45M Americans to bet on March Madness hoops, group estimates

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — About 45 million Americans say they plan to bet on this year’s (2022) March Madness college basketball championship tournament, and an increasing percentage will do it in a way that doesn’t include filling out brackets. That’s according to the gambling industry’s national trade group, the American Gaming Association. It predicts that $3.1 billion will be wagered on this year’s tournament, a figure that includes legal bets as well as those placed with illegal bookies or offshore web sites. The report asserts that more than 17% of American adults will place at least one bet on the tournament.