This piece looks at how March Madness has become one of the most important and lucrative periods for the regulated US sports betting industry, drawing billions of dollars in wagers and intense competition among sportsbooks for new and returning customers.
Key takeaways:
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Legal US sportsbooks are expected to take around $4.5 billion in bets on the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, with March Madness producing a 45–60 percent jump in weekday handle and as much as a 200–250 percent spike on weekends, making it operators’ biggest sustained stretch of wagering each year.
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Sportsbooks treat March Madness as a “sequel” to the Super Bowl for customer acquisition, rolling out promos like “Bet $5, Get $300 in Bonus Bets” and BetMGM’s up‑to‑$1,500 in bonus bets over 10 days to keep new bettors engaged across 68 games instead of just a single championship event.
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Bakowicz argues that prediction markets pose a major threat to state tax revenue and create regulatory tension because they are overseen at the federal level, often accessible to 18–21‑year‑olds who cannot legally use many state‑regulated sportsbooks, and sit at the center of broader debates over tax structure, age limits, and game integrity.
“The real big threat is the tax revenue structure. Not allowing tax revenue and not allowing that to benefit the state is a huge threat,” says Bakowicz.
Read the article.
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