March Madness is renowned for being a massive betting opportunity across the U.S., with college teams right across the country vying to come out on top and fans putting their brackets together with friends.
To explore how March Madness impacted betting markets in the U.S. during this year’s tournament, SBC Americas caught up with Patrick Corkery, North American Team Lead at Leadstar Media, who outlined how college basketball drives betting volume across the regulated markets.
Corkery also outlines how disruptive prediction markets have been for sports betting operators and affiliates, explaining how demand for prediction-related content is exploding and how the sector is adapting.
March Madness is a hugely engaging time of year to capture the imagination of US sports fans. How enthused were US bettors about the 2026 bracket?
Like always, March Madness generates a lot of interest, especially early on in the tournament. We saw that on Sportsbooks Online, first and foremost. The American Gaming Association estimated over $3 billion to be bet on the Tournament through licensed sportsbooks alone this year, and the activity we saw indicated that it would be a big year.
The Final Four of the tournament featured four teams all based in legal sports betting markets – how did the fact that Michigan, Connecticut, Arizona and Illinois made the latter stages impact betting volume?
Having home teams in the big game is always good for driving interest, but I think it has less impact than many might assume for March Madness. With so much of the interest coming in those early days, it really is a national event that generates interest no matter who is playing.
Where does March Madness rank in terms of major sporting events and tournaments in the US for driving betting activity?
Outside of the NFL, it’s probably the single biggest betting event of the year. That first weekend, when there are games for 10 hours a day, is really tough to top in terms of just pure entertainment for a bettor. Even the World Series and NBA Finals don’t really compete with March Madness.
Does the ability for users to create their own brackets help or hinder affiliates and operators looking to convert new bettors?
No, I would argue the opposite. It’s an activity that’s so close to traditional betting; if anything, it whets the user’s appetite to bet more. I think this is why you see a lot of sportsbooks, like Fanatics and FanDuel, running their own bracket challenges.
How has the emergence of sports event contracts on prediction markets impacted what Leadstar Media is doing in the U.S.?
It’s a tricky one, since we always try to maintain a long-term focus, and their future has been a bit up in the air due to the various court battles surrounding them.
Because they’re such an unknown, I’m particularly proud of the work we’ve done on Betting Scanner, where we’re in the midst of creating an in-depth slate of guides for users ranging from beginners to experienced Prediction Market users.
How do you assess the increase in volume on those prediction markets, and does that force you to pivot your approach?
To me, it makes a lot of sense. They cover states where betting isn’t legal, so of course, there’s volume there. Plus, for sports bettors in legal states, they know they won’t get limited on a Prediction Markets, so they’re also good for sharps.
We’ve definitely had to pivot a bit to include content on them, just from pure demand.
What are Leadstar Media’s U.S. plans for the remainder of the year, and do you still see the U.S. as a long-term strategic investment?
We absolutely still see the U.S. as a major part of our company’s vision moving forward. It’s such a dynamic and big market, and we’ve been able to avoid many of the pitfalls our competitors have stumbled over.Without spilling too many secrets, we’ve got pretty big plans for our U.S. products this year.
I’m especially excited for our flagship U.S. casino site, United Gamblers, to get a huge update and introduce some new features in the summer months.
