Best March Madness Betting Sites in KY

March Madness betting promises to be huge in Kentucky, partly because the University of Kentucky Wildcats are already a huge piece of the NCAA tournament’s past, present, and future.

The Wildcats have eight national championships all time, second only to UCLA’s 11. The school’s 12 NCAA Championship Game appearances are a record it shares with North Carolina and UCLA. Its 17 Final Four appearances are the third-most in NCAA history, tied with Duke and behind only North Carolina (21) and UCLA (18). Add in the fact that seven other Division I basketball programs in Kentucky have combined for more than 160 NCAA tournament appearances, and it’s easy to see why March Madness is such a big deal here.

With Kentucky set to allow online sportsbooks to start taking bets before the end of 2023, you’ll get your first crack at legal March Madness betting this upcoming season. To prepare, look at the following guide to March Madness betting in Kentucky, including a detailed look at the best online sportsbooks for March Madness betting and all your March Madness betting options, including traditional bracket contests, game lines, and more.

Best KY Sportsbooks for March Madness betting

Caesars Sportsbook

Caesars offers the best game line odds of any March Madness betting site. That means March Madness point spreads that are a half-point or more favorable than the competition’s and March Madness moneylines that allow you to lay less and earn more. Caesars SportsbookTypical March Madness lines at Caesars Sportsbook in Kentucky will include the following:

  • Spreads, moneylines, and totals
  • Team and player props
  • Championship and Final Four futures

There will also be some valuable March Madness promos and odds boosts at Caesars. However, Caesars has not historically run a traditional March Madness bracket contest.

DraftKings Sportsbook

DraftKings traditionally runs some rather large and free-to-enter March Madness bracket contests. Plus, more March Madness betting options are available at DK than at any other March Madness betting site. Typical betting lines for March Madness at DraftKings Sportsbook in Kentucky will include:

  • Spreads, moneylines and totals
  • Live game lines and props
  • Team and player props
  • Championship and Final Four futures

DraftKings also runs various March Madness betting promos and odds boosts alongside its free-to-enter March Madness contests.

BetMGM Sportsbook

BetMGM Sportsbook runs a free-to-enter March Madness bracket contest promising $10 million for the perfect bracket. Even when no one claims it, the $10 Million Perfect Bracket Challenge awards $100,000 to the best bracket entered. Typical March Madness lines at BetMGM in Kentucky will include:

  • Spreads, moneylines, and totals
  • Live March Madness odds
  • March Madness parlays and futures

You’ll also find several March Madness odds boosts and other promos running alongside the $10 Million Perfect Bracket Challenge.

FanDuel Sportsbook

FanDuel posts competitive March Madness game lines and futures odds. Typical March Madness lines at this Kentucky March Madness betting site will include:

  • Point spreads, moneylines and over/unders
  • Props
  • Championship and Final Four futures

FanDuel Sportsbook traditionally runs one of the country’s largest free-to-enter March Madness bracket contests. However, there’s only a limited number of odds boosts and promos surrounding the NCAA tournament here.

How to bet on March Madness online in Kentucky

Once Kentucky’s first online sportsbooks go live, you can bet on March Madness online. You’ll need to sign up for an account with an online sportsbook licensed to operate in Kentucky, make a deposit, and fill out a bet slip. Here’s how:

  • Click one of the links to a licensed KY online sportsbook found on this page.
  • Click on the button that reads ‘Sign Up,’ ‘Join’ or ‘Register.’
  • Fill out the registration forms with all required information, including any promo or bonus code for the sportsbook found on this page.
  • Accept the terms and conditions, and submit the registration forms.
  • Click on the button that reads ‘Cashier.’
  • Make a deposit using any method from your bank account to PayPal.
  • Browse through the March Madness betting odds and lines.
  • Click on any odds you like.
  • Fill out the instantly created bet slip to place a bet.

Remember, you can bet on March Madness futures online all year. However, you can only enter bracket contests online once the tournament field is set, and you can only bet on game lines online when each tournament round’s matchups are finalized.

Betting on March Madness futures

March Madness championship and Final Four futures are available all year long. You can pick the team or teams you think will win the tournament or make the Final Four and place a bet at the currently posted odds. These futures odds will change throughout the year, but you lock them in when you place a bet.

That generally means the earlier you bet, the better the odds. In fact, the odds will shrink significantly on the favorites leading up to and advancing through the tournament.

Pre-tournament prop betting

Kentucky online sportsbooks are likely to post some pre-tournament props, including NCAA March Madness bets on:

  • Seeding
  • Conference Representation
  • Minimum Regular-Season Wins Required

Betting on the First Four

The First Four are the four play-in games between the lowest-seeded automatic bids and at-large bids in the tournament. The winners advance to the First Round.

The NCAA started this practice in 2011, expanding the tournament field to 68 teams without deviating from its traditional six-round format. Every First Four to date has been held in Dayton, Ohio, usually on March 14 and 15, two days ahead of the First Round beginning. You can bet on the First Four games like any other March Madness game, and many bracket contests now include these games.

Betting on individual March Madness games

You can bet on the NCAA tournament as a whole by entering March Madness bracket contests or placing March Madness futures bets. However, you can also bet on every game comprising March Madness. Here are a few traditional routes:

  • March Madness Spreads: Pick winners with a point spread factored into the final score.
  • March Madness Moneylines: Pick the outright winner of an NCAA tournament game. Get it right, and you’ll get paid according to the odds posted when you place your moneyline bet.
  • March Madness Totals: Bet on a game’s combined final score landing over or under a line set by sportsbooks.
  • March Madness Props: Bet on player and team performance or stats in March Madness games. These are typically Yes/No questions or Over/Under betting.
  • March Madness Parlays: Combine bets on two or more March Madness game lines or props into one bet. Parlays pay better than the sum of the individual bets, but you must win them all. Same game March Madness parlay betting is also available, combining bets from the same game.
  • Live March Madness Betting: All of the above March Madness game lines and prop bets are available during games at odds that change with the action on the basketball court.

March Madness bracket contests

You can enter free and paid March Madness bracket contests run by Kentucky online sportsbooks. Most will ask you to pick winners in all 63 tournament games and the First Four. Your complete bracket must be filled out before the tournament begins.

In the end, the best brackets, the ones with the most wins and late-round wins, will split your contest’s prize pool. Check out our March Madness Brackets page for more on Kentucky’s best free and paid-entry bracket contests.

March Madness game betting vs. March Madness brackets

March Madness betting may seem like a choice between filling out a March Madness bracket or betting on individual games. However, there’s no reason why you can’t do both.

Bracket contests ask you to pick winners for all 63-plus NCAA tournament games. If that’s too big of a commitment, stick to individual game betting. But you can always guess and get lucky in bracket contests if you lack the college basketball team knowledge or the research time required to bet on individual games effectively.

That said, betting on individual game lines doesn’t preclude you from entering a bracket contest any more than entering one of those contests should prevent you from betting on individual game lines and props. Betting on individual games is actually a great way to make up for a broken bracket.

In sum, you can fill out brackets and enter contests. You can bet moneylines, spreads, totals, and March Madness prop bets for individual games. Do it all and enjoy a complete March Madness betting experience with Kentucky’s top March Madness betting sites.

March Madness betting rules

Online sportsbooks publish rules for settling March Madness bets under various circumstances. These terms and conditions will help you understand how March Madness betting operates. The basic rules surrounding NCAA bets for March Madness are:

  • Official NCAA data is used to settle all bets.
  • Overtime counts unless otherwise stated.
  • Overtime doesn’t count for ‘Second Half’ bets.
  • Player props have action as long the player in question plays in the game.