Here's How Much America Spends on NCAA Tournament Office Pools
It's March, which means the madness is upon us. Every year, the NCAA Tournament spawns the creation of office pools around the country, as everybody suddenly becomes an amateur "bracketologist."
A new study from Vegas Insider examines how mad America is about March, including how much the average participant spends on pools and how much money the country coughs up in total.
Hint: it's a lot.
Roughly $7.7 billion spent nationwide
According to Vegas Insider's Gautham Marthandan, 59% of U.S. workers say they participate in March Madness pools, with an average spending amount of $97 per year.
When you calculate everything, that means over 80 million workers are spending an estimated $7.7 billion nationwide.
"Participation is especially strong among younger workers, with those aged 25–34 accounting for roughly a quarter of office pool participants," Marthandan writes.
New York leads the way, with 76% of workers saying they spend on office pools, followed by Florida at 75% and Kentucky, Illinois and North Carolina tied at 71%.
North Dakota and New Hampshire (36%) have the lowest levels of participation, just ahead of Oklahoma (38%).
Methodology
These figures were determined by surveying 3,032 full-time U.S. workers between February 23 and February 27, 2026.
"March Madness has grown into a full workplace ritual, where office pools, bracket talk and now AI-assisted picks all shape how employees experience the tournament," Vegas Insider said. "What stands out is that this is no longer just about casual fandom — it now involves real money, new technology and, for some workers, real consequences on the job.”
The study also uncovered some other interesting March Madness-related data, which you can browse through here.
When does 'March Madness' begin?
Technically, it's already going on, with conference tournaments underway around the country. As far as the men's NCAA Tournament goes though, here are the important dates to remember:
- March 15: Selection Sunday, when the 68-team bracket is revealed
- March 17-18: The "First Four" games in Dayton, Ohio
- March 19-20: The first round of the NCAA Tournament, also known as the "Two Greatest Sports Days of the Year."
- March 21-22: Second round games
- March 26-27: Sweet Sixteen
- March 28-29: Regional finals, or the "Elite Eight"
- April 4, 6: Men's Final Four and national championship
'Tis the season.