The American Gaming Association (AGA) has reported that over 68 million adults – around a quarter of the entire adult population of the US – intend to bet over $15.5 billion (AUD $23 billion) on the Men’s Division I Basketball tournament (NCAA).

The addition of states Ohio, Massachusetts, and Kansas to the US sports betting industry is going to help drive March Madness betting to over $15.5 billion, an amount very close to the entire sports betting handle of New York in 2022.

It represents a rise from the predictions ahead of March Madness 2022, when the AGA predicted around 17% of the adult population would wager US$3.1 billion on the tournament.

AGA’s president and CEO, Bill Miller, said that March Madness is one of the best traditions in American sports—and America’s most wagered-on competition.

“Critically, the expansion of regulated sports betting over the past five years has brought safeguards to more than half of American adults who can now bet legally in their home market,” said Miller.

The addition of new market launches is expected to perform well in the tournament and to help boost the figures ahead of this year.

The AGA noted that over three-quarters of those surveyed said they would be betting on March Madness for the first time, while also detailing that the growth is driven by the resurgence of bracket contents and the popularity amongst newer bettors.

“With the excitement around March Madness, the AGA and our members want to remind anyone getting in on the action to have a game plan to bet responsibly, and that means setting a budget, knowing the odds, keeping it social, and always playing legally,” said Miller.

Breaking down the research, which was conducted with Morning Consult serving a sample of 2,200 Americans, 31 million American adults are expected to place a traditional sports bet online, at a retail sportsbook, or a bookie.

21.5 million people are planning to bet casually with friends, while 56.3 million are planning to participate in a bracket contest with others.