NCAA March Madness Betting Expected To Top $3.1B: What To Know In VA

VIRGINIA — While a majority of U.S. states allow college sports betting, bringing legal wagers on the 2025 NCAA March Madness tournament to around $3.1 billion, according to the American Gaming Association, Virginia is not among them.

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 Virginia, betting on in-state schools is not allowed, even in a tournament. There is also no college prop betting in Virginia.

The men’s No. 1 seeds are Auburn, Houston, Duke and Florida. The women’s are UCLA, South Carolina, Southern California and Texas. Men’s tournament play begins Tuesday. The women’s tournament gets underway on Wednesday.

In-state teams whose tickets were punched for the big dance include Liberty, Norfolk State and VCU. Here’s when and how to watch the first round for each team:

Men’s Basketball

• VCU vs. BYU: March 20, 4:05 p.m. ET on TNT
• Norfolk State vs. Florida: March 21, 6:50 p.m. ET on TNT
• Liberty vs. Oregon: March 21, 10:10 p.m. ET on truTV

Women’s Basketball

• Liberty vs. Kentucky: March 21, 12 p.m. ET on ESPN
• Norfolk State vs. Maryland: March 22, 4 p.m. ET on ESPN

Sports betting has exploded since 2018, when the Supreme Court struck down a federal ban on state laws that allowed for sports betting. Last year, the group estimated that a total $2.72 billion would be legally wagered on the two tournaments, and the $3.1 billion is more than double the $1.39 billion the AGA estimated would be legally bet on the Super Bowl last month.

The growing legality and surging popularity of the NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament are factors expected to drive more betting activity this year. Last year, the women’s championship game had a higher viewership rating than the men’s.

"March Madness is one of the most exciting times in American sports, with fans fired up for both the men’s and women’s NCAA tournaments,"

Joe Maloney, the gaming group’s senior vice president of strategic communications, said in a news release. “As legal wagering expands across the U.S., more fans than ever have the opportunity to bet legally and responsibly.”

The Associated Press contributed reporting.