Fans line up to bet legally on March Madness

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — College basketball fans lined up at casinos and racetracks or furiously tapped smartphone screens Thursday to get down bets on March Madness, many in states where it is legal for the first time.

Casino industry executives and gambling regulators predict the 67-game tournament should produce more bets than the Super Bowl.

Tom Gable, head of the sports book at the Borgata casino in Atlantic City, said advance action has been predictably heavy.

“We’ve been fielding calls since December from people saying, ‘What are you doing for March Madness, how can I reserve a seat and a hotel room?’ ” he said. “We knew the demand was going to be there way in advance.”

This is the first NCAA Tournament since New Jersey won a U.S. Supreme Court case clearing the way for all 50 states to offer legal sports betting. So far eight of them do: Delaware, Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, West Virginia and New Mexico, where sports bets are done through a tribal compact.

“March Madness is one of the few times every year where the entire sports world is focused on one event,” said Richard Schwartz, president of Rush Street Interactive. “In Nevada, March Madness has surpassed the Super Bowl in betting handle, so now that fans can legally bet in New Jersey, we expect it to be one of our biggest mobile and online wagering events.”

He said it is a good way for casinos, tracks and online outlets to re-engage gamblers who may have been dormant since the Super Bowl on Feb. 3. And numerous casinos are offering cross-promotions among their in-person and online sports betting operations, designed to generate business on slots and table games, food and beverage sales, and hotel stays.

In Las Vegas, dozens of people were in line Thursday waiting to place a bet at the Westgate casino 45 minutes before the first game began. Some still had their luggage with them.

The overwhelmingly male crowd was younger than the one that gathered at the property’s sportsbook for the Super Bowl a few weeks ago.