Best March Madness Betting Offers

We at Gambling.com have decades of combined experience testing and reviewing sports betting sites. After years of analyzing sites and reviewing feedback from real bettors, we’ve seen firsthand what makes or breaks a great betting site. Our goal is to connect you with books that aren’t just safe but offer great odds and a smooth experience from sign-up to payout.

Our team of industry-leading experts grades each of the betting sites they review on a scale of one to 10 across 10 different categories that we deem to be most important to sports bettors. To determine these scores, we don’t just sit behind a screen and rate sites—we test them, compare them, and really dig into the user experience to see how they stack up. Our process ensures we only recommend betting sites that meet our high standards.

We are committed to promoting responsible gambling. That’s why we only review fully licensed operators and offer tools and resources that address responsible betting practices.

Choose from our list of top-rated March Madness betting sites above and use our verified links to navigate to the sign-up page. Once you’re there, follow these steps:

1. Complete the registration by entering personal details, such as your name and age, required for verification and tax purposes.
2. During the registration process, enter your promo code, if applicable.
3. Choose a payment method and make a deposit. 
4. Place your first bet.

It’s that simple!

Legal March Madness betting draws over $3 billion in wagers annually, making it one of the world's biggest sporting events to wager on.

You'll have many March Madness betting options to choose from once the Division I Basketball Tournament tips off. March Madness odds update as the tourney rolls on.

In addition to the standard bet types, some sites allow individual player props. However, be advised that some U.S. jurisdictions do not allow betting on in-state college teams or player props.

• Moneyline: Moneyline betting is the simplest basketball wager because it only requires picking the winning team. The odds will differ depending on whether you bet on the favorite or the underdog. 
• Point Spread: Spread betting, also known as handicap betting, assigns a point spread to each team to even the playing field, giving the underdog a head start. If the favorite starts with a point deficit (-6.5), the underdog begins with a point surplus (+6.5). In this example, the favorite must win by seven points or more. Meanwhile, the underdog would have to win or lose by six points or less.
• Totals: Betting on the over/under, also known as the total, is among the most popular betting types. An online betting site sets a total line, and you bet over or under that mark. If you take the over on a 140.5 line, you'd need two teams to combine for 141 points or more.
• Props: Prop bets offer the chance to wager on outcomes besides final scores and winners. Examples of props include leading scorers, leading rebounders, and the John Wooden Award winner. Team prop bets are wagers on specific team totals. Props can include wagers on points for specific quarters or halves. Individual player props are typically over/under bets on markets such as Total Points and Total Rebounds.
• Live Betting: Some betting sites feature lines even after a game has started. Therefore, you can enjoy more gambling action until the final buzzer through in-play betting. Common live bets involve updated moneylines, spreads, and totals.
• Futures: Futures betting revolves around a distant outcome that could be weeks or months away. For instance, an October preseason bet on March Madness would qualify as a wager. However, you'll still see plenty of futures available on March Madness betting sites after the event begins and progresses through the rounds.

One of the most fun things for any college basketball fan to do during March and April is selecting their brackets for the Big Dance. The betting favorites could determine the team with the best chance to win the March Madness tournament.

Testing your college basketball game expertise and using your betting knowledge is the key to your success in March Madness bracket betting.

The NCAA Division I basketball tournament, often called "March Madness," is a single-elimination tournament that determines the national championship team at the end of the college basketball season.

How Does the March Madness Bracket Work?

Sixty-eight teams are selected in the men's and women's tournaments, which are organized into four regions with 16 teams that form a bracket. (In recent years, two play-in games have been added before the tournament officially begins to determine the "First Four" to advance in the tourney.)

The tournament progresses through the following rounds:

• First round: 64 teams
• Second round: 32 teams
• Sweet Sixteen: 16 teams
• Elite Eight: 8 teams
• Final Four: 4 teams
• National Championship: 2 teams

The first round features more upsets and chances to pick long-shot teams. Oddsmakers also have slightly more trouble perfecting odds with many games involving lesser-known teams.

You can continue finding upsets and value until around the Elite Eight, when the field tightens up. This isn't to say that you can't still make some money on underdogs. But your best opportunities may lie with live betting and prop bets at this point.

Some sites offer March Madness bracket contests. These competitions allow fans to pick the national title winner and earn prizes.

• March 15: Selection Sunday
• March 17-18: Men's First Four
• March 19-20: Women's First Four
• March 19-20: Men's Round of 68
• March 20-21: Women's Round of 68
• March 21-22: Men's Round of 32
• March 22-23: Women's Round of 32
• March 26-27: Men's Sweet 16
• March 27-28: Women's Sweet 16
• March 28-29: Men's Elite Eight
• March 29-30: Women's Elite Eight
• April 3: Women's Final Four
• April 4: Men's Final Four
• April 5: Women's NCAA championship game
• April 6: Men's NCAA championship game

We at Gambling.com take responsible gambling very seriously. Our main goals are to connect you with reliable betting operators while maintaining a safe gambling environment for all users.

College basketball betting sites must follow strict protocols to spot, prevent, and reduce gambling-related harm. These aren't optional measures; they're legal requirements and essential safeguards that protect vulnerable players from developing problematic habits.

We always keep these requirements in mind whenever we review and rate a betting site, and we only partner with licensed operators that adhere to legal standards. Moreover, all betting sites we review here have responsible gambling tools and resources to help you stay in control of your betting.