People in North Carolina may have a little more influence on the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments this year, as for the first time they can legally bet on the games through their smartphone apps and computers.
For the sixth year in a row, the number of states allowing legal sports betting has increased since the last rendition of March Madness. A total of 38 states and the District of Columbia now allow some form of sports betting, including 30 states and the nation’s capital that allow online betting.
That’s more than one state, Nevada, where people could legally bet on games during the 2018 college basketball tournaments before the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for expansion.
Sports betting rules vary by state. Some states prohibit betting on home state college teams or the performance of specific players. Others allow betting not only on the outcome of college games, but also on a number of other things, such as the number of points, rebounds and assists a given player will achieve.
Here are some things you need to know about sports betting as the tournaments begin, with the men’s matches starting on Tuesday and the women’s competition starting on Wednesday.
Fans have long filled out NCAA tournament brackets while betting in office pools or against friends and family. But these informal bets are increasingly being supplemented by more formal gambling. If you’re planning to place a few bets, it’s a good idea to check out Doc’s Sports ncaab picks to stay in the loop with all the key information about matchups.
According to the American Gaming Association, the total amount wagered on all sports through legal gambling sites exceeded $121 billion in 2023, a 30% increase from the previous year. After paying out winnings, sports betting operators generated $11 billion in revenue, up from about $7.5 billion the year before.
The American Gaming Association estimates that $2.7 billion will be wagered through legal sportsbooks on this year’s NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments.
“March Madness is the biggest type of individual event of the year for sports betting,” said David Forman, vice president of research for the American Gaming Association.
The Super Bowl also brings big bets, but it’s just one game between two NFL teams. The NCAA Division 1 men’s and women’s basketball tournaments feature a total of 136 teams playing 134 games over three weeks.
Despite living where sports betting is legal, some fans may still be excluded from betting on their favorite teams and players.
About a dozen states ban betting on college games involving home-state teams. Four other states – Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Vermont – generally ban betting involving their own college teams, but make exceptions for tournaments.
Some states only allow betting on the outcome of college games, not on how certain players will perform. Maryland and Ohio, for example, this month banned so-called proposition betting on college players.
The NCAA has expressed concern that player-specific betting could lead to problems, including the harassment of college athletes and strain on their mental health. The organization also says such bets can prompt players to bet on themselves or change their play to influence statistics-based betting.
Since the University of Connecticut won the men’s tournament last year, a half-dozen states have launched or expanded sports betting.
Nebraska began accepting sports bets at casinos last June, although mobile betting is not allowed. Kentucky launched sports betting in September to coincide with the start of the NFL season, and Maine started doing so in November.
After a court victory, the Seminole Tribe of Florida began taking online sports betting in December in addition to betting at their casinos. The deployment has continued while a lawsuit is pending in the Florida Supreme Court. Opponents have also asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case.
In January, Vermont launched online sports betting.
North Carolina, which previously only allowed sports betting at three tribal casinos, began allowing online sports betting statewide on March 11, a day before the start of the popular ACC men’s basketball tournament but a day after the women’s tournament ended.
Several states have an opportunity to join the sports betting trend.
In Missouri, where legislative efforts have repeatedly failed, the St. Louis Cardinals are leading a coalition of professional sports teams in backing an initiative petition that could put sports betting on the November ballot. Sports betting operators DraftKings and FanDuel contributed a combined $3 million to the effort. Advocates say they are on track to exceed the required signatures before the May 5 deadline.
Lawmakers in Alabama and Georgia are also considering constitutional amendments that would allow sports betting. Senators in Georgia passed a measure last month, but it still needs a two-thirds majority of the House to appear on the ballot this year.
Alabama’s House included sports betting in a broad gambling measure, but the Senate scrapped it earlier this month. The House must now decide whether to accept this change or negotiate a final version to go to voters.
Legislation to legalize sports betting is also pending in Oklahoma and Minnesota. A Minnesota Senate committee on Thursday approved a revised version that would increase the proposed tax rate.
Mississippi, which legalized casino sports betting in 2018, is considering an expansion into online betting. A bill was passed by the House of Representatives last month and is now in the Senate.
Although sports betting remains illegal in a dozen states, some residents place bets by crossing state lines. In Missouri’s two largest cities, St. Louis and Kansas City, some people drive to the nearest commuter lots or freeway exits, just across the border in Illinois or Kansas, respectively, to place legal bets via mobile apps.
Many other would-be gamblers are thwarted by technology.
During Super Bowl weekend, where the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers, technology company GeoComply Solutions said it processed more than 431,000 location checks from approximately 40,500 mobile devices in Missouri trying to access other countries’ legal sports betting sites. states. The location controls allowed these bets to be blocked.
During that weekend, GeoComply said it processed an additional 256,000 location checks for sports betting sites from 30,000 devices in Alabama, Georgia, Minnesota and Mississippi.