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2024 March Madness Bracket Challenges, Contests, And Promotions

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  • Most Top Sportsbooks Offer A March Madness Bracket Challenge
  • Sports Betting Sites Allow Members To Enter Multiple Brackets
  • Contest Prizes Range From Bonus Cash To $1 Million!

With the March Madness schedule right around the corner, most college basketball betting fans are probably busy sorting through the NCAA regular season to get the edge they need on the betting boards. But in addition to a robust slate of spreads, straights, totals, and props, March Madness brackets often command the majority of the mainstream gambling interest.

March Madness bracket challenges and contests have long been viewed as the height of “informal” sports betting. So much so, in fact, that even when PASPA was in full effect and such brackets were technically illegal nationwide – the mandates were never enforced. With 100 million NCAA fans participating openly in this “illegal gambling,” there was simply no way to enforce the law.

As a result, March Madness bracket challenges were deemed social gambling, and even big-time media outlets offered them as “raffles” and “sweepstakes.” Today, of course, all the best online betting sites, DFS sites, and sports media outlets have plenty of March Madness brackets, contests, challenges, and promos for serious and casual fans alike, and we’re here to fill you in so you can fill yours out.

Best US Betting Sites For Free And Paid March Madness Brackets 

 Site NameCurrent BonusAgeU.S.Visit Site
Top Rated #1 IconBovada Sportsbook50% Max $1,00018+USA Players Legally AcceptedVisit Site Review
2BetUS125% Max $3,12518+USA Players Legally AcceptedVisit Site Review
3Betonline Sportsbook50% Max $1,00018+USA Players Legally AcceptedVisit Site Review
4sports betting logo50% Max $1,00018+USA Players Legally AcceptedVisit Site Review
5MyBookie Sportsbook50% Max $1,00021+USA Players Legally AcceptedVisit Site Review
6xbet logo50% Max $50021+USA Players Legally AcceptedVisit Site Review

Legal Online Sportsbook March Madness Promotions

All the best legal sportsbooks serving US gamblers hoop and holler during Match Madness. And that makes sense. After all, with the exception of the Super Bowl, the annual NCAA basketball tourney is the biggest American betting event of the year.

In addition to their usual tens of thousands of March Madness betting odds, the top sites always offer plenty of new-member promotions, account reload boosts, and real-money NCAA March Madness bracket promos with several different prize levels rewarding those who make it deep into the later rounds.

From the First Four Out The Door™ and the Who’s Who Thirty-Two™ to the Sweet Sixteen™ and the Elite Eight™, the further you make it without a loss on your bracket, the more cash you stand to win.

Can you predict your way to the Final Four™ and – perhaps – even into the True Two™? Well, probably not. But, of course, you don’t need to get that far to come up nothing but net…profit!

March Madness 2022

Bovada March Madness Bracket Challenge

Bovada Mobile AppIn addition to the countless Bovada March Madness odds you’ll get via the sportsbook’s standard lines and the custom Bovada Prop Builder tool, you can also choose from several different Bovada March Madness promotions when you sign up.

The site also hosts a printable official Bovada March Madness bracket if you want to spread the love (and, perhaps, earn a few refer-a-friend perks while you’re at it).

Check back here – or at our Bovada Sportsbook review directly – in the next few days for any special March Madness promotions or March Madness brackets posted after the NCAA’s season-ending conference tournaments.

MyBookie March Madness Bracket Challenge

MyBookie Mobile appThe MyBookie March Madness MyBracket contest is a bit different from typical NCAA basketball brackets. While it works the same way – i.e. fill out your bracket and submit it by the deadline (March 17) – the prize structure is a bit different.

The biggest differences between the MyBookie bracket and other sites’ brackets are the prizes available and the number of winners. First prize is a whole Bitcoin (though you can also request the market-rate cash equivalent if you’ve really got a bad case of the March Madness), and second prize is a crypto NFT (Doodle #9432). After that, it’s cash all the way down, and there will be at least 750 contestants that finish in the money.

Here’s the basic outline of the March Madness bracket contest at MyBookie Sportsbook, though you can find more information at the operator’s official event page:

BetOnline March Madness Bracket Challenge

BetOnline Mobile appBetOnline AG March Madness promotions are an industry mainstay, and they have one of the biggest annual contests in the entire legal sports betting market. The BetOnline March Madness bracket is just as big as you expect, with a guaranteed prize pool of $250,000 shared between 1000 winners.

The grand prize is awarded to the player who makes it deepest into the tournament, but if you lose an early game, it’s not the end of the world. That’s because the BetOnline contest is points-based. The entry with the most points wins $75,000, but even the last-place brackets earn $50, which is twice the initial entry fee.

For more information, you can check out the details below or visit BetOnline’s official March Madness contest page.

BetUS March Madness Bracket Challenge

BetUS mobile iconThe BetUS March Madness contest – aka the BetUS March Mayhem contest – is very different from other typical basketball tournament bracket challenges. Instead of having just a single overall bracket, BetUS Sportsbook also offers individual brackets for each level of the tournament. No other major operator hosts this kind of contest.

While the BetUS March Mayhem prize pools are necessarily smaller for these smaller brackets, they’re also more enticing, as they give players a better chance to win with every progressive round.

We’ve listed the BetUS bracket highlights below, but the site itself offers the full rundown of the contest’s rules and regulations.

Xbet March Madness Bracket Challenge

Xbet SportsbookWhile Xbet Sportsbook is a MyBookie sister site, the venue always has something different to offer in terms of bonuses. And that’s no different with March Madness. Instead of the big contests offered by its sportsbook sibling, the Xbet March Madness bracket – or Xbet XBracket – is much simple.

Still, this contest allows for 1000 winners, even if the grand prize is only $1000. With entry tickets costing just $10 and the smallest winning payout bringing home $25, it’s well worth giving this tournament a try.

The contest basics are outlined below, but you can review the XBracket in detail by visiting the official Xbet AG website (linked above).

SportsBetting AG March Madness Bracket Challenge

Sports Betting Mobile AppThe SportsBetting AG March Madness contest is identical in every way to the BetOnline AG March Madness contest (which makes sense, given that both sites are owned and operated by the same management company). As such, details can be found by consulting the BetOnline contest rules and prize tables above.

As with that contest, this one has a $250,000 in prizes that will be doled out among the top 1000 bracket entries, with first prize winning $75,000. We’ve included the highlights of the challenge below, but you can visit SportsBettingAG for all the fine print.

Free March Madness Brackets Vs. Paid March Madness Brackets

Odds LogoMarch Madness is unique in the sports gambling world in that most participants in the “bracket” phenomenon have nothing on the line. More than any other sporting event, NCAA March Madness brackets bring friends and acquaintances together. It’s like Secret Santa in spring!

From office brackets and friendly fantasy contests to various retail promotions all over the country, there are plenty of opportunities to play for fun instead of for prizes. Of course, in many cases, there are prizes, too!

But if you’re entering free March Madness brackets, you’re probably not maximizing your bottom line (with the notable exception of the $25,000 Yahoo Fantasy Tourney Pick’Em, which is a “no purchase necessary” contest). Sure, your workplace might have a small prize pool or you could maybe win a free toaster, but if you want some real cash for your picks, you’ll need to enter a paid event. The best of these are hosted by the top legal betting sites as outlined above, and there’s still plenty of time to join up and make a deposit.

And naturally, you’re never limited to how many different outlets’ bracket challenges you can enter. If you want to join every single sportsbook here and fill out your brackets, you can. If you want to get in on all the DFS and network media brackets, you can do that, too. And if you want to have a friendly contest with your coworkers, every site here offers free March Madness printable brackets for your convenience.

Daily Fantasy Sports March Madness Contests

In addition to the above betting site brackets, all the major DFS operators are hosting both free and paid March Madness contests, as well. The rules, regulations, entry formats, points systems, and payouts vary from operator to operator, and you can check out each service’s official web page for more information. 

  • DraftKings March Madness Bracket Contest
  • FanDuel March Madness Bracket Contest
  • Yahoo March Madness Bracket Contest

2024 College Basketball And March Madness Schedule

  • College Basketball Season Begins November 6, 2023
  • Selection Sunday March 17, 2024
  • First Four March 19-20, 2024
  • First Round March 21-22, 2024
  • Round Of 32 March 23-24, 2024
  • Sweet 16 March 28-29, 2024
  • Elite 8 March 30-31, 2024
  • Final Four April 6, 2024
  • March Madness National Championship Game: April 8, 2024

Network/Cable TV March Madness Challenges

transparent TVFinally, you can also download printable March Madness bracket templates – and enter both March Madness free contests and paid bracket contests – by visiting the websites for the following mainstream news and sports media sites. As with other bracket contests, the rules, prizes, and entry limits will vary with each service provider:

  • ESPN March Madness Bracket Contests
  • CBS March Madness Bracket Contests
  • FOX March Madness Bracket Contests
  • NBC March Madness Bracket Contests
  • ABC March Madness Bracket Contests

The biggest network March Madness players, of course, are ESPN and CBS. The annual ESPN March Madness tournament challenge is an industry mainstay, and CBS is the network television home of the tournament itself. Regardless of which channels you’re glued to, though, you’ll have a courtside ticket to the most exciting NCAA basketball action of the year.

March Madness Bracket FAQs

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