The American Gaming Association (AGA) estimates that 47 million Americans will bet on the college basketball championship known as March Madness in 2021, which undoubtedly certifies the expansion of the legal sports betting market.
According to data from a study requested by the AGA, three times as many Americans plan to wager on this year’s tournament via online sportsbooks compared to 2019, while the number of Americans placing wagers at brick-and-mortar sportsbooks will nearly double.
On the growing legal market for sports betting in the United States, Bill Miller, President and CEO of the American Gaming Association, said that it has transformed the way of betting in competitions and highlights: "With more legal, regulated options than ever before, millions of customers now have safer ways to enjoy all the fun and suspense only March Madness provides."
Here are key data from this study conducted between March 3-5, 2021:
- 47.4 million American adults plan to wager on March Madness, about the same number that indicated they would bet on the tournament in 2019.
- 36.7 million Americans say they will fill out a bracket, down 8 percent from 2019.
- 30.6 million Americans expect to place more traditional bets on this year’s tournament, up from 17.8 million in 2019.
- 17.8 million say they will place a bet online, up 206% from 5.8 million in 2019.
- 8.3 million expect to place a bet at a physical sportsbook, up 79% from 2019.
We must highlight that the great growth in sport betting's popularity over the course of two years can be attributed to the expansion of the legal market, as 65.4 million more Americans in 13 new legal jurisdictions can safely place bets on March Madness this year compared to the 2019 tournament.
On the other hand, 2021 March Madness betting trends also reinforce sports betting’s power to drive fan engagement, with a significant portion of college basketball fans reporting they were more interested in the 2020-2021 college basketball because of sports wagering.
AGA explains that interest in the tournament is up slightly from 2019 with 26% of Americans saying they are extremely or very interested in the tournament, compared to 23% two years ago.
Likewise, 42% of fans said they followed college basketball more closely this season, with 70% of those following more closely attributing their increased attention to the increased availability of sports betting.
Lastly, Gonzaga University is the betting public’s favorite to win the tournament (17%), followed by Florida State University (11%) and Baylor University (8%).
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