March Madness Betting In Massachusetts
March Madness Betting In Massachusetts
Each spring, March Madness brings millions of eyes to the world of college basketball.
Thanks for the recent rollout of online sports betting in Massachusetts, betting on individual March Madness games is a great option for basketball fans in the state. Taking a deep dive into March Madness odds can help you fill out a better bracket.
See below for the best online sportsbooks in Massachusetts for live NCAA Tournament odds.
Best March Madness Betting Sites in MA
March Madness betting odds are available on all of the top MA sports betting apps. The lines can vary by sportsbook, as can the available options for betting.
Here are some of the best options, along with the special March Madness MA sportsbook promotions and odds boosts they may offer:
🏀 FanDuel Massachusetts
FanDuel Sportsbook is one of the most popular betting options in many legal markets. The FanDuel MA Sportsbook platform is one of the most user-friendly that you’ll find, and it has a regular selection of bonus offers.
- Bet on every game of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.
- Regular odds boosts throughout the tourney.
- Same-game parlays and many other betting options.
🏀 DraftKings Massachusetts
DraftKings Sportsbook is a Boston-based company that has grown to be a US industry leader. The DraftKings MA Sportsbook website and app are among the slickest you’ll find, and they offer an array of options.
- Competitive odds for all March Madness games.
- Bracket contests and free-to-play pools.
- All of the standard betting options you’d expect from a top book.
🏀 BetMGM Massachusetts
BetMGM Sportsbook is another industry leader that’s battling for market supremacy in multiple states where sports betting is legal. College basketball is among the many choices that you’ll find on the vast menu of options at BetMGM MA Sportsbook.
- Free-to-play bracket challenge.
- Edit your bet after your wager goes live.
- One-game and multi-leg parlays for every March Madness game.
All of the above sportsbooks are great places to get in on the excitement of March Madness. You don’t need to pick just one either, as many bettors keep their options open with accounts at multiple sportsbooks.
March Madness odds
How to bet on March Madness online in Massachusetts
Signing up at a sportsbook to bet on March Madness in Massachusetts takes just a matter of minutes. Here are the standard steps:
- Select the online sportsbook you want to use and access its site.
- Select the sign-up button, follow the prompts, and enter the necessary information.
- Create your account and claim the sign-up bonus.
- Make a deposit or get set to use any bonus bets.
- Check out the latest college basketball odds and get ready to place your first bet.
Bet on March Madness futures
Which team do you think will win the dance? Do you have a sneaky Cinderella pick to make the Final Four? Betting on March Madness futures lets you wager on these options and more. Here are some of the top futures bets involving the tournament:
- Team to win the national championship
- Conference of the eventual national champion
- Region winner
- Team to make the Final Four
Many of these odds and lines are available throughout the course of the regular season and conference tournaments. These options and odds will shift year-round based on team records, injuries and more. Futures bets require a long-range perspective, as any money you wager will be locked in until the outcome of your bet has been determined.
Bet on March Madness games
Once the tournament field is set, online sportsbooks post odds for all the games. When you check out the game listings, you’ll see the odds for three main bets:
- Moneylines: A simple bet where you aim to pick the winning team.
- Spreads: Sportsbooks set a spread for each game that you have to account for. If you bet on the favorite, that team has to win by more than the spread number. If you bet on the underdog, it must avoid losing by more than the spread number.
- Over/unders: Also known as totals bets, these are wagers on the total combined score of a game. You bet over or under a total line that the sportsbook sets.
March Madness prop bets can also be fun. What are prop bets? These are wagers on smaller elements within a game. Examples of NCAA Tournaments props could include which player will score the first basket, the total points a player will score in a game and more.
For additional wagering options, there are also alternate lines and betting on the individual halves. Alternate lines are variations of the standard spread and total, with the odds moving accordingly. For halves, you’re solely concerned with what happens in that time frame as opposed to the game as a whole.
March Madness betting vs. brackets
Filling out a March Madness bracket has evolved into a rite of passage in the spring. Each year, millions of fans take their chances at the nearly impossible dream of filling out a perfect bracket. That still has yet to happen, but bracket contests provide other chances to win for the highest-scoring entrants.
Individual game bets, meanwhile, let you narrow down your focus. There are plenty of options to choose from while the tournament plays out. This doesn’t have to be an either/or situation. Playing bracket contests can be lots of fun, while single-game betting is available for the contests that catch your interest.
Should you bet on March Madness favorites or Cinderellas?
There’s no blanket answer here, as it really depends on what you’re betting on. For a futures bet, it makes sense to spread out the risk. As an example, you can ride the coattails of a top favorite or two while also saving some bankroll to bet on a dark horse that you think has a legitimate chance.
When it comes to individual games, you have to assess each matchup on its own. Upsets can happen at any time during March Madness. If your research points you that way, don’t be shy. However, don’t force it. There’s nothing wrong with riding a hot favorite, but make sure you’re getting the best possible odds before placing your bets.
Which Massachusetts teams can you bet on in March Madness?
The current sports betting legislation in Massachusetts does not allow for betting on in-state teams like UMass, Harvard and Boston College in most circumstances. However, there is an exception if they’re playing in a national tournament like the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. So if in-state teams are playing in the big dance, bettors in Massachusetts can bet on them.
There are eight NCAA Division I men’s basketball teams in Massachusetts:
- Boston College (ACC): 18 NCAA Tournament appearances
- Boston University (Patriot League): Seven appearances
- Harvard (Ivy League): Five appearances
- Holy Cross (Patriot League): 13 appearances
- Merrimack (Northeastern Conference): Zero appearances
- Northeastern (Colonial Athletic Conference): Nine appearances
- UMass (Atlantic 10): Eight appearances
- UMass-Lowell (America East): Zero appearances
March Madness bracket contests
Many of the top online sportsbooks offer free March Madness bracket contests with chances to win prizes. Here are some of the more intriguing recent free-to-play contests:
- DraftKings: A survivor pool where you pick a winner for each day of the tourney. Those who make it to the end split the $30K prize pool.
- FanDuel: A pick ’em-style game where you rack up points for correct selections with a total prize pool of $5K.
- BetMGM: Fill your bracket out in its entirety, and the top-scoring bracket wins $100k. A perfect bracket lands a cool $10 million.
NCAA March Madness betting rules
Most sportsbooks have similar rules for March Madness and NCAA men’s basketball betting. Here are some of the major points to keep in mind:
- Sportsbooks settle all bets based on official data and statistics. The sportsbook will not entertain disputes on things like blown calls, missed baskets, etc.
- In the event of a full tourney cancellation, sportsbooks will void and refund your bets.
- Potential payouts will depend on the odds at the time you place your bets. Any movement in the numbers from that point will not impact your potential return.
Legal online sportsbooks may also post additional house rules on their sites. It’s on bettors to know and understand them, so be sure to take the time to review wherever you play.
How March Madness works
Once the college basketball regular season comes to a close, there are tournaments for each of the conferences. The 32 Division I conference winners will each receive an invite, and a selection committee chooses the rest of the teams.
All told, 68 teams receive an invite to the dance. March Madness begins with four play-in games that have come to be known as the “First Four.” Afterward, it’s down to 64 teams and three wild weeks of hoops action. It’s a single-elimination event with the field getting whittled down with each passing round. Following the first two rounds, it’s the Sweet 16, followed by the Elite Eight and the Final Four. It all culminates with the national championship game to crown a winner.