March Madness Betting 2027
By Dean Etheridge,
Table of Contents›
- Our Top Sportsbooks in US
- Top online sportsbooks for March Madness betting
- March Madness bonuses, contests and sportsbook promos
- Why we recommend these March Madness betting sites
- How to sign up at March Madness betting sites
- March Madness betting games
- March Madness betting apps
- Is March Madness betting legal in the US?
- March Madness betting strategy tips
- Featured Bets
March Madness just got more mad. That’s because the tournament field has expanded to 76 teams. The brand-new format and more selections should take March Madness betting to a whole new level.
If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you want to make a buck off NCAA Tournament betting. Well, you’re in the right place. This page is your guide to getting the most of March Madness betting sites.
Our Top Sportsbooks in US
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That’s the first step in all this, picking a few top-tier college basketball betting sites to capitalize on all the opportunities March brings. The problem is, there’s no shortage of sportsbooks out there, all promising the best NCAA Tourney betting experience.
But hey, that’s why we’re here! We’ve wagered on all the best March Madness betting sites, and we know which are truly worth your time (and which aren’t). We’ll tell you where to go so you can focus on the hard stuff like picking bets and filling out your March Madness bracket betting. Keep reading to get a load of the best bonuses and sportsbooks waiting for you this March!
March Madness Futures Betting 2026
March Madness 2027 Schedule
March Madness 2027 Prop Bets
Top online sportsbooks for March Madness betting
Every sportsbook will claim to be the “best”, but we judge them on how they actually perform for March Madness betting.
We review and test sportsbooks ourselves before recommending them, looking at their NCAA Tournament betting markets, bonuses, mobile experience and overall usability.
After betting on March Madness odds across the sites we review, we have five sportsbooks that stand out most to us. We’re listing them below, along with why each one makes our list.
BetOnline
When it comes to the depth of March Madness betting lines, BetOnline is one of our strongest options. That matters during a tournament with dozens of games and a huge range of markets.
Every sportsbook will have the basics. You know, your moneylines, spreads, and over/under. But the best sportsbooks separate themselves with deep menus that also dig into props and futures. BetOnline certainly does that and then some. You’ll find the full gamut of betting odds here, team props, player props, alternate lines, live betting, and so on.
This depth matters across the whole tournament, not only the Final Four or National Championship. BetOnline also carries markets on earlier-round games, which is ultimately why we rate it highly for March Madness betting.
Bovada
In terms of simplicity and ease of use, Bovada shines bright among bookmakers. And that matters an awful lot because March Madness betting can overwhelm you fast. There are games all day, hundreds of betting lines, and teams you probably haven’t watched once all season.
Thankfully, Bovada makes everything easy from Selection Sunday to the title game. Bovada neatly houses all its college hoops bets, and doesn’t make you dig through five different menus just to find a spread. Finally, selecting and confirming a bet is straightforward too, and that goes for straight wagers or parlays.
Bovada’s biggest strength for March Madness is its straightforward user experience. That becomes especially useful during the NCAA Tournament, when bettors may be switching quickly between games, odds and bet slips.
BetUS
BetUS stands out to us for its sportsbook bonuses and March Madness promotions. The operator regularly runs welcome offers alongside tournament-specific promotions, although the exact values can change.
During March Madness, it’s worth checking BetUS for reload offers, bracket contests and other tournament promos. Always compare the current bonus value and rollover terms before claiming an offer.
XBet
Among the March Madness betting sites we use on mobile, XBet is one of our favorites. That’s handy if you’re planning to bet away from your desktop throughout the tournament.
XBet’s mobile experience makes it easy to place a quick bet, use March Madness live betting, or access the cashier. The key advantage is that the site works smoothly from a mobile browser without making tournament markets difficult to find.
BetNow
BetNow is another leader in the March Madness sportsbook promos department. They aren’t as lucrative as BetUS, but BetNow makes up for it in terms of creativity. You’ll find promos in here that are completely unique, including a rare sportsbook rebate program on losses in case March Madness upsets hit you bad (and they probably will at one point!).
Besides deals, BetNow just offers an all-around good experience come tourney time. It checks a lot of the boxes you need, deep betting menu, well-priced lines, and trustworthy name.
March Madness bonuses, contests and sportsbook promos
A great thing about this time of year is the March Madness bonuses. Besides the Super Bowl, this tourney is when you see sportsbooks offer their best deals of the year. Everyone has a sign-up offer, but the best bookies also dole out reload bonuses, crypto-specific deals, free bets, and more.
Not all deals are as good as advertised, which is why we strongly recommend reading the terms and conditions so there are no surprises. As a word of advice, skip deals with high rollover rates or quick expiration dates.
For your convenience, we’ve earmarked some of the best March Madness bonuses available right now. These are 100-percent legit and not stuffed with red tape.
Why we recommend these March Madness betting sites
Just like a college hoops team has to run the gauntlet in the NCAA Tourney, so did we to determine our best March Madness betting sites. We tested hundreds of ‘em, and rated them all on a very specific set of criteria.
Criteria that bettors care about and makes the NCAA Tournament betting experience whole. Here’s the top-5 things that influenced our rankings:
Betting markets
Bonuses and promotions
Mobile app
User experience
Trustworthiness
Offshore sportsbooks can also be useful for users in states where regulated options are limited, but bettors should always understand their local laws and the differences between offshore and state-regulated sportsbooks before signing up.
How to sign up at March Madness betting sites
Don’t let anyone trick you into thinking signing up to a sportsbook is hard. It’s not, it’s the furthest thing from it. Here’s how to get set up in 20 minutes or less (seriously, it’s that fast too):
- Choose a sportsbook: Start with one of the March Madness betting sites we recommended above. Compare bonuses, betting markets, and mobile options before picking.
- Create an account: Head to the site and find the sign-up or registration button. You’ll be asked to enter your basic info, name, email, date of birth, address. Standard stuff here.
- Make a deposit: Choose your preferred payment method to fund your account. Credit cards, crypto, bank transfers, and e-wallets are common options here.
- Claim your bonus: Most welcome bonuses are triggered after making an initial deposit. Make sure you know the deal’s rules so you can maximize the value out of it.
- Find March Madness odds: This is where things start to get fun. Head to the college basketball betting section and find a bet of your liking. There are a lot of options, so picking wisely is half the battle.
- Place the bet: Enter how much you want to stake on the bet, double-check the odds, and hit confirm. That’s it, you’ve signed up and made your first bet.
March Madness betting games
As mentioned earlier, 76 teams will make up the field in the 2027 March Madness tourney for the first time. A total of 24 teams will make up the Opening Round stage. This used to be the “First Four” stage. The 12 winning teams enter the traditional Round of 64 bracket.
Simple, right? Even more simple is the ways you can bet on all these tournament games. Here’s all the betting options summed up:
- Moneyline: Pick the basketball team you think will win the tournament game. That’s it! Early-round moneylines can get wildly lopsided when a No. 1 seed meets a low seed, but things usually tighten up as the tourney moves into the Sweet 16 and so on.
- Point spread: The favorite has to win by more than the listed spread, while the underdog has to stay within it, or win outright. This is usually where bettors go when the moneyline on a favorite is too expensive.
- Over/under: Forget who wins. You’re simply betting on how many total points both teams will score in a game. Sportsbooks post totals for the full March Madness game and halves, too.
- Props: These are essentially side bets with the game. Most props are tied to stats, either for a specific player or team. However, props can go deeper than that, such as who scores first. The list of betting options here can be endless.
- Live betting: As the name hints, these are bets while the game is happening live, not pregame. Odds change in real time, and bettors can wait and get a feel for a game before committing money.
- Futures: This is where you bet on something that will be decided much later, such as who wins the national championship, ends up in the Final Four, or earns a No. 1 seed.
March Madness bracket betting is different from placing sportsbook wagers. Bracket pools usually ask you to predict which teams will advance through each round, while sportsbook bets such as moneylines, spreads, props, live bets, and futures are settled individually.
March Madness betting apps
March Madness and mobile betting go hand in hand. Early in the tourney, games are tipping off all afternoon and evening, so chances are you won’t be sitting in front of a computer the whole time. That’s why a good betting app (or mobile site) is an absolute must.
But what makes an app good in the first place? Here are the traits that matter most:
Fast live odds
March Madness lines change every possession. That’s just the nature of basketball, and a betting app has to be able to keep pace with the game.
Easy tournament navigation
There are hundreds of bets available on a busy March Madness day. That’s why you need to be able to quickly sort things out and find the bet you want without jumping through hoops.
Simple banking
Deposits and withdrawals should be painless to pull off on your phone. That goes for transacting with crypto, a debit card, or another payment method.
Reliable performance
Sportsbooks get slammed during the NCAA Tournament. The best apps don’t crash during this madness.
One thing worth pointing out is that many offshore sportsbooks don’t have downloadable apps on the Apple App Store or Google Play Store like regulated sportsbooks do. Instead, they use mobile-optimized websites that work through your phone’s browser. That can be just as easy to use so long as the site is optimized properly.
Is March Madness betting legal in the US?
This is probably the question we get the most. And unfortunately, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer.
March Madness betting is legal in most parts of the United States, but the rules depend entirely on where you live. Some states have fully legalized mobile sports betting. Others only allow retail betting at physical sportsbook. And a handful still prohibit sports betting altogether.
Not only that, but collegiate sports come with their own quirks. Several states bar any betting on in-state college programs. There’s even some states that prohibit player prop bets on college athletes altogether. That’s why it’s mission-critical to know your local rules before ever placing a wager.
We have written regulation guides on all 50 states. Find your state here to get caught up on where things stand.
One more thing: offshore sportsbooks accept customers from many U.S. states. Since these bookmakers are located outside the country, they operate separately from the state-regulated U.S. sportsbook market. However, it’s still your responsibility to understand the laws where you live before opening an account or placing a bet.
March Madness betting strategy tips
The reason you’re likely here in the first place is to win bets and actually make money during March Madness. That should be your goal, but we’re not here to sweet-talk you and say it’ll be easy.
It won’t be, but it’s certainly possible to be profitable. You’ll have to put in the work if you consistently want to outsmart the bookies. We can write an entire guide on betting tips, but here are a few rapid-fire ones:
- Factor in the Opening Round: The new 2027 Opening Round means some teams will have a different rest and travel schedule before reaching the Round of 64. Keep that in mind when comparing early tournament matchups.
- Separate bracket picks from sportsbook bets: The team you expect to advance in your bracket is not always the best team to bet at the available odds. A strong favorite can still offer poor betting value.
- Study matchups, not names: Blue bloods and No. 1 seeds get most of the attention, but that doesn’t always mean they’re actually the best bets. Look at how teams actually match up, tempo, size, shooting, and defense can matter more than the logo on the jersey. Doing this is how you spot Cinderella teams before the crowd.
- Value recent play: What happened in December matters a whole lot less by March. Pay closer attention to how teams performed down the stretch and in conference tournaments instead. A team peaking at the right time can be more dangerous than one living off early-season big wins.
- Shop betting lines: Don’t assume every sportsbook has the same odds (they usually don’t). A half-point on a spread or a slightly better moneyline can make a huge difference over a full tournament. Having accounts at multiple books gives you options to lock in the best-value bets.
- Limit parlays: Parlays look fun because of the huge possible payouts, but they’re sucker bets more often than not. One upset can wipe out the whole ticket, and March Madness already has enough chaos without adding six outcomes together.
- Use analytics: Metrics like KenPom, NET rankings, offensive efficiency, defensive efficiency, strength of schedule, and tempo can reveal things that win-loss records don’t. The selection committee leans on these metrics when deciding which teams go dancing, and you should do the same while betting.
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