Beware the Ides of March if you run a company whose employees catch a case of March Madness. The first two days of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament are among the least productive days in the calendar year as workers sneak off to catch a bit of the games that are played on Thursday and Friday.
The problem has become worse according to people who track these types of things with the advent of streaming video. This year there are games during work hours from east coast to west coast from four venues on Thursday and four on Friday. Brackets are a big deal. Brackets mean betting in office pools or side wagers and generally people looking at brackets are betting on colleges and probably have no idea where the college is located and know few players on any of the teams they are betting on. It is a cultural event that draws in people who never watch a basketball game and could not tell you where Gonzaga is located on the map.
In addition to watching the games on a computer or phone, there is texting or checking Facebook or twitter and conversing with others. Betting though is the big deal. If you wonder why state governments are hoping the Supreme Court of the United States strikes down the 1992 Professional and Amateur Sports Projection Act that limits legalized sports betting to Nevada, Oregon, Montana and Delaware, the action on March Madness in 2017 gives a clear illustration as to why New Jersey is leading the way to land sports betting.
Nevada officials estimated that $315 million was wagered in the state which was a record haul. Overall, nearly $430 million was bet on both the NBA and the college tournament. Betting creates interest in the event although the NCAA is against legalized sports gambling because of some reason dealing with the integrity of college sports. No betting no interest.
By Evan Weiner For The Politics Of Sports Business
This article was republished with permission from the original publisher, Evan Weiner.