Newsflash: People like to bet on March Madness basketball.
They will do it online. They will do it in person. They will do it legally. They will do it illegally. They will do it in a state that has just begun to offer regulated sports betting. And they will do it in a state that has offered sports betting all their lives.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board reported last week that sports betting handle in the state for the month of March totaled $597 mm, a new record for a single month. That was fueled by $495 mm in basketball bets, the majority of which, we can assume, were on the NCAA tournament. And that $597 mm figure is up 14% over March 2018, when Nevada sportsbooks racked up $522 mm in betting handle.