$3 billion? Really? Now that is a lot of cheddar.
We’re inching closer and closer to March Madness, which in my opinion gives Christmas a run for its money in the battle for the title of “most wonderful time of the year.” I really don’t know if there is anything better in all of sports.
Buzzer beaters. Heartbreaking defeats. Gambling. Upset alerts. Cinderella Runs. Gambling. Anything and everything is possible in March… and the parts of the tournament that pour over into April. Oh, and by the way, you are only one parlay away from becoming a millionaire. Just remember that…
It looks like I don’t have to tell that to a lot of people, considering a new estimation that came out ahead of the NCAA Tournament from the American Gambling Association. They state that around $2.7 billion will be wagered on both the Men’s and Women’s March Madness games in the next couple of weeks.
To put that into perspective, there are just over 8 billion people living on planet Earth. Obviously, some bettors are going to place more than a dollar, but $2.7 billion in bets would be enough to give one third of the world’s population one buck. Which they would then probably turn around and bet on the NCAA tournament…
It won’t just be the men’s tournament that people are throwing money at. A record number of wagers are expected to pour in for the women’s NCAA tournament, probably thanks to Iowa’s very own Caitlyn Clark. I know I’ll be tuning in to watch some of her games (and I may or may not have picked Iowa to go all the way in my women’s bracket).
And while the gambling money goes up (into the billions), workplace efficiency numbers will reportedly go down (also in the billions). Just as many predict that $2.7 billion will be wagered on the NCAA tournament, employers are estimated to lose around $10 billion in workplace efficiency since their employees will secretly be tuned into March Madness.
All that to say that a lot of money is going to be lost in the next month or so. But I can’t think of a better way to waste billions of dollars then staying glued to a TV to watch four basketball games at one time, and placing bets on teams I’ve never watched.
