Free March Madness Bracket Challenges And Contests in 2025

March Madness betting sites offer huge prizes for the NCAA Bracket every year. With no entry fee, there’s no reason not to enter as many of these contests as possible.

Peter Clarke - Senior Editor at Covers.com
Peter Clarke • Senior Editor
Mar 17, 2025 • 07:46 ET • 3 min read
Win Millions in Prizes for the 2025 NCAA Tournament Bracket
Photo By - Imagn Images - Win Millions in Prizes for the 2025 NCAA Tournament Bracket

March Madness bracket contests are one of the most exciting parts of the NCAA Tournament, and 2025 is no different! With huge prizes and no entry fees, these contests give a chance to win big without risking a dime.

So far in 2025, there's over $10 million in prizes available for the March Madness bracket!

Bookmark this page and check back often as we update it with the latest information about free-to-enter contests for March Madness 2025.

2025 March Madness bracket contests

Details for the 2025 contests are coming in fast. We’ll keep this section updated as soon as the sportsbooks reveal their latest promotions, rules, and prize pools.

Expect even more incredible opportunities to win cash, gift cards, and other prizes without paying any entry fee at March Madness betting sites. Be sure to come back and lock in your picks once the brackets are set! You can also sign up for new sportsbook accounts and unlock March Madness promos and sign-up bonuses and then bet on March Madness odds.

Contest Prize Entry Cost Welcome Bonus Code
Covers $100,000 Free N/A N/A 
Caesars Fan Cave experience  Free Bet $1, Get 10 100% Boosts COVERSBONUSDYW
bet365 Up to $10 Million Free Bet $5, Get $100 'COVERS' or 'CVSBONUS' (CO, NJ & PA only)
FanDuel $100,000  Free Win $5 Bet, Get $200 No code
DraftKings $100,000 Free No code
BetRivers  TBD  TBD $500 2nd Chance Bet COVERSBONUS
BET99 TBD Free $1,500 First Bet Encore     COVERSBONUS

(Not available to residents of Ontario)


FanDuel Tourney Shuffle

Win $100,000

The FanDuel 2025 Tourney Shuffle’Em is a competition to predict the last four teams in the Men's College Basketball Tournament. Participants are given a virtual card with random combinations of teams and can shuffle up to 20 times to create their preferred line-up. If all four teams on the card are among the last standing, participants share $100,000 in prizes.

The contest begins on March 16, 2025, and entries must be received by the start of the first tournament on March 20. Participants should be 18+ and physically present in states/regions specified in the rules. No purchase or bet is necessary to enter. Prizes are non-transferable and can be used only for wagering on the Sportsbook Account. Odds of winning depend on the total number of participants and individual’s ability to predict correctly. The contest is not associated with any third-party sponsors but is purely a FanDuel event. Restrictions and conditions apply, such as adhesion to FanDuel's terms of service and privacy policy.

FanDuel's Bet $5, Get $200 offer

If you're new to FanDuel, you can make your first bet of at least $5 and if it wins, you get $200 bonus bets back on top of your winnings! No FanDuel promo code is needed!

Bet $5, Get $200 Bonus Bets If Your Bet Wins


bet365 Bracket Challenge 2025: Win $10M for a perfect bracket

bet365 sets the high bar for the 2025 tournament with its $10 million bracket challenge that opens on March 16! The player with the most points at the end of the contest won $100,000, but if someone picks every game correctly, they could walk away with a total of $10 million! Prizes are available for the top 5,000 brackets.

New users in 2025 can also claim $150 in bonus bets after making their first $5 bet using the bet356 bonus code COVERS.

Bet365 Logo

Win up to $10 Million for the best bracket

Get $150 bonus bets with our bet365 bonus code

If you're new to bet365, you can sign up with bet365 bonus code COVERS and claim a $150 bonus with just a $5 bet on any NCAA Tournament game!

Bet365 Logo

Bet $5, Get $150, Win or Lose
Code: COVERS
Code: CVSBONUS (CO, NJ & PA only)


DraftKings Zero Right Bracket Challenge

DraftKings Zero Right Bracket Contest DraftKings is hosting a March Madness Bracket Challenge for 2025 in collaboration with Pepsi® Zero Sugar, titled the Zero Right Bracket Challenge, where the goal is to pick as few correct outcomes as possible.

Entry into the competition is free, and participants must be legal U.S. residents with a valid DraftKings account to enter. Contestants should complete a bracket by trying to select the losing team for each game in the Tournament. Accumulating fewer points by choosing the wrong teams results in a higher ranking.

The contest begins on March 18, 2025, when brackets open and is valid until the first game round on March 20, 2025. Participants can revise their bracket until the start of the first game.

The winner of the contest receives a cash prize of $100,000. In addition, the first 125,000 participants who enter the contest will receive a digital code that can be redeemed for one 20oz or 28oz can of selected Pepsi Zero Sugar Products.

In case of a tie, the prize amount will be split equally among the tied contestants. The winners are responsible for any tax liabilities associated with the prize.

DraftKings Daily Fantasy welcome bonus

If you're new to DraftKings, you can can earn up to a 50% deposit match for their daily fantasy site and $150 bonus bets if you sign up to DraftKings Sportsbook. You don't even need a DraftKings promo code!

20% Deposit match up to $500 

Bet $5, Get $200


Caesars' Bet The Tournament Fan Cave Frenzy Challenge

Caesars
Win a VIP Fan Cave experience! Enter

Caesars Sportsbook is running a contest called Bet The Tournament Fan Cave Frenzy. This requires no purchase or bet to enter or win. Participants should opt in to register and must be over 21 and a registered Caesar's Rewards member in the U.S. The promo runs from March 1 to March 30, 2025.

Rewards can be gained by placing wagers on the Caesars Sportsbook website/app or via slots, table games, or retail sportsbook wagers on property. Notably, on-property wagers count as double points for this promotion.

Two VIP Fan Cave experiences valued at $2,500 each are up for grabs. One is awarded to the participant with the most tier credits during the promotion period while the other is awarded in a random draw for participants who have earned a minimum 1,500 tier credits during the promotion time frame.

Entrants can also mail in their entries and can have only one entry and win one prize per person.

Caesars Sportsbook welcome bonus for new users

If you're new to Caesars, you can get 10 bet boosts just for signing up and betting $1 on any market! Learn more about our Caesars Sportsbook promo code!

Bet $1, Get 10 100% Boosts
Code: COVERSBONUSDYW


Covers' $100K First Round March Tourny Challenge

Covers 2025 100k Round 1

This year, we're not waiting around for the Final Four to start awarding prizes. For 2025, we're doing a contest for every round of the tournament. To kick things off, our users have a shot at $100,000 if they can perfectly nail the first round of the tournament. It's no small task, but most contests demand a perfect bracket all the way through. With Covers, you only need to correctly predict the first round. Fear not, though, if no perfect score is found, the holder of the best first-round bracket gets a $500 cash prize!

You can enter this free Covers contest following Selection Sunday (March 16)!

Instant replay: Best March Madness bracket contests

Follow the action on Covers to gain insight into which teams are poised to make a tourney run and find out who could play the role of Cinderella in 2025. In the end, most contest entries are built on picking a handful of favorites, gut feelings, and sheer luck. Keep these factors in mind:

  • Research the top seeds from each conference and look at head-to-head matchups and historical seeding. 
  • Complete entry forms and fill out your bracket before the tipoff of the first-round games.
  • Spread the love around multiple contest sites, much like your betting bankroll.

March Madness bracket contests FAQs

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Peter Clarke - Covers
Senior Editor

Peter Clarke has been in the digital media business for 14 years after obtaining his journalism degree from the University of King's College in Halifax, N.S. He learned his trade during his time at The Chronicle Herald and Saltwire Network, where he spent nearly a decade editing and making digital content.

These days, Peter is all about keeping bettors in the loop about the biggest sports betting events, like the Super Bowl and March Madness. He's also always on top of the latest promo offers from the biggest sportsbooks so he can share the best deals straight with you.

One of his favorite ways to bet is using the Covers' player prop projections. He firmly believes you can find a lot of value in the four and five-star projections every day of the year with just a little attention to the totals and lines. For those of you new to the betting scene, he’s got some solid advice: "Start small. Pick a unit size that feels right for you and grow your bankroll over time."

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