New York, April 02, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Heading into March Madness 2026 final weekend, Optimove Insights has analyzed betting behavior across more than 3.1 million US sports bettors from Selection Sunday through March 29. The data shows the tournament’s betting surge is driven almost entirely by existing loyal players already active on online sportsbook platforms… not new ones.
Across every stage of the tournament, 97% of depositing players were existing customers. Even during the biggest spike of the tournament, a 60% surge in betting activity during the first and second weekends, first-time depositors represented just 3% of the depositing base. That ratio barely moved regardless of the stage.
For sportsbook operators still deciding where to focus their March Madness investment, the data offers an unambiguous answer: this is not a customer acquisition event. It is a retention opportunity.
The Surge Pattern
Betting activity has followed a clear and predictable pattern across every stage of the tournament, measured against a February 2026 sportsbook betting baseline:
- Selection Sunday: +26% lift in daily active bettors
- First Four (March 17-18): +13% — bettors holding back, waiting for the main draw
- First and Second Rounds (March 19-22): +60% — the biggest spike of the tournament and the key window for operator investment
- Sweet 16 (March 26-27): +18% — fewer games per day, higher intensity per game
Optimove Insights will release a full analysis after March Madness 2026 concludes.
Where Operators Should Focus
The surge is real. But who is driving it matters more than how big it is.
According to Optimove CEO, Pini Yakuel, “With 97% of depositing players being existing loyal customers at every stage, sportsbook operators who direct the bulk of their March Madness investment toward retention, personalized promotions, loyalty rewards, and targeted re-engagement, will see a stronger return than those focused on acquiring new signups.”
Yakuel added that this does not mean acquisition should be ignored entirely. Even 3% of a very large pool represents meaningful new customer volume.
But the primary opportunity is clear: know your existing players, engage them personally, and give them compelling reasons to stay, bet more, and come back round after round. To ensure that sportsbooks connect with each bettor in the moment, they can optimize the opportunites with Positionless Marketing and be empowered to execute any marketing task instantly and independently.
Methodology
This analysis is based on a sampling of data from over 3.1 million US sports bettors. Tournament-period betting activity is measured against a February 2026 baseline, calculated from the post Super Bowl period (February 10–28) to exclude major sporting events and reflect organic, day-to-day sportsbook activity. During this window, daily active bettors averaged around 200,000, and daily bets placed averaged around 2.7 million – making it a reliable benchmark against which tournament-period spikes are measured. March Madness data covers Selection Sunday (March 15) through March 29, 2026, encompassing the First Four, First and Second Rounds, and the Sweet 16.
About Optimove
Optimove is the creator of Positionless Marketing and the #1 Player Engagement Solution for iGaming and sports betting operators. Positionless Marketing frees marketing teams from the limitations of fixed roles, giving every marketer the power to execute any marketing task instantly and independently. Positionless Marketing has been proven to improve campaign efficiency by 88%, allowing marketing teams to create more personalized engagement with existing customers.
For two years running, Optimove has been positioned as a Visionary in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Multichannel Marketing Hubs, recognized for its AI-driven decisioning, prescriptive insights, and proven ability to orchestrate thousands of personalized campaigns in real time across channels. AI-led marketing is a hallmark of Optimove’s visionary leadership.
By embedding AI directly into its platform as early as 2012, Optimove paved the way for today’s Positionless Marketing standard. Its Positionless Marketing Platform includes Optimove Engage and Orchestrate for cross-channel campaign decisioning and orchestration; Optimove Personalize, a digital personalization engine; and Optimove Gamify, a loyalty and gamification platform.
Today, its comprehensive AI-powered suite is at the leading edge of empowering marketers to streamline workflows from Insight to Creation and through Optimization. Optimove provides industry-specific and use-case solutions for leading consumer brands globally.
About Optimove Insights
Optimove Insights is the analytical and research arm of Optimove, dedicated to providing valuable industry insights and data-driven research to empower B2C businesses.
- Surge in March Madness Betting