March Madness is always a lucrative time of year for US sportsbooks, and even more so in 2024. If estimates are to believed, it looks like bettors will wager twice as much on this year’s college basketball tournament as they did on the recent Super Bowl.

people will wager about $2.7bn across the men’s and women’s events

The American Gaming Association (AGA) released research on Thursday that estimates people will wager about $2.7bn across the men’s and women’s events through regulated platforms. The gaming body looked at monthly sportsbook revenue reports from individual states to analyze the level of wagers on NCAA tournaments.

If we included illegal betting and bracket pools, that number would likely be much higher. An AGA survey last year estimated that about $15.5bn would be bet on March Madness when including these other less legitimate forms of wagering.

Talking to ESPN, AGA Head of Research Dave Forman said that this is “the biggest and most mainstream betting event of the year, especially with the brackets.” He explained that the research this year focused on the legal market as it is now available in nearly 40 states.

The action kicks off in the coming days, with UConn – the favorite – defending its title in the men’s tournament. South Carolina heads up the betting to win the women’s tournament.