Sports bettors were solidly behind top seeds Duke and Arizona in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.
Duke earned an 81-58 second-round win over ninth-seeded TCU on Saturday while Arizona dispatched Utah State 78-66 on Sunday.
According to the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp., 94 per cent of Proline players bet on Duke to win while 47 per cent had the Blue Devils at -12.5 on the point spread. Meanwhile 97 per cent of players had Arizona to be victorious while 85 per cent took the Wildcats -11.5 on the spread.
Fifth-seeded St. John’s defeated No. 4 Kansas 67-65 on Sunday to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1999. Sixty-nine per cent of bets were on St John’s to win while 44 per cent correctly took Kansas +3.5 on the spread.
Second-seeded Iowa State advanced with a 82-63 victory over No. 7 Kentucky. A solid 72 per cent of bettors were behind Iowa State to win while 68 per cent correctly picked the Cyclones -5.5 on the spread.
Third-seeded Michigan State downed No. 6 Louisville 77-69, with 87 per cent of bettors picking the Spartans to win. Seventy-five per cent had them -4.5 on the spread.
Ninth-seeded Iowa’s stunning 73-72 victory over the defending-champion Florida Gators was a huge surprise to most bettors. Just 23 per cent of wagers were on the Hawkeyes to pull off the upset
The top-selling game of the week in the NHL was the Ottawa Senators’ 2-1 win over the New York Rangers on Monday night. Seventy-four per cent of players had the Sens to emerge victorious.
Meanwhile in baseball, Venezuela upset the United States 3-2 to win the World Baseball Classic on March 18. Sixty-five per cent of bettors took the underdogs to win while 40 per cent had the game under 8.5 total runs.
A Proline retail player won $9,479 from a $10 bet on a six-leg soccer parlay while another claimed $1,351.30 from a $5 wager on a seven-leg NHL parlay.
And a digital customer turned a $50 wager into a $3,061 windfall from a six-leg parlay.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 25, 2026.
The Canadian Press
