Basketball-March Madness welcomes robust betting as Houston face Florida in men's final

By Amy Tennery

NEW YORK (Reuters) - March Madness, the United States' beloved betting holiday, reaches a crescendo on Monday when Houston face Florida after a thrilling men's final four that injected life into a tournament which largely stuck to the script in the early rounds.

Duke's title run imploded in the final moments of Saturday's Final Four game against Houston, who overcame a nine-point deficit with little more than two minutes left on the clock to book their first trip to the final in 41 years with a 70-67 win.

Florida, meanwhile, overcame tough odds as they closed an eight-point divide at halftime to beat Auburn 79-73, reaching the championship for the first time since they won it in 2007.

The games brought back excitement to a tournament that had been largely bereft of the madness its name claims, after all four number one seeds made it to the penultimate stage for the first time since 2008.

Millions are expected to pour into sportsbooks before tipoff on Monday at 8:50 p.m. ET (+1day 0050 GMT) after the American Gaming Association estimated around $3.1 billion in betting activity for the men's and women's tournaments.

The wagering comes amid a growing adoption of legal sports betting in the United States, as sports fans turn to betting apps to supplement their usual office pools and friendly brackets.

"With folks feeling more comfortable and understanding what sports betting is, it continues to grow," said Dara Cohen, senior director, strategic communications, for the AGA.

There is little risk of brackets being replaced outright, as ESPN reported an all-time record 24.4 million completed brackets for the men's tournament.

Several key markets - including Texas and Auburn's home state Alabama - still do not allow sports betting.

But with 39 states and Washington, D.C. opening their doors to sports betting since the U.S. Supreme Court lifted a federal ban in 2018, March Madness has emerged as an important part of the "larger ecosystem of sports betting", said Cohen.

Playing a part in that momentum has been women's sport, after Iowa star Caitlin Clark captivated fans all the way to her team's final defeat by South Carolina a year ago.

The game was the most bet on women’s sporting event of any kind and AGA is seeing little momentum lost in wagers with UConn and South Carolina squaring off in a dream finale later on Sunday.

"People felt that now women's sports were accessible and exciting to bet on," Cohen said. "Last year's march madness really opened those floodgates."

(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York, editing by Ed Osmond)