NCAA Tournament expected to generate billions in legal wagering
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- March Madness is officially here, and according to PlayUSA it could be the first US sporting event to generate $3 billion in bets.
In Colorado, the Division of Gaming is expecting high numbers as well, especially with Colorado State University playing in the men's bracket and the University of Colorado on the women's side.
The Colorado Division of Gaming says last March, bets on NCAA basketball almost hit $71 million, which was second only to NBA basketball. PlayUSA expects Colorado to bet around $100 million or more this year.
In 2020, the tournament was canceled and last year all the games were played in Indiana. Now with the tournament back to its normal format, PlayUSA anticipates more wagers. Here in Colorado, that return to normalcy has people heading to the casino.
"Most of our betting happens online, but we’re seeing with the casinos up and running, with more retail sports up and nice ones up in the mountain towns of Black Hawk, Central City and Cripple Creek we’re seeing on these big events these big days a lot more people going, a lot more foot traffic going into those retail sports books," said Dan Hartman with the Colorado Division of Gaming.
In January, sports betting in Colorado hit a record $573 million in wagers. College basketball accounted for $63 million of that.
