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U.S. sportsbooks projected breaking gambling records, $4 billion bet on 2026 NCAA basketball's March Madness.

Gambling is common in adolescent boys, with more than a third of them gambling before 18

Greater sports-betting severity is tied to increased depression, anxiety, distress, loneliness, and stress.

Gambling, especially among Gen Z, poses urgent risks extending beyond entertainment. March Madness brings the issue into sharp focus. U.S. legal sports betting handle now exceeds $120–150 billion annually.

March Madness is one of the busiest periods for on-site and online sports betting in the United States. While the Super Bowl remains the most wagered-on single event, the NCAA men’s basketball tournament is widely considered the most bet-on event. U.S. sportsbooks will take approximately $4 billion in bets during the 2026 tournament, an increase over prior years. When including prediction markets, total March Madness wagering may approach $4.5 billion, according to recent estimates.

The growth in sports betting is spurred by Gen Z and Millennials, who increasingly engage in high-risk sports betting, stock trading, and cryptocurrency speculation on mobile devices. Mobile betting accounts for about 85–90% of wagers. Gambling is common among adolescents, too, with substantial proportions reporting participation before age 18.

Once an adult activity linked to casinos and racetracks, sports gambling is now a continuous, socially normalized part of daily life for many young men—especially during March Madness, when sports consumption and gambling are inseparable.

Early Introduction: Adolescence as the Entry Point

One of the most concerning aspects of this phenomenon is the early onset, gateway exposure. The age of first exposure is decreasing. Gambling is no longer an activity that begins in adulthood; it is increasingly introduced in early adolescence, particularly among boys.

National survey data indicate that 36% of boys aged 11–17 report gambling within the past year, with prevalence increasing from 28% among boys ages 11–13 to 44% among those ages 15–17. By late adolescence, nearly half report some form of gambling activity.

Importantly, early gambling is not benign. Even in adolescence, some individuals report stress, interpersonal conflict, and signs of compulsive behavior. The early patterns of risk-taking, reward-seeking, and normalization of betting persist into young adulthood. The social transmission of gambling activities is especially alarming: Among boys with gambling friends, participation rates exceed 80%, compared to under 20% for those whose friends do not gamble.

Surveys show that approximately 60% of adolescents report seeing gambling advertisements on social media, often at high frequency. Pervasive ads and social media gaming environments act as gateway exposures for youth.

Gen Z often views sports betting as a social activity, done with friends, and it often pairs with binge drinking (ages 18-29), creating a "compounded risk" environment in which digital betting and heavy alcohol consumption happen simultaneously.

Microbetting (in-play wagers on individual plays), where bets occur every few seconds/minutes, is now common. It dramatically increases risks and also addictiveness. Microbetting resembles casino slot-machine reinforcement schedules, enhancing loss of control and compulsivity.

Transition to Young Adulthood:........

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