The madness of March is upon us and that means the focus of the sports world will be turning to the NCAA men’s basketball championship. And so will the focus of the US legal and regulated sports betting world.
Following the Super Bowl, the NCAA Tournament is the second-most bet sporting event in the USA. Estimates from the American Gaming Association are that some $3.1 billion will be wagered across the country in the 38 states where sports betting is legalized. This includes the nine legal and regulated online sportsbooks in New York. That total would surpass the record $2.72 billion that was wagered a year ago.
Though CCNY in 1950 remain the only school from the Empire State to win the NCAA Tournament, every year, New York state schools offer some representation in the NCAA Tournament.
Last year, both the Wagner Seahawks from Staten Island (Northeast Conference) and Colgate Raiders from Hamilton (Patriot League) played in March Madness. In 2023, Colgate was also in the tournament as the Patriot League champion, while New Rochelle’s Iona Gaels also qualified following a win in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC).
Other top New York schools include Army, Canisius, Columbia, Hofstra, Niagara, St. Bonaventure, Buffalo and St. Francis.
College Sports Wagering Restrictions In New York
On the one hand, while it’s entirely legal to bet on college basketball games at any of the nine licensed online sportsbooks in New York such as BetRivers, there are significant prohibitions when betting college basketball games played in New York, or involving schools from New York.
While college basketball is quite prevalent in New York, betting on college basketball can prove to be quite restrictive within the state. There is a zero tolerance policy when it comes to wagering on New York college basketball schools and college games played in the Empire State.
The reasons behind this policy is that state regulators feel that young college athletes would be more prone to buckling under pressure from bettors who had a wager on a game involving their school.
“The goal here is to prevent harm before it occurs, so that the public is safe to enjoy gambling on sports as a recreational activity, and the athletes can play without the fear of being bombarded with harassments and threats,” New York State Rep. Paul Tonko told Spectrum News 1 about the Supporting Affordability and Fairness with Every Bet Act (SAFE Bet Act) that exists in New York.
Thus, if the LIU Sharks and St. Francis Terriers are squaring off in the annual Brooklyn Bridge rivalry, you won’t be able to bet on that game. By the same token, if the Niagara Purple Eagles are playing a road game in MAAC play in Lawrenceville, NJ against the Rider Broncos, betting on that game will also be off the board, since a New York school is involved in the game.
Likewise, while you can bet on NCAA tournament games at New York online sportsbooks, if an NCAA Tournament game is being played in New York state, it is off limits for betting in New York. Seven times, New York has played host to the NCAA Final Four. However, none of the 2025 NCAA Tournament games are scheduled to be played at any location within the Empire State.
College Basketball Player Props Also Off The Board
New York state regulators also prohibit college prop bets. These bets allow you to wager on specific events or a specific player’s performance, rather than the game’s result, such as a player’s total points or rebounds in a game.
Again, regulators fear that with these types of bets it might be easier for an unscrupulous bettor to exert pressure on a college player to shave points.
