Last month, The Athletic ran a column predicting that the handle on March Madness could top $3 billion. One week after Kansas claimed the national championship, not all of the information is in, but some states are reporting the amount they took in on sports betting last month. It looks like The Athletic’s guess is on track.
Not all of the money bet in some states that have released their numbers can be attributed directly to the NCAA Tournament, but the significant amounts bet in March are not a coincidence.
New York State did not match its record handle from January but did show growth. The state took in $100 million more in March than it did in February. That put the grand total from online bets at more than $1.6 billion.
Very few states love college hoops the way Indiana does and the state’s online handle proves it. The total handle for March landed just under $447 million. That is 16.5% growth from February. It is also significant growth from March 2021, when Indianans bet less than $300 million online.
Illinois does have numbers related directly to March Madness to report. Gamblers bet $286 million on the NCAA Tournament. The books were the big winners in the Land of Lincoln though, coming out more than $14 million ahead.
It may still be a few weeks before we know exactly how much money March Madness generated for sportsbooks. What is certain is that states where sports betting bills are still in debate are paying attention and supporters will use these numbers to make the point that their state is losing money by not allowing for legalized sports betting.
