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Genius Sports has reported its strongest performing March Madness to date, with the global leader in real-time sports data and trading technology achieving record-breaking engagement and market uptime for its sportsbook partners.
During the 67-game tournament that was eventually won by Michigan Wolverines, their first championship title since 1989, with industry estimates suggesting in-play betting engagement levels accounted for 40 per cent of all handle, up from the 28 per cent share from the 2024 event.
Same game parlays (SGPs) continued to dominate the landscape as the preferred product of choice, reinforcing the broader trend seen across the industry where bettors are keen to craft their own narratives through personalised betting slips.
The 2026 competition was the first since Genius Sports was named as the official NCAA data provider, which resulted in major sports betting brands benefitting from the supply of fast, accurate, and secure official data.
Matt Stephenson, Global Partnerships Director at Genius Sports, pointed to the combination of its official data rights and managed trading service, including its automated Edge software that drives incremental margin growth at scale, as key drivers behind the company’s strong March Madness performance.
“March Madness has grown to become one of the biggest betting events in the sporting calendar, with an estimated $3.3 billion wagered on the tournament,” said Stephenson. “It’s now one of the most demanding operational environments in sports betting, with 67 games of high-velocity college basketball in which market integrity and uptime are non-negotiable.
“The performance we delivered this year reflects the maturity and robustness of our basketball product, combining official courtside data, automated margin optimisation through Edge, and a managed trading service built to perform under pressure.
“This was further enhanced with a new Monte Carlo model, and the addition of more than 10x the number of player data points to our feed ahead of the tournament, creating one of the most comprehensive offerings on the market.
“Our sportsbook partners saw that translate directly into incremental handle and expanded in-play opportunity, delivering the best possible experience for their customers.”
Improved integrity delivers results
The 2026 tournament marked the first full cycle of the NCAA’s Approved Gaming Operator (AGO) programme, with Genius Sports serving as its exclusive distributor of official postseason data.
Safeguarding the integrity of March Madness has long been a priority for the NCAA, and the AGO framework delivered on that promise in tangible ways. Sportsbooks operating within the programme benefited from faster, officially sanctioned data, removing the reliance on broadcast delays, unaccountable data scouts, or unofficial feeds that have historically created vulnerabilities. For the NCAA, it meant greater transparency, closer cooperation with licensed operators, and enhanced monitoring across all 67 fixtures.
The programme also gave the NCAA meaningful new tools to restrict riskier bet types, including individual player props that are more susceptible to manipulation.
“The AGO programme has fundamentally changed what integrity means for this tournament,” said Stephenson. “For the first time, the NCAA has real visibility into how its event is being bet on, and Genius Sports delivers the infrastructure that makes that possible.
“When official data powers the markets, everyone benefits from the governing body to the sportsbooks, and ultimately the fans.”
