It’s March. The Conference Tournaments have concluded. Selection Sunday is in the books. The 2026 NCAA Tournament bracket is set. The games got underway Tuesday, March 17th with the First Four play-in games taking place on Tuesday and Wednesday before the First Round of the tournament gets underway on Thursday, March 19th.
March Madness is always one of the most bet on sports events of the year in the United States and I’m expecting more of the same this year with sports betting booming in the USA.
On this page I will touch on the regulatory climate for betting in both states, look at some popular bets you can make during the tournament and explain where you can bet.
Where To Bet
Sports betting is not legal in Alabama or Georgia. Licensed sportsbooks in neighboring states are an option if you travel there, since you must be physically located in a legal state to place a bet.
Other options include prediction markets such as Kalshi and Polymarket, daily fantasy sports apps where they are available, and offshore sportsbooks, which accept US customers but are not licensed or regulated by any state. Our guide to sports betting in the USA breaks down every option.
March Madness Betting in Alabama & Georgia
It is not currently legal to operate a sportsbook in either Alabama or Georgia.
That said, residents of both Alabama and Georgia can still bet on March Madness by joining an online betting site that is licensed and regulated outside of the USA.
Alabama lawmakers are working on bringing sports betting regulation to the state. There have been attempts to legalize sports betting each of the past five years, but no progress has been made. Efforts to bring regulated sports betting to Alabama will continue.
Georgia is in a similar boat with legal sports betting once again failing to make progress during the 2024 and 2025 legislative sessions. Most recently a House Resolution that would have allowed Georgians to vote on the legalization of sports betting was defeated by a significant margin of 98-63 (120 yes’s were needed). It does not seem like legalized sports betting will come to Georgia anytime soon.
March Madness 2026 Betting Options
First let’s look at the odds for the NCAA Tournament winner (taken on March 18th):
As you can see Alabama is an outside contender this year with odds of 125-1 to win the National Championship.
There are three popular bets that soak up the majority of action on college basketball games. Here’s a screenshot showing the odds from this years Alabama vs Hoftsra first round game:
- Point Spread – In this example Alabama an 11.5 point favorite. This means for a spread bet to win Alabama must win by 12 or more points. Hofstra must either win the game outright or lose by 11 or fewer points.
- To Win – The middle odds, also known as the money line, simply involve wagering on which team wins the game. The odds indicate the risk vs reward based on each teams implied probability of winning the game. In this example you would have to risk $850 betting on Alabama to win $100. A $100 bet on Hofstra would win $550 if they pull off the upset.
- Total Points – The final bet involves wagering on the total number of points to be scored in the game. The oddsmaker sets a “total” and you can wager on whether the total points scored in the game will be over or under this set “total”.
Bet On March Madness In Alabama and Georgia – 3 Step Guide
The process is similar on every regulated platform. Follow these three steps to get started.
Step 1. Pick Your Betting Option
From Alabama and Georgia, where there are no licensed sportsbooks, prediction markets such as Kalshi and Polymarket and daily fantasy apps are the main options for March Madness. If you travel, licensed sportsbooks in nearby Tennessee, Florida and North Carolina take bets while you are inside those states.
Step 2. Sign Up and Fund Your Account
Open an account with the platform you picked and complete its identity check, which usually asks for the last four digits of your Social Security number. Then make a deposit, most commonly with a debit card or bank transfer, and check how withdrawals work before you send any money.
Step 3. Place Your March Madness Bets
Open the college basketball or NCAA Tournament section and look for the March Madness odds. Pick a market such as a game’s spread, money line or total, or a futures bet on the tournament winner, add it to your bet slip, and review the payout before confirming. Only bet what you can afford to lose, and use the deposit limits most regulated platforms offer. Free, confidential help is available at 1-800-GAMBLER.
Tagged With : Alabama betting • Georgia betting • March Madness betting • NCAA Tournament betting