March Madness is one of those yearly events that people seem to know about even if they don't really know about them. For instance, you can't really turn your TV around in the month of March without being reminded of the ensuing madness. In short, March Madness is the name given to the coverage of the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship, which is a 68-team tournament that takes place almost the entire month until a winner is crowned via the final match-up of the Final Four.
The tournament itself is simply referred to as the tournament; it's actually the outside coverage that dubs the entire event March Madness. CBS, TNT, TBS and TruTV all air basketball matches and wall-to-wall coverage during the month, and thus is takes the name "Madness" due to the many different avenues on which you can find the games and coverage. But March Madness is more than some televised tournament games; it's also a time of year where gamblers begin to salivate over the prospect of winning big money on their NCAAB brackets and enjoy one of the most exciting segments of legal basketball betting that occurs all year. This guide includes helpful information for legal NCAAB betting to ensure you have access to all the resource you need for making an informed wager on all the madness!
Part of the trick with betting on March Madness is finding legal betting services. Sure, those $20 brackets you and your friends fill out might be frowned upon in the US, but nobody's coming to your door to lock you up for being a bookmaker. We're speaking more about people who bet on a game-by-game basis, play point spreads, make prop bets in live-time, etc. In other words, people who bet on sportsbook websites and end up risking a lot of money on a wide variety of bets. These are the individuals who need to find ways to bet legally. The reason isn't only so you find better bets, it also has to do with getting your money back. You don't want to win a few thousand dollars but then lose it because the site on which you bet was busted for impropriety and illegality. Therefore finding legal sites is a must, and we'll cover that information below.
Try to avoid sites that pop up in the United States. Because US based online sports betting is prohibited by the Federal Wire Act, accessing online sportsbooks that are based within US borders means you are accessing an illegal gambling operation. It's not worth the risk. Instead, if you want to find legal NCAAB betting, you need to look for offshore sites; that is to say, sportsbooks that operate outside of America. Look at the UK, the Canary Islands, Canada, Australia, and other non-US locations that welcome your business. You can find a wide assortment of March Madness bets here, and you won't have to worry about any legality issues. The sportsbooks listed on this page represent the industry leading offshore sportsbooks that are legally licensed and regulated.
Before you decide to put any money up on the tournament, let's go over a few tips that might help you out.
Don't Bet Whole Brackets
Instead of betting an entire bracket, try to wait until the Sweet 16 round, after the chaos has died down. The odds of getting a winning bracket are well in excess of 1b:1 (1,000,000,000:1), and some people still bet hundreds or even thousands on a full bracket! This is insanity. Wait until the field has been narrowed so that you can get more realistic and favorable NCAAB betting odds.
Look at Team Statistics
When betting, don't look only at the college basketball rankings. A #1 might be playing a #6, but that six-ranked team might have better shooting and defensive percentages and numbers in the tournament. You might be walking into a buzz saw by only focusing on front runners. Look at which teams are the playing the best and use data to help you make an informed choice.
Keep Bets Manageable
When enjoying betting on basketball, try to keep bets relatively low and manageable. For instance, don't save up your bets to bet a small fortune on a team you feel is a "lock." Leverage your action by placing smaller bets on multiple aspects of the game you feel you have studied and understand.
By following a few sound tips, and always making sure to bet only on legal sites, you should be able to have a lucrative March Madness.
Who Is Favored To Win March Madness 2015
NCAAB Official Brackets for the Tournament
