The American Gaming Association used the coming March Madness and its accompanying volume of bets to illustrate the extent of illegal wagering in the U.S. The AGA released estimates showing that more brackets will be filled out for illegal wagering on the NCAA basketball tournament than there will be votes for any single candidate in the U.S. presidential election.
The AGA predicted that 70 million brackets will be filled out for $9.2 billion in bets on the NCAA tournament, the vast majority of those wagers illegal. No presidential candidate has ever received 70 million votes.
The illustration is part of the AGA’s drive to coax the U.S. Congress to re-examine the federal ban on sports betting, which is illegal in all but four states under the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA). The law is currently being challenged in court by the state of New Jersey, which passed a law permitting sports betting that was challenged by a lawsuit from the major sports leagues.
“Americans’ passion for betting fuels the unmatched popularity of March Madness,” said AGA President and CEO Geoff Freeman in a press release. “Betting increasingly drives sports fans—and even casual observers—to invest in the tournament, offering further evidence that sports betting is the new national pastime. It’s time for a fresh, rational approach to sports betting that reflects this reality.”
The commissioners of two of the major sports leagues challenging the New Jersey law, the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League, have indicated a willingness to support the re-examination of the PASPA law. In fact, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver’s quote on the subject is posted prominently on the AGA website:
“Times have changed… I believe sports betting should be brought out of the underground and into the sunlight where it can be appropriately monitored and regulated.”
Meanwhile, the top gaming regulator in Arizona issued a warning to state residents to be cautious about entering into illegal March Madness office pools. According to a report in the Associated Press, Arizona Department of Gaming Director Dan Bergin said the key to legality is making sure all money put into office pools is paid out to the winners. He said if the operator takes a cut of winnings or charges an entry fee, that makes the bets illegal.
