WATCH: Prop bets give new meaning to March Madness

An estimated $3.3 billion in bets are estimated to be placed on the NCAA mens and women’s basketball tournaments this year, a 54% increase over the past three years, according to the American Gaming Association. But indictments and investigations into game rigging are giving a new meaning to March Madness. In January, the Department of Justice announced criminal charges into 26 defendants around a scheme to fix NCAA Division 1 men’s basketball games. And the NCAA’s own investigations have probed 40 student athletes at 20 schools. PBS News’ Tim McPhillips spoke with Declan Hill, associate professor of investigations at the University of New Haven, to break down how college sports fell into the crosshairs of corruption and game fixing, the role of prop bets and the potential consequences of the increasingly close relationship between U.S. sports leagues and sports books. Watch PBS News for daily, breaking and live news, plus special coverage. We are home to PBS News Hour, ranked the most credible and objective TV news show. Sign up for Here's The Deal with Lisa Desjardins: https://to.pbs.org/41q6E8i Subscribe for exclusive content in our newsletters: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/subscribe PBS News podcasts: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/podcasts Stream your PBS favorites with the PBS app: https://to.pbs.org/2Jb8twG Find more from PBS News at https://www.pbs.org/newshour Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2HfsCD6 Follow us: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@pbsnews X: http://www.twitter.com/newshour Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/newshour Facebook: http://www.pbs.org/newshour