After a one-year break due to the coronavirus, the NCAA Basketball Tournament returns this week, and folks are certainly excited for March Madness, not just to watch the games, but to maybe make a little dough as well.
According to the American Gaming Association:
- 47.4 million Americans will place some sort of bet on the 2021 March Madness tournament.
- 36.7 million will fill out a bracket this year, a drop of 8% from 2019.
- 30.6 million will opt for a more traditional bet, an increase from 17.8 mil in 2019.
- Of those bettors, 17.8 mil will bet online, a 206% increase from 2019.
- Another 8.3 mil will go to a physical sportsbook to place their bet.
- Overall interest is high in this year’s tournament, with 26% of Americans extremely or very interested in March Madnss, an increase of 23% from 2019.
As for which team is the favorite to go all the way, Gonzaga appears to be the favorite (17%), followed by Florida State University (11%) and Baylor University (8%).
Source:American Gaming