Nevada greenlights betting on March Madness "Most Outstanding Player" award

The Nevada Gaming Control Board granted approval to offer wagers on NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player award on Thursday.

Permission is granted for all licensed books to post and accept wagers on the recognition, subject to a set of conditions. Licensed books electing to offer these wagers must first provide the Enforcement Division with notification of terms via email, while acceptance of wagers must cease prior to the start of the final game of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.

Sports betting licensees must also adhere to all audit procedures as laid out in Industry Letter 2011-48. The setting of odds is at the discretion of the book, with rules governing these wagers to be made available to the public.

Additionally, the state Gaming Control Board stated that any additional wagers which deviate from the winner of NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player award for this event “will require a separate application and approval.”

🚨🏀 NEW: 45M American adults plan to wager an estimated $3.1B on this year’s #MarchMadness tournament, according to AGA research.

RELEASE: https://t.co/7THAMhS9yv pic.twitter.com/BtjRJIpfa7

— American Gaming Association (@AmericanGaming) March 13, 2022

The news comes as March Madness is expected to see $3.1 billion in bets -the largest legal handle in the tournament’s history- from 45 million Americans, according to an American Gaming Association (AGA) report released last Sunday. 

This year, the trend points to placing a greater share of bets through non-bracket channels. Of their total betting budget on this year’s tournament, Americans expect to place 76% of their wagers outside of brackets, up from 55% last year, the study further shows.

“Americans continue to make it clear: they want to wager with the protections of the legal, regulated market,” AGA President and CEO Bill Miller said about the survey results. “There’s no doubt this year will generate the highest legal handle in March Madness history.”

The Nevada Gaming Control Board approval also comes after a successful February for sportsbooks in the state. Nevada books took in a record $179.8 million in wagers on Super Bowl LVI, smashing the state’s four-year-old previous record for the annual NFL championship game by more than $21 million.

Books also scored an 8% profit at $15.4 million in revenues, the fourth-highest Super Bowl revenu total going back to 1991. But basketball doesn’t lag behind NFL in Nevada: wagering for the sport remains popular, with the state reporting $147.8 million in revenue off basketball wagers in 2021, an all-time record.