sports betting platforms.
FanDuel Sportsbook currently says the No. 1 seeds are the favorites: Houston +470, Alabama +800, Kansas +1,000 and Purdue +1,200, as well as UCLA at +1,200.
Houston +550 is favored at BetMGM, followed by Alabama +800, Kansas +800, Purdue +1,100, UCLA +1,200, Arizona +1.200 and Texas +1,600.
Caesars Sportsbook has Houston +600, Alabama +700, Kansas +1,000, Purdue +1,000 and UCLA +1,200.
DraftKings has Houston +475, Alabama +650, Purdue +1,000, Kansas +1,200 and UCLA +1,200.
PointsBet has Houston +550, Alabama +650, Kansas +800, Purdue +1,000 and UCLA +1,200.
This year’s March Madness will be the first to feature Las Vegas as a regional host location.
Since last year’s tournament, Kansas, Massachusetts and Ohio have launched retail and mobile sports betting markets, while Maryland has launched mobile wagering, according to American Gaming Assn.
Thirty-three states and Washington, D.C. currently feature live, legal sports betting markets, with three additional legal markets awaiting launch.
“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,” said Miller.
“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. That means setting a budget, knowing the odds, keeping it social and always playing legally."
Morning Consult conducted the online survey on behalf of the American Gaming Assn. between March 1-3, among a national sample of 2,200 adults.
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