March Madness Bracket Betting 2024: Discover Bracket Betting Odds and Learn How to Place Bets
You’ve probably heard of bracket challenges in the world of fantasy sports, which is a lot of fun. However, I’d argue that March Madness bracket betting adds a lot more excitement.
Rather than scoring points for each round of the bracket, you can bet on the individual games and teams to make it through. If you fancy your chances, you can try and predict which team will go all the way before the tournament starts. Here’s the thing though, it’s not easy, but as an expert, I can help you out…
What is
March Madness bracket betting?
At the start of the tournament (after the First Four), all teams are placed in one of two brackets, which shows two roads to the final. At the start, the teams are matched up based on seedings, with higher-seeded teams playing lower-seeded teams in the First Round.
Each side of the bracket is split into four NCAA conference regions:
- West
- Midwest
- South
- East
The term “March Madness bracket betting” is therefore quite broad and can essentially cover wagers placed on each round. Alternatively, you can wager on teams to progress and win at each stage.
Match Madness bracket betting
– Each round explained
All in all, there are six rounds in the March Madness bracket, which is preceded by the First Four. Despite the fun and fancy names, this works much the way as any other knockout tournament would, as I’ve explained below:
This is a preliminary round where the eight lowest-seeded teams (two from each conference) play against each other to claim the final four spots in the First Round.
64 teams play against each other in the first round of the bracket, with the highest and lowest-seeded teams from each conference playing against each other in a one-off knockout game.
The winning teams from the First Round in each bracket play against each other. At this stage, the teams are still split into their four conference brackets.
The final four teams from each conference play against each other (16 teams in total).
This stage serves as the quarter-final of the competition as a whole, but crowns the champions for each NCAA Conference. You can find futures markets for the champions in each conference ahead of the tournament.
The South and East conference champions play each other in one bracket. In the other, West and Midwest go head-to-head.
This is the big one, where the final two teams play each other and the NCAA Championship winner is crowned for men’s and women’s basketball.
How the
March Madness bracket betting odds work
As there is more parity overall, the
March Madness betting odds
tend to be a lot tighter than those for the NBA. Therefore, games and futures markets can also be harder to call.
In the first and second rounds, March Madness betting is slightly easier, as there are clearer favorites and underdogs. That’s because the teams matched at this stage are high vs low seeds. As things progress, there are far more pick’ems.
March Madness betting
– Futures odds
If you bet on conference or NCAA Championship outright winners at the start of the tournament, even the favorites will be offered at long odds. Moreover, it can be almost impossible to spot the winner at this stage, as upsets are very common in NCAA basketball compared to the NBA.
Even the best bets for the
March Madness first round
can come to grief. For example, during March Madness 2023, none of the top seeds or sportsbook favorites made it to the final eight.
March Madness bracket betting
– Pros and cons
As you have already seen, nothing is perfect. However, when it comes to betting on March Madness, the pros still outweigh the cons by far:
Pros & Cons
- 67 games and multiple futures markets to bet on
- Better value odds than NBA playoffs
- One of the most exciting sports events of the year
- Great promotions on the top sportsbooks
- More difficult to predict than professional basketball tournaments
The best brands for March Madness bracket betting in the US
Bracket betting on March Madness is great fun, but only if you do at a legal and safe platform. So I’ve selected five social sportsbooks and DFS sites who’ll make sure that you get a superior way to enjoy the NCAA action:
Fliff: Impressive coverage of each March Madness bracket
Pros & Cons of Fliff
- Full range of odds for bracket betting
- Bet on each bracket for free
- Redeem real money prizes
- Redeem cash prizes
- Not available in all states
This is a social sportsbook that can be counted on to give you a vast range of options for each March Madness bracket. Whether you’re betting on the Elite Eight or the Final Four, you can bet on it all for free at Fliff. What’s best is that you can even redeem real money prizes here. So sign up to Fliff, get your welcome offer of 600,000 Fliff Coins and 100 Fliff Cash to make the perfect start on your bracket betting.
400% Match up to $99.99 + FREE 1000 Coins and 1.00 Fliff Cash
+ 100 Fliff Cash
Fliff Highlights
- Completely free sporting predictions.
- Climb the leaderboard and achieve legendary status!
- Real cash rewards available
Sportzino: Full range of NCAA bracket bets
Pros & Cons of Sportzino
- Top odds for all March Madness rounds
- Enjoy free social betting
- Redeem real-world prizes
- User-friendly social betting site
You’ll have a great time with your March Madness bracket betting at Sportzino. After all, the brand has picked up legions of fans as a result of its moneyline, spread and totals odds and you can rely on these for everything from the First Four up to the NCAA Championship Game itself. Like all good social sportsbooks, you can play at Sportzino for free and redeem cash prizes, and there’s a good value welcome bonus that gives you 150,000 Gold Coins and six Sweepstakes Coins.
Sportzino Highlights
- More than 40 sports to play
- Frequent rewards
- Free sportsbook
ParlayPlay: Fun way to spice up this year’s March Madness
Pros & Cons of ParlayPlay
- User-friendly DFS product
- Top college basketball coverage
- Statistic-based tournaments
- Respectable prize pools
- No regular kind of bracket bets
ParlayPlay can be counted on to help you enjoy every game in this year’s March Madness. It’s a fantasy sports site where you can make predictions on the statistics of each game and potentially win a share of some impressive prize pools. As such, it doesn’t feature the regular kind of bracket betting, but ParlayPlay still promises to liven up this massive college basketball event. Pick up the 100% matched deposit bonus up to 100% and see what all of the fuss is about.
400% Match up to $99.99 + FREE 1000 Coins and 1.00 Fliff Cash
+ 100 Fliff Cash
Fliff Highlights
- Completely free sporting predictions.
- Climb the leaderboard and achieve legendary status!
- Real cash rewards available
OwnersBox: Get a bonus to last you through each bracket
Pros & Cons of OwnersBox
- Two fun fantasy sports modes
- Handy matched deposit bonus
- Top coverage of the NCAA
- Trusted DFS brand
- DFS service not available in some states
Most sports fans will know all about OwnersBox and this is a brand that can be counted on for fantasy betting on this year’s March Madness. Again, you won’t be carrying out traditional bracket betting here, but you’ll have a great time drafting your own teams in the Superflex DFS contests, while those Lightning Lineups offer you an even faster way to play. Just don’t forget to pick up that huge matched deposit welcome offer of 100% up to $500.
OwnersBox Highlights
- 2 x $5 free DFS entries no deposit
- 100% deposit match up to $500
- Two unique takes on traditional DFS contests
Sleeper: Draft your team for each March Madness bracket
Pros & Cons of Sleeper
- Trusted fantasy basketball provider
- Healthy matched deposit bonus
- Unique game modes
- Impressive prize pools
- Not regular bracket betting
I love playing at Sleeper as it provides you with a variety of different game modes for your fantasy betting. This gives you plenty of options in thinking about how you approach each bracket in the NCAA tournament. You’ll get a welcome offer of a 100% matched deposit bonus up to $100 to get you started and from here, it’s just a matter of drafting your teams and hoping to pick up one of the cash prizes. A great choice for all college basketball fans.
Sleeper Highlights
- Free-to-play and paid contests
- Daily picks for multiplier winnings
- 100% deposit match for new players
The top five sites for
March Madness bracket betting outside the US
Of course, not everyone who wants to bet on March Madness will be based in the US. So if you are playing from outside the US, I have handpicked five betting sites who can be trusted to give you great odds for bracket betting on this year’s NCAA tournament.
When you actually get down to betting on the March Madness bracket, it’s important that you’re safe and secure and can find good value for your wagers. With that in mind, I need to address the elephant in the room – there are a lot of trash betting sites out there.
They will promise you the world, with great
March Madness sports betting promos
and high odds. However, if a site over promises, you will usually find that it under delivers and that your funds and personal data are at risk
In other words – there are a lot of scams out there.
That being said, it’s not all doom and gloom – far from it. There are plenty of legit March Madness bracket betting sites out there. As an expert in this field, I have tried most of them, and here are my top five:
| Betting site | Welcome promotion | Promo code |
| Stake.com | 200% up to $2,000 (EXCLUSIVE) | GAMECHAMPIONS |
| BC.Game | 180% up to $20,000 | N/A |
| GG.Bet | 150% up to $150 | N/A |
| Vulkan.bet | 100% up to $500 | N/A |
| Bet365 | $100 in bet credits | N/A |
Pros & Cons
- Exclusive welcome offer
- Live streaming for all NCAA games
- Excellent bracket betting markets
- Competitive odds
As well as good odds and a fantastic range of game and bracket futures markets, Stake.com also allows you to stream all NCAA games live on the site. Unlike on other platforms, you don’t have to have an active bet to be able to watch.
This means that you can see how the action is unfolding before you and make in-play March Madness bets accordingly. When you sign up, make sure to enter this promo code –
GAMECHAMPIONS
– to get the exclusive 200% up to $2,000 welcome offer.
BC.Game – No limits betting on all sports
Pros & Cons
- Large welcome bonus
- No limit on March Madness bets
- Accepts over 60 cryptocurrencies
- 40+ sports betting markets
- No fiat currency payment methods
It sounds a bit mad (pun intended), but in the world of March Madness bracket betting, big spenders can often struggle to find sportsbooks that will take their money. However, that’s not an issue for all of your high rollers out there at BC.Game.
There are no maximum bet limits on the NCAA or any other sports betting markets here. Additionally, the 180% welcome bonus has a maximum limit of $20,000. The only drawback (for some of you) is that this is a crypto-only betting site, with no traditional fiat deposit or withdrawal methods supported.
GG.Bet – Data and stats for
March Madness bracket betting
Pros & Cons
- Decent new customer bonus
- Stats and datasheets for your NCAA bets
- Official mobile betting app
- User-friendly platform for experienced bettors
- A bit confusing for beginners
I know it might be more boring than the thrill of watching the games, but research, facts, and figures are vitally important when it comes to betting. The bookies often want to hide the stats from you, as they are useful tools that can help you beat them with your bets.
However, GG.Bet has taken the opposite approach, and for all March Madness betting markets, you can find datasheets and stats to help you. On top of that, there’s a 150% deposit match worth up to $150 available when you first fund your account.
Vulkan.bet – The best
March Madness bracket betting
site for beginners
Pros & Cons
- 100% first deposit match up to $500
- User-friendly platform
- Ideally for first-time bettors
- Competitive March Madness odds
- Limit selection of markets for NCAA
The beauty of this online betting site is in its simplicity. The interface isn’t packed with datasheets and fancy features, however, it is easy to use and navigate. Therefore, if you’re new to this and are going to bet on the March Madness betting bracket for the first time, I’d recommend Vulkan.bet.
The markets and betting lines are well laid out, and the online bet slip works very intuitively. Oh, and there’s the small matter of the house matching your first deposit 100% with up to $500 in bonus bet credits.
Bet365 – The top-rated basketball betting site
Pros & Cons
- $100 in bet credits for new players
- Best overall basketball betting site
- Excellent mobile betting app
- Reputable global brand
Many of you reading this will require no introduction to Bet365, as it is one of the most recognizable gambling brands in the world. Additionally, most experts like myself have it rated among the top basketball betting sites in general.
In addition, you have a first-class mobile betting app as well as odds boosters and specials for multiple sports events, including March Madness. The first bonus that you can claim is $100 in bet credits, however, this offer may be different in your country.
Bet $5 Get $200 or $1000 First Bet Safety Net
Bet365 Highlights
- Immense market variety
- Strong odds
- Tons of content
Whatever the sport. Whatever the moment. It’s Never Ordinary at bet365. That’s why if you sign up now you’ll get the choice of two great New Customer Offers, the First Bet Safety Net up to $1000 or Bet $5 and Get $200 in Bonus Bets. Deposit required. Bonus Bets wager excluded from returns. T&Cs, time limits and exclusions apply.Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-Gambler 21+
NCAA March Madness bracket betting
– Conclusion
Well guys, there you have it, that just about sums up everything you need to know about March madness bracket betting. On the whole, March Madness is a fast-paced and exciting knockout tournament, and betting on it comes with a lot of jeopardy, but also a lot of potential fun.
So what’s next? You can choose one of my top recommended NCAA betting sites, register, and claim your welcome offer today. Then use it to place bets on each stage of the bracket.
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March Madness bracket betting
FAQ
💰 How do you bet on the March Madness bracket?
There are just three easy steps to betting on the March Madness bracket. Once you’ve chosen one of my top recommended sportsbooks, you just need to register your account, deposit, and place your bet. When making your deposit, you may also be able to claim a
March Madness betting promo
for new customers.
❓ What is the March Madness bracket?
The March Madness bracket is the map of the tournament and the route to the NCAA Championship game. At first, there are 64 teams from four NCAA conferences. Half of the teams are eliminated at each stage of the bracket until you have four conference champions. They then play each other in the semi-finals, with the remaining two contesting the final to be crowned NCAA Champions.
⭐ Who is the favorite for the men’s basketball NCAA Championship?
The answer to this question changes almost daily – they don’t call it March Madness for nothing. To keep abreast of the current odds, bookmark this article at GameChampions.com.
