AGA Report: 47 Million Americans Expected to Bet on the March Madness 2021

According to a new report released on Sunday by the American Gaming Association (AGA), the USA’s gambling industry trade body, 47.4 million Americans will be placing wagers on the upcoming 2021 March Madness tournament that’s kicking off on Thursday the 18th of March.

However, while the number of bettors who plan to wager on the tournament through legal channels or otherwise is practically the same as that of 2019 when a similar survey was conducted, fewer Americans will be filling out the brackets for this year’s event according to AGA’s data.

Last year’s march Madness was a no show as it was canceled right before it was scheduled to start when the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic. For this year, even though the tournament will take place, it will still be affected by the Coronavirus in one way or another especially when we look at betting patterns. For example, the number of bettors who plan to fill out a bracket has reduced significantly because of the forced closures of a lot of offices and tons of other places of business, and the fact that a lot of staffers have turned to working from home or have lost their employment temporarily or permanently.

Moreover, the other significant fact that will be affecting the number of bettors, but this time in a positive way is the rapid expansion of the USA’s legal sports betting industry. Since the last March Madness tournament that was held in 2019, a total of over 65 million more Americans in 13 new states and jurisdictions now have access to legal sports betting. So, thanks to the rapid growth of legal sports betting in the country, the slide in the number of bettors who are expected to fill out brackets in this year’s tournament will be cushioned by the expanded markets as more US bettors have access to legal sports wagering channels.

Key Findings From AGA’s 2021 March Madness Survey

Data from the research indicates that interest in this year’s NCAA’s college basketball tournament is slightly higher than it was in 2019. Two years ago, 23% of Americans said that they were either extremely interested or very interested in the tournament, whereas 3% more Americans said the same about 2021’s event, bringing up the rate of interest to 26%.

Additionally, 46% of the fans that were interviewed this year said that they followed college basketball more in the 2021’s season, and further, 70% of the said group disclosed that they were following the games more closely due to the increased accessibility of legal sports betting channels in the country. Other key observations from the 2021 March Madness survey are as highlighted below;

36.7 million bettors will fill out a bracket this year, which is 8% less than the 33.8 million Americans who planned to do the same in 2019
30.6 million American bettors plan to place more traditional wagers on 2021’s March Madness, a 58.1% surge from the 17.8 million Americans who were expected to place traditional bets in 2019.
17.8 million sports bettors plan to wager online, depicting a 206% growth compared to the 5.8 million Americans who said that they would be betting online in 2019
8.3 million bettors will be placing their wagers in person at a retail sportsbook, 79% higher than the 4.6 million American bettors who indicated that they would be betting at a physical sportsbook in 2019.

This year, the sports bettors’ favorite for winning the March Madness tournament Gonzaga University with 17% popularity, with Florida State University following closely with 11% and Baylor University rounding up the top three favorites with 8% of the bettors saying it will emerge the victor.

Expressing his anticipation of the March Madness tournament, Bill Miller, the President, and CEO of the AGA made the following statement after the findings of the survey were published;

Quote

“The sports betting landscape has changed dramatically since 2019 – and as a result, tournament betting has transformed. As consumers formerly limited to bracket contests now enjoy access to legal sportsbook options, they also plan to place traditional sports bets as March Madness returns. …With more legal, regulated sports betting options than ever before, millions of customers now have safer ways to enjoy all the fun and suspense only March Madness provides,”

This survey was conducted between 3rd and 5th March 2021 by the Morning Consult on behalf of the AGA among a countrywide sample of 2,200 adults of legal gambling age – over 21 years. The respondents were interviewed via an online questionnaire and the betting audience analyzed in the data is composed of Americans who plan to wager online, via a land-based casino sportsbook, with a bookie, bet casually with a friend, or take part in a bracket contest.