NCAA March Madness Betting Could Top $2.7B: What MD Allows, Who's In

MARYLAND — Residents of Maryland can place wagers online for the biggest sports betting events of the year, the NCAA March Madness men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, which industry experts expect to result in $2.7 billion in wagers nationwide.

Sports wagering is now legal in 38 states and the District of Columbia. Online betting is legal in most, but not all of them. About a dozen states prohibit betting on college games involving home-state teams. Four New England states — Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Vermont — make exceptions for tournaments. And Maryland and Ohio ban bets on how many points, rebounds or assists a particular player puts on the board.

In Maryland, voters on Nov. 3, 2020, approved the expansion of commercial gaming in the state and authorized sports and events betting. Revenue is supposed to be used primarily for education. The Sports Wagering Application Review Commission reviews applications for sports wagering licenses, and awards licenses to large video lottery operators and specified major sports franchises in the state.

Men’s tournament play begins Tuesday. No Maryland school made the tourney, although regional schools going to the big dance include:

• Howard University in Washington, D.C., No. 16 seed in the West region
• James Madison in Harrisonburg, Virginia, No. 12 seed in the South region
• University of Virginia, Charlottesville, No. 10 seed in the Midwest Region

The women’s tournament gets underway on Wednesday with the No. 10 seed University of Maryland the only team representing the state. The Terrapins face No. 7 seed Iowa State University on Friday.

Sports betting has expanded since 2018, when the Supreme Court struck down a federal ban on state laws that allowed for sports betting

Betting on all sports totaled $121 billion in 2023, an increase of 30 percent from 2022, according to the American Gaming Association. Sportsbooks saw about $11 billion in revenue last year, up from about $7.5 billion in 2022, the group said.

David Foreman, vice president of research for the American Gaming Association, told The Associated Press that March Madness is the biggest kind of individual event of the year for sports betting

The Super Bowl also draws big bets, but it's only one game between two NFL teams. The NCAA Division 1 men's and women's basketball tournaments feature 136 teams playing 134 games over three weeks.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.