Boss Action bookies should start getting ready for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament
In the United States, the two most important events in the sportsbook industry happen almost right after another. The Super Bowl takes place on the first Sunday of February. This year, the Super Bowl occurred on Feb. 2nd and sportsbooks and bookies took in over $6 billion in wagers.
One pro bettor wagered $500,000 in total on the Super Bowl. A couple of million-dollar bets also landed with major sportsbooks.
Over a week has passed since Patrick Mahomes led the Kansas City Chiefs to a 31-20 win over the San Francisco 49ers. Although players who made out betting on the Chiefs continue to bask in their victories, sportsbooks and online bookies have changed gears.
The other most important sports betting event of the year happens in about a month from now.
Bookie Services for March Madness
In 2018, the NCAA Men’s College Basketball Tournament garnered $8.5 billion in wagers. Analysts believe that once all 50 states legalize online sports gambling, that number should balloon to $15.9 billion.
Boss Action agents can start making money on the NCAA Men’s College Basketball Tournament in 2020. Entrepreneurs with drive can take part in the explosion of wagers expected this year. If you’re a person who wants to get on board the train of a fast-growing industry, continue reading.
This blog tells you everything you must know about the most profitable sports betting event of the year, March Madness and the NCAA Men’s College Basketball Tournament.
Everything Bookies Must Know About March Madness
What is March Madness?
The NCAA Men’s College Basketball Tournament may not start until mid-March, but the madness that precedes it starts in February. The term March Madness not only defines the actual tournament, but it also defines a couple of other events. Those events are the end of the college basketball regular season and the individual conference tournaments.
College basketball conferences produce 2 winners: a regular-season winner and a conference tournament winner. Often times, the regular-season winner, or winners, are different than the tournament winner. See a list of 2019 conference and tournament winners from the 7 most important college basketball conferences.
Conference Regular Season Tournament
AAC Houston Cincinnati
ACC Virginia / North Carolina Duke
Big 12 Kansas State / Texas Tech Iowa State
Big East Villanova Villanova
Big Ten Michigan State / Purdue Michigan State
Pac-12 Washington Oregon
SEC LSU Auburn
Villanova is the sole team that won both its conference’s regular-season and tournament championships. The regular season and tournament are both important. Why? We answer that question in the next section.
Why do they call it March Madness?
College basketball teams that win either their regular-season conference or conference tournament from the top 7 get a bid to the NCAA Men’s College Basketball Tournament.
We refer to March Madness from the end of the regular season to the College Basketball Championship. The reason we call it March Madness is because conference tournaments and the end of the regular season determines seeding in the tournament. The “madness” refers to the scramble that happens at both the end of the season and during conference tourneys.
The 2019 Duke Blue Devils are a great example of this. Duke started the season a solid +200 chalk to win the NCAA Tournament. But, Duke failed to win the ACC regular season. Duke did win the ACC Conference Tournament. The NCAA Selection Committee, those who decide on NCAA Tournament seedings, rewarded Duke with a 1-seed.
Teams that get 1-seeds or 2-seed have the best shot of making it to the Final Four. A quick study of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Tournament Bracket shows that Duke, Virginia, and North Carolina all got 1-seeds. The highlight of the Big Dance, a nickname for the Men’s College Basketball Tournament, was Virginia winning the championship.
What is the NCAA Men’s College Basketball Tournament?
The bracket from NCAA.com shows how vast the tournament is. We’ll discuss how Boss Action per head agents can use the Tournament’s extensiveness to build profit. For now, it’s important that you know Big Dance specifics.
The NCAA Men’s College Basketball Tournament is a 68-team contest that results in crowing the men’s college basketball champion. The tournament typically takes place every year in the final 3 weeks of March. Hence, the moniker “March Madness”.
The actual tournament starts on the Thursday following Selection Sunday. The First Four games happen on Tuesday and Wednesday preceding Round 1 on Thursday and Friday. The First Four are 4 play-in games.
Whoever wins those 4-games enter the tournament and plays Round 1 on Thursday or Friday. Round 2 takes place during the weekend. The following Thursday and Friday are Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games. Then, the Final Four happens during the third week.
Final Four games are played on a Saturday. College hoops crowns their men’s champion on Monday after the Final Four. Often, that game happens on the first Monday in April.
Prepare for the Big Dance
Boss Action agents must prepare for the NCAA Tournament. Agents ready a couple of ways. They use bookie software to arrange their sportsbooks for profit. In addition, they advertise the Big Dance via sports news and previews. They also increase wagering action via bracket contests.
Sportsbook Preparation
Collect from your clients if you must. Ensure they wager on college basketball games by making outstanding payouts. Your clients must be in good standing before March Madness. If they don’t have money to play, they can’t wager.
Make sure all your clients are in good standing. Also, use the Agent Payment System to ensure you’ve made all outstanding payouts.
Bump Up the Excitement
The NCAA Men’s College Basketball Tournament is one of the most exciting sporting events of the year. No matter how you communicate with your players, make sure to provide sports news and previews of key games.
Create a Player Only NCAA Tournament Bracket Contest
The NCAA Tournament is the perfect vehicle to build brand loyalty. Even one of the richest men in the world knows this. Warren Buffett offers an annual $1 million to anyone with the perfect bracket. The chances of someone coming up with the perfect NCAA Tournament Bracket, per DePaul Professor Jeff Bergen, is 1-in-9.2 quintillion. In addition, Buffett offers individual contests for his employees. That’s where brand loyalty comes into play.
You can’t offer anything close to what Warren offers. But what you can offer your players wagering credits. A $250 to $500 bonus for any player who wins the most NCAA Tournament wagers gets the credits.
Make sure your players know they must wager with real dollars to get the credits. Determine your wagering minimum based on your number of players and their player history.
How to Manage Your Sportsbook Once the Madness Starts
Use the Agent Payment System to make payouts or collect after each weekend of games. The NCAA Tournament is over in the blink of an eye. If you don’t keep the cash flowing, you could miss out on profit. Below, we list the 2020 dates to keep in mind.
- Selection Sunday —3/15
- First Four — Tues., 3/17 – Wed. 3/18
- NCAA Tournament Round 1 — Thurs. 3/19 – Fri. 3/20
- NCAA Tournament Round 2 — Sat. 3/21 – Sun. 3/22
- Sweet 16 — Thurs. 3/26 – Fri. 3/27
- Elite 8 — Sat. 3/28 – Sun. 3/29
- Final Four — Sat. 4/4
- 2020 NCAA Championship — Mon. 4/6
Also, make sure to check player activity reports. If a certain player has wagered on a team in Round 1 and Round 2, that player might wager on the same team during the rest of the tournament. Make sure the player knows when his / her favorite team will step onto the court.
Line Mover & Layoff Account
Don’t mess around with the NCAA Tournament games. Oddsmakers throw darts to set odds. Remember the 1-in-9.2 quintillion perfect bracket odds from Professor Bergen. It’s impossible to make correct tournament predictions 100% of the time.
Use your layoff account if you must. In addition, go with whatever odds are set. Don’t change the NCAA Tournament game odds with the line mover. If one of your players gets lucky, good for them! Congratulations to them. Most won’t. That’s the nature of March Madness.
Boost Big Dance Profit with Live Betting Bookie Services
32 games happen in Round 1. 16 games on Thursday. 16 games on Friday. BossAction agents like you must promote live betting. Don’t be fooled into thinking your players won’t watch the games because they’re at school or work. CBS promotes streaming on mobile phones, iPads, Surface Pros, Amazon Fire Tablets, etc.
There are massive benefits to live wagering. One of those benefits is a higher bookie takeout. Bookie fees, juice, is higher on live wagers. You make more money when your players bet on games while they happen.
Remember, casual players, are more likely to wager on what they watch. Every one of your casual players will watch, or at least attempt to watch, the NCAA Tournament games. That makes it easy to promote live wagering.
Make Money Taking Bets This Upcoming March Madness
The NCAA Men’s College Basketball Tournament has exceeded the Super Bowl in wagering action. More money is wagered on the NCAA Tournament every year, 8.5 billion, then the Super Bowl, 6 billion.
BossAction pay per head agents, even those who don’t like basketball, stand to profit from March Madness. They must prepare their sportsbooks for the Big Dance and keep the cash flowing during the 3-week tournament. In addition, agents can boost profits with live betting. For any questions, bookie agents should call a BossAction rep at 800-339-4108.
You May Also Like:
