This week has been huge for the NCAA and College sports, as the March Madness Championship Final was one that will go down in history, not only for the sport but for casino sportsbooks as well. On top of such a great way to end the basketball season, the NCAA has also been able to come to an agreement with the daily fantasy sports providers DraftKings and FanDuel. Looks like the college sports governing body will be able to place two wins on their side.
DraftKings and FanDuel Shut Down College Sports Drafts
This week, an agreement was made between NCAA and the two DFS giants in order to shut down their drafts and services regarding college-level sports. This came as a voluntary decision by both of these websites, after months of discussions between all parties involved. The NCAA is happy that they don’t have to worry about their sports being placed in another gambling market; leaving the Las Vegas casino the only place you can bet on the games.
Mark Emmert, president of the NCAA, stated,
“We appreciate and commend DraftKings and FanDuel’s action to stop offering contests involving college, high school and youth sports. This action culminates months of hard work between all parties to reach a place that is good for amateur sports and most importantly, the young people who participate. We will work diligently with our member schools over the coming year to ensure such amateur sports ‘carve outs’ are included in pending states’ legislation.”
It seems that DraftKings and Fanduel wanted to get ahead of other states that would join Virginia and Indiana in regulating DFS. These two states included a provision in their law that makes college sports off limits to DFS operators within their borders. This way, these two sites were able to make a friendly gesture, and possibly getting more states that were on the fence to make a positive decision.
March Madness and Casino Sportsbooks Have Great Championship
The Championship Final of the NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament ended with a huge play, a buzzer beater 3-point shot by Villanova’s Kris Jenkins; creating a historic moment for the sport. The Las Vegas sportsbooks are also sharing in the historic moment, as the entire tournament is speculated to have brought in enough wagers to beat this year’s Super Bowl betting; estimated to getting $150 million compared to the $132.5 million the big game got.
Casinos along the strip saw a lot of action, especially during the final where Villanova beat North Carolina. The sportsbooks were swamped during the last 5 seconds of the game, where the odds shifted from Villanova winning to North Carolina winning. Just as Station Casinos VP of sportsbook operations, Art Manteris stated,
“It was great again. Our industry continues to see growth and the tournament was no exception.”
This year’s March Madness will go down in history, as the underdogs were able to make an unbelievable comeback.
