March Madness is here, and with it comes March Madness betting. Sportsbooks across the state are seeing an influx of people placing bets on the big games.
According to the Connecticut Lottery Corporation, between wagers placed at both their retail sportsbook locations and on the Fanatics Sportsbook app, 49% of the total money wagered on the NCAA winner has been with UConn.
At the Fanatics Sportsbook inside the XL Center in Hartford, people stopped by Tuesday to place their bets. They’re not allowed to place bets on individual games involving Connecticut teams, but can wager on a Connecticut teaming winning it all.
Mohegan Sun’s Fanduel Sportsbook saw a stream of people placing bets ahead of Tuesday night’s tip off.
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“I don’t bet like fans, I bet games I can make 50, 100 bucks on and call it a day,” Edward Stasko, of New Hampshire, said. “It’s the only way you win on sports bet. If you try to make a killing, you’ll lose.”
The casino’s location is preparing for an influx of fans as the games begin, and said for them, it’s bigger than the Super Bowl.
“This is Super Bowl. This is actually better than Super Bowl,” Brad Bryant, general manager of the sportsbook at Mohegan, said. “This is where guys get together with their friends and they all come in groups of 4 to 12 people, and it’s just nonstop from when we open in the morning to when the game finishes at like midnight.”
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He said there’s added excitement with Connecticut teams representing.
“This year, you’re actually able to wager on UConn, any Connecticut schools, from the time Selection Sunday happened to tonight [Tuesday] at about 6 o’clock. So, you’ve had about 48 hours to wager on UConn, and that’s brought a lot of excitement,” he said. “Especially after they won last year and are defending their title. It’s been a big draw this year.”
The ease of sports betting, at retail kiosks and on mobile apps, makes it easy to lose control for those with gambling addictions.
“Essentially, you have a multiple braided platform in your bedroom, right? If you had to drive to a facility to take a bet or to casino, you had time to kind of talk yourself out of it. But now, I mean, it's literally in the palm of your hand, which is just a huge temptation for a lot,” Paul Tarbox with the Connecticut Council on Problem Gambling said.
He said ego plays a part, too.
“There's a lot of people that think that they should have actually been professional coaches, and they're betting accordingly, and they tend to get themselves in a bit of trouble,” Tarbox said.
A bill was voted out of the Public Safety Committee on Tuesday which puts protections in place when it comes to advertising sports betting to young people, in the same way cigarettes, alcohol and cannabis is advertised.
“Since the expansion of online gambling in 2021, we've kind of seen an overall shift in demographics where it was older people that frequented the casinos. But now it's definitely trending towards more early adult age males with sports betting,” Tarbox said.
If you or someone you know struggles with a gambling addiction, click here for resources.
