American Gaming Association Estimates Record-Setting March Madness

• American Gaming Association is prediction record-setting betting totals for the upcoming NCAA March Madness tournaments
• The gaming association is estimating $3.3 billion will be wagered on the tournaments
• Estimates are calling for a 54% increase over last year’s tournaments

The men and women’s NCAA March Madness brackets are out and the American Gaming Association is estimating record-setting sports betting totals for the upcoming tournaments.

The American Gaming Association is estimating U.S. sports bettors will wager more than $3.3 billion in total on both the men and women’s NCAA upcoming basketball tournaments. The AGA estimate is calling for a 54% increase over the totals of the last three years.

By comparison, the AGA predicted Americans would wager $1.76 billion on February’s Super Bowl, which would be 93% less than March Madness.

Legal Sports Betting Hitting Record Numbers

The 2026 NCAA March Madness men and women’s basketball tournaments are set to tip-off this week with the men kicking things off with its first-four play-in games on Tuesday, March 17.

Bill Miller, president and CEO of the AGA, applauded U.S. sports bettors for flocking to the regulated markets for the upcoming tournaments when betting on the most-likely upsets and underdogs in 2026.

“March Madness is the highlight of the college basketball season and fans are gearing up for a month of tournament action,” Miller said in a release. “Fans continue to engage with legal, state- and tribal-regulated sports betting in record numbers during one of the biggest moments on the sports calendar.”

However, while the regulated market is likely to set records this March, the AGA has shown that prediction market are also rapidly increasing their presence in sports betting advertising.

Prediction Markets Ramping Up Advertising

Sensor Tower data compiled by the AGA shows that nearly one in five digital sports betting ads seen by consumers last year did not comply with state-mandated responsible gaming messages. Kalshi alone became the third largest sports betting advertiser by digital impressions in 2025, according to AGA data.

So far in 2026, nearly half of digital sports betting ads (43%) seen by U.S. consumers did not comply with state gaming regulations, requiring responsible gaming message since they came from prediction market operators. Additional, the AGA reports Kalshi is currently the most visible sports betting brand by digital ad impressions, with consumers exposed to advertising 5.2 billion times this year, compared with 2.9 billion impressions for FanDuel, the next most frequent sportsbook advertiser.

Additionally, in a separate AGA study, data shows overall sportsbook advertising volume has continued a multi-year decline. Total sports betting advertising spend decreased by 5% year-over-year. sports betting ad volume across all channel declined 1% year-over-year and is 27% lower than its 2021 peak, and sports betting television advertising volume declined 9% this year while decreased 50% since 2021.