Closed and Without March Madness Bets, Sports Betting Faces New Pressures

The N.C.A.A., whose offices in Indianapolis now stand about a mile from a sports book, had already rescinded a policy that banned championship competitions from states that allowed wagers on single games.

The evolving landscape — Iowa decided last year to legalize sports betting, beginning in August — had positioned Council Bluffs and its casinos to reap something of a windfall from March Madness despite not hosting any games. That was because Omaha, not even a 10-minute drive away, was poised to have six games. To place a legal bet on college basketball, all a fan would have to do was cross the Missouri.

“While there’s been a separation of church and state, so to speak, it’s the first time we’re getting it blended,” Samir Mowad, the general manager of two Caesars Entertainment properties in Council Bluffs, said in February.

Trends in other casino markets clearly suggested that the tournament and its matchups in Omaha were a chance for the Council Bluffs casinos to draw people who might have otherwise stayed in Nebraska, and to appeal to younger people who often avoid table games and slot machines.

Although sports betting only made up 3 percent of gambling revenue in Nevada last year, it was an important driver of visits to casinos in the first place, prompting people to spend money on hotel rooms, meals and entertainment. And while the heaviest betting in Nevada was on football in 2019, the most bet on a single sport in a single month was on basketball in March, driven largely by college basketball.

In Iowa, where sports bettors have wagered at least $327 million since August, casino executives declined to discuss their forecasts for tournament-related wagers except to say that they had anticipated millions of dollars in bets would course through the Council Bluffs properties alone.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/06/sports/ncaabasketball/coronavirus-sports-betting.html