Fans flock to sports betting in person and online for NCAA Basketball Championship
EVERETT - It appeared on Monday night that the majority of fans at the Encore Casino WynnBet Sportsbook had placed their bets on UConn to win the NCAA - a bet that paid off.
This March Madness was the first where sports betting was legal in Massachusetts, both in person and online. As a result, fans flocked to the Sportsbook in Everett to watch the finals.
For Harrison Chan, it was a welcome change from driving to his home state of Connecticut for the last basketball season to bet with friends. "Honestly like we had [sports betting] in Connecticut about a year ago first so a lot of times you would find us me and my friends, we will meet up in Connecticut for big games like this but now 15 to 20 minutes away, I can't beat it," he said.
Many fans tell WBZ rather than a huge excitement - finally having access to legal betting in Massachusetts is a relief.
"I don't know what took so long, the state has missed out on so much money," said Chris Thurston, who hosts a betting podcast. He had placed a futures bet on UConn to win March Madness before the tournament began.
"I'm from Colorado originally so we've been doing this for a few years, so it's good to see that Massachusetts is finally back up to how it should be," said Tyler Winder. "But live betting is kind of the name of the game. Everything is always changing; you've got to be on top of it. It's how sports should be watched."
