Spring has finally sprung, and March Madness is now in full swing.
The NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament is one of the biggest sporting events of the year, with 67 games played in a short period of time until one team brings home the glory.
But no matter who ends up winning the championship, it seems that the real winner will be sports betting apps such as DraftKings (DKNG) and FanDuel, as a projection from PlayUSA estimated that the tournament will generate $3 billion worth of legal sports betting, with the top three markets for NCAA Tournament betting, New York, New Jersey, and Nevada, forecasted to draw roughly $400M a piece.
Sports Betting Is Booming
When sports betting was made legal in New York earlier this year, that marked an unofficial tipping point for the industry. It was a moment that began in May 2018 when the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 was declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in May 2018, effectively clearing the way for legalized sports gambling.
Legal sports betting is currently allowed in 30 states and Washington, D.C., and the Washington Post reports that number will only increase. Some states have restrictions on the type of betting, with Oregon banning betting on college sports, and states such as Illinois, New Jersey and Virginia restricting betting to in-state college teams.
While some critics have raised concerns that legalized betting could enable people with gambling addictions to lose a life-ruining amount of money, many states have the viewpoint that people will place bets no matter what, so they may as well get some taxable revenue out of it. A record 31.4 million American adults bet a combined $7.61 billion on the SuperBowl.
Bloomberg Intelligence predicts a 30% increase in betting this year, as well as a boost in visits to Las Vegas casinos such as Wynn Las Vegas Race & Sports Book (WYNN LAS VEGAS) and Caesars Palace Race & Sports Book (CZR), as last year’s NCAA tournament saw sports betting increase by five times.
While some people might visit their local casinos, the majority of bets will be placed via mobile phones, according to Rob Phythian, CEO of SharpLink Gaming (SBET) . “The majority of legal bets placed during the March Madness tournament will be made via mobile,” he sais, adding that “the number of legal bettors in the nation has continued to climb. As a result, this year’s March Madness should see the highest volume of handle ever.”
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The American Betting Market Is Catching Up With Europe
Even if you have no interest in sports betting, it would be hard not to notice that the industry is booming at the moment, as pent-up demand now has an easy-to-use market. Heck, even non-sports fans have seen comedian J.B. Smoove’s television ads for the Caesars Sportsbook mobile betting ap. (They're constantly on.)
Sports betting has long been legal in Europe, while it’s just starting to become normal in America. But as sports betting becomes more popular, Phythian predicts that “people will start seeing sports betting being integrated into the sports content they read as well as into the broadcasts they’re watching. Bettors are looking for strong, trustworthy resources to help inform the bets they’re making.”
He adds that “content creators and media outlets are experimenting with ways to bring sports betting into the discussion of the game without losing the narrative of the play-by-play. As we’ve witnessed in New York with the explosion in sports betting, I believe that in-game betting may account for as much as 50% of the estimated $3.1 billion to be waged this year because of the sheer volume of mobile users. In fact, I’m betting that this is the year that the U.S. catches up with the European sports betting market for in-game betting.”
