How much did Americans risk on March Madness?

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

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 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.

All of this is according to a survey of 2,000 U.S. by Talker Research. Results 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.

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 rely 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 by Talker Research between March 10 and March 12.

We are sourcing from a non-probability frame and the two main sources we use are:

• Traditional online access panels — where respondents opt-in to take part in online market research for an incentive
• Programmatic — where respondents are online and are given the option to take part in a survey to receive a virtual incentive usually related to the online activity they are engaging in

Those who did not fit the specified sample were terminated from the survey. As the survey is fielded, dynamic online sampling is used, adjusting targeting to achieve the quotas specified as part of the sampling plan.

Regardless of which sources a respondent came from, they were directed to an Online Survey, where the survey was conducted in English; a link to the questionnaire can be shared upon request. Respondents were awarded points for completing the survey. These points have a small cash-equivalent monetary value.

Cells are only reported on for analysis if they have a minimum of 80 respondents, and statistical significance is calculated at the 95% level. Data is not weighted, but quotas and other parameters are put in place to reach the desired sample.

Interviews are excluded from the final analysis if they failed quality-checking measures. This includes:

• Speeders: Respondents who complete the survey in a time that is quicker than one-third of the median length of interview are disqualified as speeders
• Open ends: All verbatim responses (full open-ended questions as well as other please specify options) are checked for inappropriate or irrelevant text
• Bots: Captcha is enabled on surveys, which allows the research team to identify and disqualify bots
• Duplicates: Survey software has “deduping” based on digital fingerprinting, which ensures nobody is allowed to take the survey more than once

It is worth noting that this survey was only available to individuals with internet access, and the results may not be generalizable to those without internet access.