March Madness Has a Serious Impact on Kentucky Sports Betting Revenue

Just how much does March Madness impact the Kentucky sports betting market? It turns out a whole lot. 

And that might even be understating it.

Though sports betting in Kentucky has only been live for one March Madness tournament before now, the market is gearing up for an even larger spike this year. Business, of course, will forever be helped by The Bluegrass State’s devotion to basketball. But a couple of other factors are driving massive upticks in volume and revenue.

Alyssa Williams of WKYT published a fascinating video report explaining how the influx of betting on March Madness impacts The Commonwealth. The entire visual essay is worth watching if you have the time. However, we went through it and transcribed some of the most notable sentiments and comments. They are located below for you to digest, and we will analyze each one. By the end of it all, one thing will be clear: The Kentucky sports betting market is going to generate a ton of money by the end of the tournament.

Here is How Much Money Kentucky Sports Betting Generated Last Year

Last year’s performance is the baseline for 2025 March Madness betting expectations. And that baseline is incredibly high.

“Hannah Sims, the Director of Sports Wagering at the Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Corporation, says March Madness draws a lot of activity. Kentucky has only had one year of data for legal sports betting in March. Last year, The Commonwealth brought in $57 million for the NCAA men’s tournament,’ Sims explains. ‘That accounted for roughly a fourth of the wagering activity in March. So it most certainly is a boost.’” 

Calling that a boost may be an understatement. Any time a single event accounts for around 25 percent of your entire handle it’s a big deal. 

The question is: Why is the Kentucky sports betting market bracing for an even larger boom this year? The answer? Location, location, location.

Location of March Madness Games Drive Sports Betting Activity

Kentucky’s Rupp Arena hosted games in the first and second round of the 2025 March Madness tournament. This adds a layer of proximity to the equation that drives business. But it also apparently boosts emotional attachment, which then drives business even further.

“Sports wagering analyst Brad Taylor is the author of ‘Side Hustle,’ a book that explains the world of sports betting,” says Williams. “He says in this basketball-crazed state, wagering will increase during the tournament. Especially [because] Rupp Arena hosted first- and second-round games. And Taylor says when fans attend games, their wagering habits can increase. ‘Sometimes you get caught up in the emotion,’ he explains. ‘Sometimes you make decisions based on what you’re watching at the moment, and not paying attention to the data and what really happens in these games.’”

To be clear, the emotional component is a potentially problematic trend. The rise of online sports betting in the United States has coincided with upticks in problem gambling. Emotions should never drive decision-making that stretches, let alone overstretches, your budget.

Still, the overarching logic here makes sense. Fans will be more invested in games being played inside their market. And the chance to be at the even will, at the most basic level, increase the number of live March Madness betting transactions. That all serves to buoy the month’s handle.

FanDuel Says March Madness Betting is Second (Maybe) to Only Super Bowl Betting

With all of this mind, we may not entirely understand the influence March Madness has on Kentucky sports betting trends. Ditto for sports betting in the United States at large. Fortunately, Williams’ research makes sure to contextualize it even further.

“Mike Palm is President of Circa Operations Sportsbook,” she says. “He says wagering during March will spike. ‘The handle per game in the month of March increases almost 100 percent over the handle in other games, specifically for NCAA tournament games,’ Palm explains. “FanDuel Sportsbook sees an increase in revenue as well,” adds Williams. “‘[The NCAA men’s tournament is] four of our biggest days of the year—really, right after the Super Bowl,’ says Jeff Moose, FanDuel’s Midwest Regional Manager. ‘Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday [during March Madness] are some of the best days of the year.”

This is pretty staggering, even when you understand that online March Madness betting has always been incredibly popular. You might think betting on college football or even betting on the World Cup or betting on the NBA Finals would be the foremost rival to betting on the Super Bowl. College basketball coming in from the top rope is a pretty big deal.

Then again, this is where volume helps the product. Games are taking place over the course of weeks. The initial flurry of matchups also ensures a frenzy. In essence, Kentucky sports betting revenue benefits from the length of the tournament as well as the win-or-go-home elimination format. March Madness somehow finds a way to combine scarcity of product with proper saturation. 

Framed this way, it’s no wonder why it’s so successful. Will it be successful enough to outperform the $57 million in business from 2024? We should know in a few weeks’ time.

Take a look at this list of the top online sportsbooks so you can find one that works for all of your sports betting needs: