Recent Sports Betting Legalization Sets The Stage For Record-Breaking March Madness Viewership And Wagers
Last year, the NCAA Men’s Basketball March Madness tournament experienced a primetime viewership of 4.98 million total views, an increase of over 11% from the previous year. However, Payperhead.com – a leading company in the sportsbook software industry – is anticipating a primetime viewership of over 5 million people, attributing recent sports betting legalization as the cause.
“March Madness is notorious throughout the sports betting industry for being an excitingly busy time,” explained Nate Johnson, Product Manager of Payperhead.com. “As sports betting legalization was introduced throughout specific states during 2018, PayPerHead has seen tremendous increases of site traffic and customers.”
Last year, the American Gaming Association estimated that over $10 billion dollars of wagers were placed on March Madness last year – with the majority placed through offshore sportsbooks.
“The recent legalization of sports betting has started to break down the stigma of placing bets on sports games,” Johnson explained. “Throughout late 2018 and early 2019, PayPerHead has seen a sharp increase of traffic, and customers. If our trend reports are correct, this year’s NCAA tournament is going to be historic for the industry.”
According to statistics produced by the NCAA after last year’s tournament, a cumulative 97 million Americans watched the March Madness tournament, attributing these numbers to a 28% increase of video streams and a 14% increase of hours watched on these services.
“The anticipated increase of viewership and wagers placed on March Madness is forecasted to influence the average profit of our per head agents significantly. With bracket announcements being a few weeks away, agents can expect to be surrounded by large betting headlines.”
