Consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas has estimated that the three weeks of the men\’s college basketball tournament, which for the first time will be broadcast online for free, could cost employers as much as $3.8 billion in lost productivity.
“For every 13.5 minutes workers spend on the Internet watching March Madness games, which are to begin Thursday, the cost to employers in lost wages alone exceeds $237 million,” said James Pedderson, Director of Public Relations for Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
In separate news, the 182 sports books in Nevada are expected to take approximately $90 million in March Madness bets, while online bookmakers as a whole will record nearly $1.3 billion in wagers, making the NCAA tournament even bigger than the Super Bowl in gambling terms.
“For every person that enters an office pool, there\’s a good chance you will find another placing a bet on the tournament games over the Internet. As more consumers realize the safety and convenience online sportsbooks provide, the Internet will continue to be the destination of choice for betting on major sporting events like the NCAA tournament,” said Simon Noble of PinnacleSports.com.
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