Basketball brackets fill office break rooms each spring. Friends swap predictions. Social media floods with tournament picks. Somewhere in the middle of that excitement, many young adults place bets they never planned to make.
March Madness, the NCAA men’s and women’s national basketball championship tournaments beginning March 17 and March 20, creates one of the busiest gambling periods of the year. Online betting platforms now sit beside traditional office pools and bracket competitions. Advertisements from celebrities and professional athletes promote the apps that make placing wagers almost effortless.
That environment, researchers say, can subtly push people toward gambling.
“When you look at how March Madness is advertised on social media and in groups, it creates the perception that everyone is doing it,” said Melissa Lewis, a social work professor at the University of Texas at Arlington. “That may not affect people who already plan to bet, but it can definitely influence those who haven’t done it before and are willing to try because it now seems so normative.”
Lewis and fellow University of Texas at Arlington professor Dana Litt study alcohol and behavioral risks through the university’s Studying Alcohol and Related Risks Lab. Both researchers contributed to a new study exploring why sports betting increases during major sporting events.
The study, led by researchers from the University of Washington and published in the Journal of Gambling Studies, tracked gambling behavior among 210 young adults between ages 18 and 29 for one year. Participants completed surveys every two weeks describing how often they bet on sports.
Most participants were male, accounting for 77.1 percent of the sample. On average, they were 24.5 years old and had placed at least two sports bets in the month before joining the study.
Researchers monitored how often participants bet and examined the thinking patterns behind those decisions. The work relied on a behavioral framework known as the Prototype Willingness Model, developed in the 1990s to explain risky behaviors.
The model separates behavior into two pathways.
One pathway reflects deliberate planning. Someone decides ahead of time they intend to place bets during an upcoming sporting event.
The second pathway reflects a more reactive response. A person may not plan to gamble but becomes open to the idea when friends are doing it or when a major event makes betting seem normal.
“Some individuals plan their betting throughout the year, while others are open to gambling but haven’t had the right context,” Lewis said. “March Madness provides that context: It’s one of the biggest betting events of the year and heavily involves young adults and college students.”
Over the year-long study, changes in social perception played a significant role.
When participants believed their friends approved of sports betting, their intentions to place wagers increased. Similarly, when they thought their friends were actively gambling, they reported greater willingness to bet themselves.
Both intentions and willingness predicted how often participants placed bets during the following two-week periods.
Litt said those findings mirror patterns seen in alcohol research.
“All of that matters because interventions for someone with strong intentions differ from interventions for someone who is simply willing if a friend suggests placing a bet,” Litt said. “Understanding why people choose to engage is what helps design effective interventions.”
The results highlight how powerful social influence can be, particularly during widely shared cultural events such as the NCAA tournament.
Researchers note that sports betting can sometimes connect to broader mental health concerns.
Previous research has linked risky gambling behavior with depression, anxiety, substance use, and other harmful outcomes. Early intervention can reduce the chances that occasional betting develops into something more serious.
That makes awareness especially important during periods like March Madness, when gambling opportunities multiply across social circles and digital platforms.
Researchers also shared practical strategies for people who choose to bet.
Setting clear financial limits helps prevent losses from building quietly over time. “It’s not always one big loss that creates financial concerns,” the researchers noted. Small losses can accumulate across dozens of bets during a tournament.
Avoid betting when emotions or alcohol influence decision-making. Taking breaks between wagers allows each decision to stand on its own instead of becoming part of a reaction to previous outcomes.
Understanding the odds also matters. Placing more bets does not increase the chance of winning overall, and larger potential payouts often carry much lower probabilities.
Anyone who feels their betting is becoming stressful or difficult to control should seek professional support. Gamblers Anonymous offers confidential help through a 24-hour hotline at 909-931-9056.
Research findings are available online in the Journal of Gambling Studies.
The original story “March Madness: Why sports betting is booming among young adults” is published in The Brighter Side of News.
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