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Industry: $10 Billion Will Be Bet On March Madness, Most Illegally

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) - America's gambling industry predicts $10 billion will be bet on the March Madness college basketball tournament - nearly all of it illegally or off-the-books.

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That's one of the reasons the American Gaming Association favors the full legalization and regulation of sports betting in the United States.

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The group found 54 million people - or about a quarter of the U.S. adult population - participated in a sports betting pool last year.

The U.S. Supreme Court is weeks away from ruling on New Jersey's challenge to a law limiting legal sports betting to just four states: Delaware, Montana, Nevada and Oregon.

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AGA President Geoff Freeman says only 3 percent of the $10 billion the group predicts will be wagered on the games will be done through legal Nevada sports books.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press.

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