Free March Madness Bracket Contests: 2024 Edition

Last Updated: March 21^st, 2024

Every year, online sportsbooks and sports media outlets launch free March Madness bracket contests with cash payouts open to fans in all states, and BettingUSA has all the details below. The best 2024 March Madness bracket contests cost nothing to enter but offer significant real-money prizes to the fans with the most accurate predictions.

One of the big differences between March Madness brackets and other sportsbook promotions is that fans do not need to live in states with legal sports betting to participate. Anyone 21 or older can try their luck for free in (almost) all of the following March Madness brackets.

Free March Madness Bracket Contests (Open To ALL States)

March Madness betting season is officially underway, with Selection Sunday establishing the bracket and seeding every college basketball team on March 17^th.

The tournament proper begins with the First Four on March 19^th and Round One following on the 21^st.

In most 2024 March Madness bracket promos, fans must submit their picks before Round One’s first game tips off on March 21^st. After tip-off, all brackets lock and thus begins the great elimination as teams across the country compete for a place in college basketball history.

Did you miss the tip-off and your chance to compete in March Madness bracket contests this year?
See BettingUSA’s state sports betting guides for a comprehensive list of the legal March Madness betting options where you live.

Fans can view the official March Madness bracket with live updates at the NCAA website.

Here’s a summary of the best 2024 March Madness brackets. Continue below for the key details, entry requirements, scoring rules, and where to enter each contest.

DraftKings March Madness Bracket Contests

DraftKings has multiple 2024 March Madness pick’em brackets open to fans in all fifty states. All of DraftKings’ no-entry bracket challenges are:

• Free to enter
• Stocked with guaranteed real-money prizes
• Available nationwide

DraftKings’ 2024 March Madness brackets will open on March 17^th at 9 PM ET and close on March 21^st at 12:15 PM ET. Fans can only make their picks after the 17^th, but they can reserve their spaces in each contest today for free.

Here’s how:

• Download the DK Fantasy or DK Sportsbook app (either option works because both provide access to DraftKings’ free March Madness brackets)
• Log in to your existing account or sign up for a new account
• Visit the “Pools” tab in the upper navigation menu
• Browse the Pools lobby for the contests explained below
• Tap on any pool to see its payout rules and reserve your entry

Note: Sports fans can sign up for DraftKings accounts from anywhere in the nation, even in states that don’t have legal online sports betting or fantasy sports. The only restriction in non-regulated states is customers cannot place sports wagers or enter paid fantasy contests.

Additionally, DraftKings Sportsbook has a paid March Madness bracket challenge with a $1 million prize pool and a guaranteed first place payout of at least $250,000. Although DraftKings’ $1 million bracket contest isn’t free, it’s worth noting because it boasts the biggest prize pool of all March Madness bracket promotions in 2024.

Free $50,000 Corona Bracket Beach Challenge

Open to fans in all 50 states

The Free Corona Bracket Beach Challenge contest offers $50,000 in prizes, with $5,000 reserved for first place and thousands more for players finishing as low as 7,755^th place.

In the Corona March Madness Bracket Challenge, players predict the outcome of every game and earn points for every correct pick they make along the way. At the end of the tournament, DraftKings awards $50,000 in cash prizes to the players at the top of the leaderboard.

Prizes:

• 1^st: $5,000
• 2^nd-3^rd: $1,000
• 4^th-5^th: $500
• 6^th-15^th: $100
• 16^th-115^th: $50
• 116^th-755^th: $25
• 756^th-1,755^th: $10
• 1,756^th-2,755th: $5
• 2,756^th-7,755^th: $1

Free $50,000 GetYourGuide NCAA Bracket

Open to fans in all 50 states

The GetYourGuide DraftKings March Madness bracket functions identically to the Corona Bracket Challenge discussed above.

The only difference between the two is they each operate on standalone prize pools, so fans can enter both challenges for free and double their chances of winning.

Otherwise, both are completely free to enter, offer $50,000 in guaranteed prizes, and reserve payouts for nearly 8,000 participants. Fans can enter both bracket challenges and either submit identical picks for a chance to double up on any prizes they win or submit unique picks to increase their odds of placing higher.

Bold Flavor Bracket Fueled by Wingstop

Open to fans in all 50 states

Wingstop is sponsoring yet another March Madness bracket with $50,000 in guaranteed prizes and identical rules to the other challenges explained above.

That’s three March Madness brackets at DraftKings, and fans may join all three at no cost.

Free $5,000 March Madness Brackets

Open to fans in all 50 states

In addition to the March Madness bracket promotions detailed above, DraftKings is hosting multiple free-to-enter contests with $5,000 guaranteed. Each contest has tens of thousands of entrants, and prizes are relatively small, but they’re all free to play.

Fans can see the full list of DraftKings March Madness contests by visiting the Pools tab and using the filter to show college basketball pools only. There, readers will see the complete lineup of free bracket challenges, their prize pools, and payout rules. Click or tap any contest to view the bracket and make your selections.

$1 Million DraftKings March Madness Bracket Challenge ($100 Entry)

Available in Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

DraftKings Sportsbook is hosting the year’s biggest paid entry March Madness bracket contest in 2024, with $1,000,000 guaranteed. However, the final prize pool will likely exceed $1 million by a significant margin as the number of entries grows.

The entry fee is a rather stiff $100, but it provides guaranteed payouts for 1,750 entrants. Whereas free March Madness bracket contests only offer prizes for a single user, and some only pay if someone builds a perfect bracket, the DraftKings College Basketball Millionaire Bracket guarantees prizes for nearly 2,000 fans.

Fans in legal sports betting states can log in to DraftKings and visit the Pools tab to enter the contest. Entrants make their selections like they would in any other March Madness bracket and receive points for every win they predict:

• Round of 64: 10 points for every predicted win
• Round of 32: 20 points
• Round of 16: 40 points
• Round of 8: 80 points
• Final Four: 160 points
• Championship Game: 320 points

In summary, the DraftKings bracket contest guarantees:

• At least $1,000,000 in prizes
• At least $250,000 to the entrant who finishes with the most points
• At least $200 the top 1,750 entrants.

Enter March Madness contests today at: www.draftkings.com

Bet365 $10 Million Bracket Challenge

• Entry fee: $0
• Top prize: $10 million for the perfect bracket; $100,000 guaranteed for the highest-scoring bracket
• Eligibility: 21 or older and present in AZ, CO, IN, IA, LA, NJ, NC, OH, or VA

Bet365 Sportsbook has relaunched its famed $10,000,000 bracket contest for 2024.

The Bet365 March Madness Bracket Challenge invites college basketball fans to submit their picks for a chance to win $10,000,000 and significant secondary prizes.

If anyone submits the perfect bracket, Bet365 will pay them the $10 million top prize.

In addition, Bet365 will be issuing payouts for the highest-scoring brackets from first place down to 250^th place on the leaderboard. Here’s the prize breakdown:

• Perfect bracket: $10,000,000
• 1^st place: $100,000
• 2^nd place: $25,000
• 3^rd place: $10,000
• 4^th place: $5,000
• 5^th place: $1,000
• Smaller prizes out to 250^th place

And here’s how contestants earn leaderboard points:

• Round 1: 10 points per correct game pick
• Round 2: 20 points per correct pick
• Sweet Sixteen: 40 points per correct pick
• Elite Eight: 80 points per correct pick
• Final Four: 160 points per correct pick
• Championship: 320 points for the correct pick

Nobody won the perfect bracket prize last year, but Bet365 did pay $100,000 to an Ohio fan who finished in first place with an incredible 1,420 points. In all, the Bet365 March Madness bracket challenge paid $240,000 to fans last year.

New and existing Bet365 customers in Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana (permitted parishes only), New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, and Virginia can participate for free.

Anyone who doesn’t already have an account can visit Bet365.com to register and take a shot at the year’s biggest March Madness bracket prize pool.

2024 CBS Sports Bracket Challenge

• Entry fee: $0
• Top prizes: Four tickets to the 2025 March Madness Final Four games and $6,000 cash; four tickets to the March Madness Women’s Final Four games and $6,000 cash; 2024 Nissan Rogue with a three-year premium subscription to Sirius XM
• Eligibility: Legal US and Puerto Rican residents 21 or older with a valid driver’s license

CBS Sports and Nissan have partnered on a potentially lucrative March Madness contest with some fun and valuable prizes on offer.

Fans can participate for free at CBSSports.com for a chance to win a new Nissan ARIYA and travel packages to attend the 2025 men’s and women’s Final Four games.

There are three different prize categories fans can aim for in CBS Sports’ March Madness contests:

1. First, fans can enter the 2024 Men’s Basketball Challenge for a chance to win tickets and $6,000 in travel accommodations to watch next year’s Final Four games (including the Championship) in person.
2. Second, fans can enter the 2024 Women’s Basketball Bracket Challenge to win an equivalent prize of tickets and travel to next year’s women’s Final Four.
3. And finally, CBS Sports will randomly award the biggest prize of all to one fan who submits brackets for the men’s and women’s games. The grand prize consists of a 2024 Nissan Rogue with three years of Sirius XM worth almost $51,000.

One of the more interesting aspects of CBS Sports’ March Madness challenge is how it awards prizes. Entrants do not need the perfect bracket or even “the best” bracket.

Instead, CBS Sports awards the men’s and women’s prizes randomly to a participant among the top 10% of point scorers in each contest. In addition, CBS Sports will award the 2024 Nissan Rogue to a random participant regardless of their bracket’s performance.

Fans earn points by making correct picks as follows:

• 1^st Round: 1 point per correct pick
• 2^nd Round: 2 points per correct pick
• Sweet 16: 4 points per correct pick
• Elite Eight: 8 points per correct pick
• Final Four: 16 points per correct pick
• Final Game: 32 points for the correct pick

Visit CBS Sports to participate: CBS Sports Bracket Challenge

Yahoo Fantasy Tourney Pick ‘Em $25K Best Bracket Contest

• Entry fee: $0
• Top prize: $25,000 cash for the best men’s bracket; $25,000 for the best women’s bracket
• Eligibility: legal US residents in all 50 states, 18 or older

Yahoo Fantasy is hosting a pair of March Madness bracket contests open to fans nationwide, with $50,000 worth of prizes reserved for the fans who pick the best men’s and women’s brackets.

Players can participate by visiting Yahoo Fantasy to sign up for an account or log in. After logging in, fans can open the Daily Fantasy menu, select “Men’s Bracket Madness” or “Women’s Bracket Madness,” and then select “Join Contest.”

Yahoo Fantasy’s Best March Madness Contests bracket is an overlay game, meaning fans must first submit up to ten brackets in each of Yahoo’s free “Basic Game” men’s and women’s tournaments.

The Basic Game contests do not award prizes, but all players may designate one of their brackets to enter the men’s Main Contest and another to enter the women’s Main Contest for a chance to win the top prizes. In addition, players must predict the final score of the Championship game to be used as a tiebreaker in case two or more entrants end with identical final scores.

The fans in each contest who finish with the highest point total according to the following scoring rules will each win the $25,000 cash prize.

• Round of 64: 1 point per correct pick
• Round of 32: 2 points per correct pick
• Sweet 16: 4 points per correct pick
• Elite Eight: 8 points per correct pick
• Final Four: 16 points per correct pick
• Championship Game: 32 points for the correct pick

Visit Yahoo Fantasy to participate: sports.yahoo.com/fantasy/

The March Madness bracket contests described above are now accepting entries, so fans can visit DraftKings, Bet365, CBS Sports, or Yahoo to get started today. In addition, other online sportsbooks may announce additional March Madness bracket promotions closer to tip-off, so check back soon for updates.

BetMGM March Madness Bracket Contest

The following bracket contest is not yet open for business – this is only a review of last year’s BetMGM March Madness challenge to give fans an idea of what to expect in 2024. BettingUSA will update this page when BetMGM relaunches its NCAA tournament bracket.

• Entry fee: $0
• Top Prize: $10 million for a perfect bracket; $100,000 guaranteed for highest-scoring bracket
• Eligibility: 21 or older, legal US resident, verified BetMGM account (users may register in any state to participate), no purchase necessary

BetMGM Sportsbook is hosting the best free March Madness bracket contest this year. The BetMGM bracket contest has $10,000,000 on offer for anyone who builds the perfect bracket and $100,000 reserved for the participant who submits the highest-scoring bracket.

Getting started is easy and free:

• Visit BetMGM.com from any state to register or log in
• Use the BetMGM March Madness bonus code BUSABONUS
• Visit the promotions tab to enter the $10 Million Perfect Bracket Challenge
• Follow the on-screen prompts to make your picks for each round
• Submit your bracket and enjoy the show

If anyone creates a perfect March Madness bracket, BetMGM will pay them the $10 million grand prize.

If no one submits a perfect bracket, BetMGM will pay $100,000 to whoever builds the highest-scoring bracket. Entrants earn points for correct picks as follows:

• Round 1: 1 point per correct game pick
• Round 2: 2 points per correct pick
• Sweet Sixteen: 4 points per correct pick
• Elite Eight: 8 points per correct pick
• Final Four: 16 points per correct pick
• Championship: 32 points for the correct pick