Bet on March Madness Online
Legally Placing Bets on March Madness in Indiana
Betting on March Madness is completely legal in Indiana, providing Hoosiers with a variety of betting options during the Sweet Sixteen.
While filling out brackets for March Madness remains a popular activity, bracket pools represent only about half of the annual $10 billion in bets on the tournament. The rest is wagered by fans on individual March Madness games, both prior to and during the event.
For those wanting more than just the thrill of watching their bracket crumble on the first day, Indiana’s online sportsbooks offer a plethora of betting opportunities. With up to 16 games per day in the early rounds, there are ample chances to engage in the action beyond bracket predictions.
What are the best IN sportsbook apps to bet on March Madness? What Indiana schools can make a deep run this season? We’ve got you covered on this page. Jump to the best March Madness bracket contests.
Top Betting Sites for March Madness
Live March Madness odds
Here are the current live March Madness odds available at Indiana’s online sportsbooks. Use the drop-down menu to switch between different odds boards. Click on any odds in the feed to visit that sportsbook, claim your bonus, and place your bet.
Instructions for Online Betting on March Madness in Indiana
Sports betting is now fully legalized and operational across Indiana. With over a dozen physical sportsbooks and casinos, Hoosiers have numerous venues to place their bets on events like March Madness. However, you don’t have to visit a physical location to participate. As long as you’re within Indiana state lines and meet the legal age requirement, you can easily place your March Madness bets from the comfort of your home.
Guidelines on setting up an online gambling account in Indiana
- Select a Sportsbook: Begin by selecting the sportsbook(s) you wish to register with from the options provided on this page. Use our links to establish an account. Account Configuration: Select a username and create a robust password. Verify your identity and supply any additional necessary information. App Installation: Download the sportsbook app so you can conveniently place bets from anywhere in the state. The app offers a user-friendly interface for monitoring your bets and exploring various parlay options. Sign-up Promotion: Utilize promotions or offers during registration to increase your initial account balance. Fund Deposit: After depositing money into your account via approved payment methods, you’re set to start betting!
Indiana Sportsbooks’ Betting Options for March Madness
Indiana sportsbooks offer various ways to bet on March Madness, whether you're interested in filling out a bracket, betting game-by-game, or exploring exotic futures and prop bets. Here's a breakdown:
- Bracket Pools: This requires you to predict the winner of each game before the tournament begins. Your accuracy in forecasting scores you points, with the most points usually awarded for correctly predicting the champion and the final four teams. Both free-entry and paid-entry pools are available.
- Each Game Betting: You have the opportunity to wager on each game individually. Your betting options include: Moneyline, where you predict the outright winner; Spread, in which you wager whether a team will exceed or not reach the point spread; and Total Points, where you place your bet on whether the total points scored will exceed or fall below a certain number.
- Prop Bets: Predict specific events during the game. For example, Player Performance: Anticipate if a player will surpass or not reach the expected rebounds. Game Events: Guess which team will make the first score.
- Betting on Futures: This type of wagering involves predicting long-term outcomes, such as the Tournament Winners, where you place your bet on the eventual victor of the tournament. Another option is to bet on the Final Four Teams, which involves predicting the teams that will advance to the Final Four. Typically, the earlier you place your Futures bets, the more favorable the odds you will receive.
March Madness Betting Strategies
Brackets vs. Game-by-Game Betting:
- Completing a bracket can be exhilarating, but it can also create frustration if the team you’ve picked as champion gets eliminated early, resulting in a “busted” bracket.
- This approach allows you to place bets on each game as it unfolds, providing more thrilling engagement during March Madness. It offers the flexibility to adjust your bets based on the teams’ current performance and provides more betting options than a fixed bracket. In other words, betting on a game-by-game basis is a method that allows for more dynamic betting strategies.
Game-by-game betting
If you’re betting on each March Madness game separately, it’s essentially treating each matchup like any other basketball game. Here’s a typical line you might see for a March Madness game:
| Team | Spread | Moneyline | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indiana | -4.5 (-110) | -200 | Over 137.5 (-110) |
| Ohio State | +4.5 (-110) | +160 | Under 137.5 (-110) |
Betting Basics: Spread, Moneyline, and Total
Understanding different types of bets can enhance your strategy and experience when betting on sports like March Madness or regular season games. Here's a quick guide to the main bet types using a hypothetical Indiana vs. Ohio State game.
Spread Betting
In spread betting, sportsbooks assign a point spread to create a more balanced betting field.
- Example Spread: Indiana -4.5. To win a spread bet on Indiana, they must win by at least 5 points. If they win by fewer than 5 points or lose the game, your bet will be unsuccessful. If your bet is on Ohio State, you’ll win if they either win the game or lose by no more than 4 points. Typically, the odds for spread bets are -110, meaning you need to bet $110 to gain a return of $100.
Moneyline Betting
Moneyline bets are straightforward wagers on which team will win the game outright, regardless of the point spread.
- Moneyline example: Indiana is favored at -200, which means a $200 bet is required to win $100. Conversely, Ohio State is the underdog at +160, indicating that a winning bet of $100 on them will return $160.
- Payout: A payout is given for a win, no matter what the point count or margin of victory is.
Total Betting
Total betting, also known as over/under, involves wagering on the combined total score of both teams.
- Sample Total Score: 137.5 points. Over Betting: If you predict a high-scoring game, stake a wager on the total points from both teams surpassing 137.5. Under Betting: If you expect a game with potent defense leading to lower scores, place your bet on the total points being less than 137.5. Odds: Similar to spreads, total bets typically carry odds of -110.
Practical Examples:
- Spread Bet: If you place a bet on Indiana -4.5 and they only secure a victory of 80-75, you lose the bet because they did not surpass a victory margin of more than 4.5 points.
- Moneyline Bet: If Ohio State wins, a $100 bet on them at +160 will result in a $160 profit, regardless of the final score.
- Summary of Bet: If you wager under 137.5, you will win if the final score totals less than this number. To illustrate, if the final score is 65-60 (adding up to 125 points), your bet is a win because the total score is under 137.5.
Each type of bet offers different ways to engage with the game, whether you're predicting winners, the margin of victory, or the overall game dynamics. Use this knowledge to tailor your betting strategy and maximize your chances of success!
Props
Prop bets in March Madness allow you to wager on whether specific events will occur. These can be game-by-game props, which are resolved within individual matchups, or tournament-long props that span the entire March Madness event.
Exploring Prop Bets, Live Betting, and March Madness Betting Strategies
Prop Bets: Game-by-Game and Tournament-Long
Game-by-Game Prop Bets:
- Bets such as forecasting the first team to score or the total rebounds of a player are resolved within a single game.
- For instance, if you foresee a player performing well, you might wager on them to achieve more than 6.5 rebounds.
Tournament-Long Prop Bets:
- Cover the entire event, like NCAA March Madness.
- Example: Predicting that a top-seeded team will become the tournament champion, demonstrating faith in the strongest teams.
Live Betting
- Definition: Allows betting on a game after it has started, adjusting odds in real-time based on unfolding events.
- Use Case: Assessing team performance, changes in pace, or the impact of individual players before placing a bet.
Advice for Wagering on March Madness
- Historical trends in seeding show that higher seeds perform well. For instance, one-seeds have won the NCAA Championship 15.7% of the time and have reached the Final Four 40.7% of the time. The two-seeds and three-seeds have also demonstrated substantial success, highlighting their competitive strength.
- Upset Potential: History shows that 12-seed teams often do well in first-round matches against five-seed teams, consistently securing victories in recent years. Betting lines might indicate potential upsets. When the spreads suggest a close game, despite the seeding difference, it warrants careful attention.
- Bracket Strategy: Look at the betting lines to inform your bracket choices; bigger point spreads in tight games might indicate a higher chance of surprising outcomes. Prioritize slight underdogs with good odds against higher-seeded opponents for strategic enhancements to your bracket.
These insights equip you with strategic approaches for betting on March Madness, blending historical trends with real-time betting flexibility to optimize your wagering experience. Adjust strategies based on game dynamics and betting market movements for informed decisions throughout the tournament.
Which schools in Indiana are participating in March Madness?
Understanding March Madness Brackets
Overview of March Madness Bracket Pools
Participation:
- March Madness bracket pools, which can be accessed through offices, friends, or sportsbook apps, are extremely popular.
- The available options include pools with free entry that offer sponsored prizes, and pools with paid entry that contribute to a prize pool.
Structure:
- Free Bracket Pools: Participants are allowed to fill out brackets without any charge. Depending on the performance of the brackets, the prizes vary, often rewarding the best-performing brackets with cash or other incentives.
- Entry Fee Bracket Pools: Participants are required to contribute a buy-in fee that is combined to form a prize pool. Winners receive rewards from this pool based on the particular contest regulations and prize allocation.
Challenges and Strategy:
- Accumulation of Points: Predictions that are correct earn points, with the rewards growing larger in the final stages of the tournament.
- Proficiency in Prediction: Successful bracketing requires the accurate prediction of winners and the ability to select several Final Four teams.
- Upset Potential: Early unforeseen wins can cause turmoil in brackets, as underdogs often exceed expectations, resulting in bracket disruptions.
Historical Context:
- Even though there are challenges, March Madness brackets continue to captivate audiences, reflecting the unpredictable nature of the tournament.
- The success of predicting brackets hinges on striking a balance between carefully calculated decisions and comprehension of possible surprises, which are shaped by a team’s historical performance and current dynamics.
Conclusion:
- March Madness brackets provide an exhilarating blend of prediction skill and tournament excitement, captivating fans in guessing outcomes and enjoying the tournament’s unpredictability. To get an edge in bracket pools, adjust your strategies based on the team’s performance and the bracket’s dynamics.
March Madness FAQ
You can watch March Madness through the NCAA’s official streaming platform, March Madness Live. Just log in using your cable provider credentials to access the games.
Teams in March Madness earn bids either by winning their conference tournaments, which grants them an automatic bid, or by receiving an at-large bid from the selection committee. The committee evaluates teams based on various criteria such as their season record, notable victories, and losses against weaker opponents. These evaluations determine the seeding of teams in the tournament, ensuring competitive matchups based on each team’s performance throughout the season.
You can potentially purchase tickets through the NCAA’s website when they become available. However, it’s important to note that Final Four tickets are typically in high demand and may be difficult to acquire, especially this year with limited in-person attendance likely due to various factors.
The average price for tickets to all three games (the two Final Four games and the National Championship game) is $586, according to SeatGeek. Tickets specifically for just the National Championship game average around $266.