Early estimations had suggested that as many as 45 million Americans could take part in wagering on March Madness games, but the true figure could be much higher as online betting continues to surge throughout the country and physical locations have also re-opened allowing for in person bets too, this has also led the American Gaming Association to forecast a potential figure of R55billion in sports betting wagers alone, an incredible figure for a single month of betting on one sport alone – as other sports could contribute a sizeable figure outside of just NCAA basketball too.
These figures have been gathered by a survey conducted by the American Gaming Association – whilst a relatively small number were surveyed the rising figures seen throughout the past two years serve as a good indicator on their own that there’s increasing interest, and more recent events like the Superbowl have also helped to show how the market is changing for a bigger focus on the online platforms instead – so whilst the reality may be a bit different, figures aren’t likely to be wildly inaccurate and if anything may be lower than what’s actually seen.
It has been a huge year for legislation change, however, since last years March Madness, Wyoming, Arizona, Louisiana, Connecticut, North Dakota, Wisconsin, Maryland, South Dakota, and Washington have all initiated change for some form of sports betting whether online or expanding the offline space which is a core part of the reason why numbers are expected to be so much higher, and there are still other big markets that are looking to make changes in the future such as Massachusetts that could also have a huge influence on the overall betting market too – either way March is looking to be a fantastic month for US punters, with the potential for an even brighter future ahead.