AGA Projects: March Madness Betting to Hit $ 2.72 Billion in Wagers

The American Gaming Association (AGA) has released a projection that legal betting on the 2024 NCAA basketball tournaments, widely known as March Madness, is expected to generate $2.72 billion in wagers across licensed sportsbooks in the USA. This forecast was shared on the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter).

For the first time, the AGA’s forecast exclusively considers legal bets placed on March Madness, diverging from previous years where estimates included informal betting pools and offshore sportsbooks.

Dave Forman, the AGA’s research director, points out that the estimated legal betting on March Madness might eclipse the volume wagered on the recent Super Bowl (took place on February 11 in Paradise, Nevada) by a factor of two.

The landscape of legal sports betting in the USA has seen considerable growth, with 38 states and the District of Columbia now offering regulated betting options. Last year marked further expansion, with several states embracing online betting within their regulatory frameworks.

Last year’s AGA forecast included all betting forms, predicting at least $15 billion in wagers for March Madness. This encompassed bets within and beyond regulated markets. Statista reported that the actual total wagered in 2023 reached around $15.5 billion.

The 2024 March Madness tournament is scheduled to run from March 19 to April 8.