Barstool Founder and CEO Dave Portnoy is seen before the Florida Atlantic Owls vs. Loyola (Il) Ramblers game at the Barstool Invitational at Wintrust Arena on November 8, 2023 in Chicago, Illinois.
Michael Hickey | Getty Images
Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy pocketed $2.76 million from UConn's blowout win over Purdue on Monday night in the men's NCAA tournament game.
Portnoy tweeted the massive result of a March 20 $600,000 bet on the Huskies winning the national championship. DraftKings confirmed the bet to CNBC.
“Greatest bet of my life,” Portnoy said in a post on social media site X. “The biggest win of my life by a mile,” he added.
Barstool signed a multi-year contract with DraftKings in February. The sports media company was previously owned by Barstool Pennsylvania Entertainment.
DraftKings reported on a record NCAA Tournament, with sports betting now legal in 38 states plus Washington, D.C. — five additional states since this time last year.
The American Gaming Association estimates that Americans will legally bet $2.72 billion in March Madness tournaments this year. This equates to 2.2% of the total bet on any sporting events last year.
Geolocation tracking company GeoComply, which operators use to monitor bettors' locations, told CNBC it saw a 42% increase in checks during the 2023 tournament.
DraftKings said Monday's game was the most bet on college basketball game ever for the sportsbook.
FanDuel He said the men's championship match saw a 52% year-on-year increase in the number of bets and a 42% year-on-year increase in handle.
in CaesarMonday's championship game accounted for the highest number of same-game bets ever on a college basketball game at their sportsbook.
“It was a customer tournament where filters covered the spread 61% of the time,” Craig McCullough, vice president of trading at Caesars Sportsbooks, said in an email.
Betting on the women's championship has been particularly profitable for sports bettors.
South Carolina's undefeated season and the heroics of star Caitlin Clark have fueled a massive influx of bets. fan duel, BetMGM Fans say the championship game was the biggest betting event in women's sports. Caesars said the women's tournament saw double the previous record for a women's college basketball game.
“We can only imagine the handle if the match is given a proper prime-time slot,” McCullough said of the women's final.
