March 2025 betting reports from several US states showed high sportsbook handles but low win rates during the NCAA tournament. New York recorded a $2.5 billion handle and a 6.6% win rate, while North Carolina reported a record $685 million handle and a 5.57% win rate, according to state figures cited in the report.
High handles alongside low win rates show sportsbooks retained a smaller share of betting during the tournament.
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The American Gaming Association (AGA) projected that Americans would wager about $3.3bn legally on the 2026 NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments. It said the estimate was 54% above the amount wagered three years earlier, attributing the increase to expanded regulated markets and greater confidence in legal betting.
The NCAA introduced mandatory player availability reports for teams in its 2026 March Madness tournaments as a pilot to address sports-betting integrity concerns. Teams must submit information on athlete condition by set deadlines, with penalties for non-compliance; the NCAA will assess the programme after the championships before deciding whether to extend it to other competitions.
Kalshi removed references to March Madness and other NCAA trademarked tournament terms from its website after receiving a formal notice from the association. The platform replaced them with generic college basketball market names; the NCAA said the branding falsely suggested its involvement in Kalshi’s offerings.
The NCAA will require teams in the 2026 Division I men’s and women’s basketball tournaments to submit player-availability reports, the association said. Teams must file them the night before each game and again two hours before tip-off; the reports will be public, and basketball committees may penalise schools for non-compliance or inaccurate information.
The NCAA promoted its Draw the Line gambling-risk campaign during the men’s basketball tournament, using advertisements and a courtside display at the Final Four. The effort came as a federal investigation examined an illicit betting ring involving several schools, while New Jersey regulators ordered Kalshi and Robinhood to stop offering certain sports markets; Robinhood removed college basketball markets before the 28 March deadline.