Group predicts March Madness wagers will hit $9 billion

Las Vegas Sun

Bettors stand in line to make their wagers at the LVH sports book during the second round of the NCAA basketball tournament Thursday, March 20, 2014.

The American Gaming Association is again using a major athletic event to draw attention to sports betting, this time estimating that Americans will wager upwards of $2 billion through more than 70 million brackets on this year’s March Madness college basketball tournament.

The Washington, D.C.-based trade group for the casino industry announced its predictions in research released today.

Beyond just the amount bet through brackets, the association expects the total amount wagered will reach $9 billion, including $240 million bet at sports books in Nevada.

March Madness in Las Vegas

Patrons celebrate Dayton's upset of Ohio State during the second round of the NCAA basketball tournament Thursday, March 20, 2014 during a party at the South Point. Launch slideshow »

The association pointed out that the 70 million brackets it’s anticipating are greater than the number of votes received by either President Barack Obama or Mitt Romney in the last presidential election.

“Sports betting has played a major role in making March Madness the big-time event it is today,” Geoff Freeman, the association’s president, said in a statement. “With more people filling out brackets than casting a ballot for President Obama — who makes his NCAA predictions in the Oval Office each year — it’s clear that Americans embrace gaming.”

The association’s March Madness predictions follow estimates it released about illegal sports betting in the lead-up to this year’s Super Bowl. Then, the association predicted that Americans would illegally wager $3.8 billion on the game.

Today’s research comes from a poll conducted by GfK Custom Research North America, which conducted 1,000 interviews of adults age 18 and older. About half were men and about half were women, and the interviews were “weighted to ensure accurate and reliable representation of the total population,” the association’s statement said.

The poll also determined that nearly 40 million U.S. residents will complete brackets, with the average bet per bracket totaling $29, and half of all viewers of March Madness have completed a bracket at least once.

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