In Snap polls•March 18, 2025•3 Minutes

The average American is willing to put nearly $120 on the line for their March Madness brackets

Livy Beaner

The average American is willing to put nearly $120 on the line for their March Madness brackets this year, our research reveals.

The younger generations understand the most that it’s high risk, high reward, as Gen Z is willing to lose an average of $199, whereas millennials up the ante to an average of $205. 

On the flip side, baby boomers are only willing to put an average of less than $40 at stake ($38.70). 

Almost half (46%) participate in the college basketball madness of March Madness in some manner and of those, 24% are in it to win some money. This was especially true for the younger generations as 34% of Gen Z and 29% of millennials have their eyes on a monetary prize.

March Madness takes precedence over other obligations — 15% of Gen Z admit they’ve taken a “long lunch” at work so as to not miss out on the action, while 11% of millennials have tuned in from the bathroom or toilet.

The results of our survey of 2,000 U.S. adults even found that almost one in five (18%) break out the brackets and turn on the games because there’s simply nothing better to do during the month of March.

The average American is willing to put nearly $120 on the line for their March Madness brackets

When it comes to actually creating their hopefully winning bracket, only 16% base their choices on their limited basketball knowledge, whereas 14% base it on a hunch.

Only 18% of Gen Z relies on actual basketball understanding and are more likely to place their bets based on their friends’ or family’s preferences (23%) or even just the “vibes” (22%).

One in 10 millennials even make their choices based on whether or not they like the team’s mascot.

With so much luck involved, the survey asked respondents what habits and rituals they embrace when they need to win something and found many have lucky talismans. One respondent said, “I have a lucky necklace that I wear,” while another has “a gratitude rock.”

Others think positive thoughts or stay optimistic.

Survey methodology

Talker Research surveyed 2,000 general population Americans; the survey was administered and conducted online between March 10 and March 12, 2025.

Read more about our methodology.

Featured image by Kylie OSullivan.

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