March Madness Betting Sites 2023: College Basketball Betting for NCAA Tournament

March Madness betting promo codes

Top March Madness bonuses & promos

Editor's Note: Bonuses are for U.S. residents only

bet365 March Madness Bonus

Despite bet365 being restricted to those in Colorado, Virginia, Ohio, and New Jersey, the sportsbook continues to gain notoriety in the U.S. via an impressive product headlined by a bet $1, get $365 in bet credits new-user welcome offer. Here are the details you need to know:

• No bet365 promo code is needed to claim the sportsbook’s active sign-up bonus. However, if you reside in Ohio, you'll need to click here.
• Following sign up, you must deposit $10 or more. Then, you'll have 30 days to place a $1 qualifying bet on any sports market. Regardless of your wager's outcome, you'll receive $365 in bet credits.
• Your qualifying bet must have one selection with odds of -500 or greater.
• The offer only lasts until March 30, 2023.

bet365 has also brought back its iconic bracket challenge for 2023. Go a perfect 63-for-63, and you will win $10 million. If your bracket misses the mark, have no fear — you can still garner up to $100,000 in prizes.

Ensure you dig through our bet365 review to get a full picture of the sportsbook.

DraftKings March Madness bonus

DraftKings Sportsbook is currently running a few different welcome offers for new users, with the best being bet $5, win $150 in bonus bets. Here are its key elements:

• No DraftKings promo code is required to obtain the bonus.
• After registration, you must make a minimum deposit and initial wager of $5 on any pre-game moneyline.
• If your wager wins, you'll get $150 in bonus bets.
• Customers will receive the $150 as six $25 betting vouchers in addition to any winnings from the bet itself.
• The bonus bets are not redeemable for cash, non-transferable, non-refundable, and will expire after seven days.

Aside from its welcome offers — a deposit bonus of up to $1,000 back is a secondary option — DraftKings also provides a unique bracket challenge March Madness bettors will find tempting. If you fill out the worst March Madness bracket, DraftKings will reward you with a $100,000 grand prize.

If you're interested in learning more about the sportsbook, ensure you read our DraftKings review.

FanDuel March Madness bonus

Boasting one of the leading sports betting platforms in the country, it's no surprise that FanDuel is a top-notch March Madness betting site. First-time customers can acquire a $1,000 no sweat first bet to kick off their sports betting journey. Here's what you need to know:

• You don't need a FanDuel promo code to redeem the offer. You will, however, need to download the mobile sportsbook app.
• Your first deposit must be at least $10, but you'll need to put down $1,000 to maximize the bonus.
• Make an initial wager on any sports market. Should it flop, FanDuel will refund your stake, up to $1,000, in bonus bets. So, if you bet the maximum $1,000 and lose, you'll get $1,000 credited to your account.
• FanDuel will deliver the bonus bets within 72 hours, and they will expire if not used within 14 days.  

Check out our FanDuel review for further information.

Caesars March Madness bonus

Caesars Sportsbook continues to be a behemoth amongst online betting sites. It makes sense, then, that its March Madness welcome offer for new customers is the most lucrative in the nation — up to $1,250 back as a bet credit, along with 1,000 Caesars Rewards® Tier Credits and 1,000 Caesars Rewards Reward Credits. Consider these conditions before nabbing the offer:

• You must use the Caesars Sportsbook promo code — SBRFULL — to claim the bonus.
• An initial deposit of $10 or more is necessary after registration.
• Place your first bet on any sports market. If it loses, Caesars will refund your stake, up to $1,250, as a single bet credit.
• The bet credit has a 14-day lifespan and cannot be withdrawn as real cash.

Dive into our Caesars review for more actionable intel.

BetMGM March Madness bonus

BetMGM tenders new customers a prolific March Madness betting experience, topped by its up to $1,000 back in bonus bets offer. Keep these important terms in mind when you sign up for an account:

• A BetMGM promo code is not necessary here.
• Make a first deposit of $10 or more and place your initial bet on any sports market. Should your wager flop, you'll receive your stake back, up to $1,000, in bonus bets.
• If you bet over $50, BetMGM will break up your bonus bets into 20% denominations. So, should you wager the maximum $1,000 and lose, you'll get five $200 bonus bets. Wagering less than $50 will see you get one bonus bet.
• You will have seven days to use the bonus bet(s), and they will appear in your account within 24 hours of your losing wager settling.

BetMGM also hosts a free March Madness bracket challenge, allowing you to take a crack at creating a perfect one. If you do, you'll garner a top prize of $10 million; if no one manages to pick perfectly, then first place gets $100,000 instead.

Read our BetMGM review to gain a more thorough understanding of the sportsbook.

PointsBet March Madness bonus

PointsBet Sportsbook currently offers new players one of the most flexible bonuses in the country via its up to $250 in bet credits reward. Familiarize yourself with the conditions below prior to getting started:

• A PointsBet promo code isn't required at any point during the registration process.
• Your first five wagers placed over your first five days as an account holder with PointsBet will be reimbursed, up to $50 each, should they happen to lose. So, if you lose all of your qualifying wagers, you'll receive a total of $250 in bet credits.
• If you win any of your first five wagers, you will not get a bonus for that day.

If you're curious about what else the sportsbook has to offer, look no further than our PointsBet review.

Barstool March Madness bonus

Barstool Sportsbook

$1,000 New Player Bonus

Claim $1,000

Doing your NCAA March Madness betting at Barstool Sportsbook means you're eligible to acquire the sportsbook's $1,000 new player bonus — so long as you're a first-time user. Ensure you're aware of the following terms associated with the offer before jumping in:

• A Barstool Sportsbook promo code isn't required to snag the sign-up offer.
• You must deposit at least $10 following registration. Once done, place your initial wager on any sports market, and if it flops, Barstool will reimburse your stake, up to $1,000, in bonus cash.
• Any wagers made with bonus cash must be tied to odds of -200 or greater.
• You will have seven days to utilize the bonus cash, or it will expire.

As it specifically relates to March Madness, Barstool is offering an alternative sign-up bonus. New users can make a $10 wager — at odds of -200 or longer — on any NCAAB market to get $100 in bonus cash, regardless of the outcome of their bet.

Take a look at our Barstool Sportsbook review for expert analysis. 

BetRivers March Madness bonus

Up to a $500 second-chance bet awaits first-time users who opt to register with BetRivers to do their March Madness betting. Although this is one of the more straightforward welcome offers available, its still worth keeping the following in mind:

• Input the BetRivers promo code — SPORTS — during sign-up to redeem the bonus.
• You must make a first deposit at least $10. Then, place a qualifying bet — should it fail, BetRivers will credit you the amount lost, up to $500, as a lone bonus bet.
• The bonus bet must have final odds of -200 or greater.
• You will receive the bonus within 24 hours of your losing wager settling, and you will have 30 days to use it.

In addition to its sign-up bonus, BetRivers is offering March Madness bettors a chance to win up to $10,000 in prizes via its squares challenge. Users that wager $20 or more on the NCAA tournament and correctly choose the square that ends up as the final score of a specific game can win up to $10,000.

Explore all of the sportsbook's features in our BetRivers review.

March Madness betting odds

March Madness odds aren't just popular in March. Avid NCAAB bettors will place wagers on college basketball odds — from Final Four odds to odds on the championship game to everything that comes before — year-round. If you're new to the action, scour our March Madness picks and predictions and March Madness upset predictions for valuable insight from our industry experts.

🏀 2023 National Championship odds 

*as of Wednesday, March 22, 2023. 

March Madness betting 2023: Four No. 1 seeds

The 2023 March Madness bracket is set and the four number one seeds entering the tournament are:

• South: Alabama

• Midwest: Houston

• East: Purdue

• West: Kansas

How to get started with March Madness betting sites

Even the most prolific sportsbooks don't always make the registration process clear. Below you'll find a brief step-by-step guide on how to go from signing up with your preferred March Madness betting site to making your first wager.

1. Select a sportsbook and register online

First, you'll need to select a preferred sportsbook — any of the options we have listed on this page will do. Once done, locate a "create an account" or "sign up" button on the site or app's home page and fill in the required information. You'll need to enter your full name, mailing and email address, date of birth, and more.

This is also where you will be asked to enter a promo code, should the sportsbook's sign-up offer demand one.

2. Deposit and claim a bonus

Following the creation of your new sportsbook account, you'll need to deposit some funds before you can do any online betting. Pinpoint the cashier — often conveniently found at the top or bottom of a betting site's home page — and scroll through its available banking methods until you find your desired choice. All of the best March Madness betting sites will feature the most popular options, from credit and debit cards to PayPal.

3. Select and finalize your bet

With funds in your account, you're finally ready to make your first bet. Take your time and thoroughly search the sportsbook's betting menu until you land on a market(s) that suits you. Input the amount you wish to wager and then confirm the transaction. You'll notice the wager appear instantly in your bet slip, where you can view the potential payout should it win.

4. Withdraw your payout

Few things are as thrilling as watching one of your big wagers hit, and there's a good chance you'll want to withdraw your winnings immediately. Head to the same cashier section used for deposits and choose the "withdrawal" option to start the process. Simply enter the amount you want to take out and the banking method you prefer to use. Generally, it takes 3-5 days for a withdrawal to complete.

Popular bet types and formats at March Madness betting sites

Learning how to bet on March Madness involves deciding on a preferred format. One of March Madness' most popular betting formats is the bracket challenge. This is when a bettor essentially predicts the outcome of every game in every round, including the championship game. You can join in the fun by downloading our free printable March Madness bracket and making your own selections.

No one in history has ever verifiably picked a perfect bracket — if you're daunted by the idea, we have a guide on how to fill out a March Madness bracket — meaning the winner is the bettor who turns out to be the most correct. The best-ever March Madness bracket streak belongs to an Ohio man who correctly predicted the first 49 games of the tournament in 2019. For those looking to place wagers on more traditional betting markets — such as March Madness prop bets — the most popular options include:

• Moneyline (ex. taking Duke to win at +200)
• Spread (ex. picking Purdue -9.5 at -150)
• Over/Under point totals (ex. choosing over 105.5 points in Michigan vs. Villanova)
• Futures (ex. betting on Marcus Sasser's March Madness MVP odds)
• Props (ex. wagering on a certain player to score over 17.5 points in a single game)

March Madness bracket explained

Every year, the NCAA Division I men’s basketball committee sits down and begins the selection process of the 68 participating teams. They begin by picking the best 36 at-large teams in the country and proceed to determine the other 32 teams based on a variety of factors including record, strength of roster, and strength of conference. This day is called "Selection Sunday."

From there, teams are strategically placed throughout the championship bracket in a way that strives to achieve as much reasonable competitive balance as possible. After each year’s Division I men’s basketball championship, a comprehensive annual review of the principles and procedures ensures everything is up to standard.

The first round is technically the "First Four," which is a play-in round between the bottom-eight teams to determine who will play in the opening round. Once the top 64 teams have been officially established, the Round of 64 begins. Following that, the winner of every game advances, and the round of 32 gets underway.

The winner of each game will then go through to the Round of 16, referred to by many as "The Sweet 16." From there, the winners proceed to "The Elite Eight," which is then followed lastly by "The Final Four." Both Final Four games are played on the same day, and the championship game is played two days afterward in early April.

March Madness key dates and developments

March Madness tipped off on Tuesday, March 14, 2023, with the start of the First Four. The Final Four will take place on April 1, 2023, in Houston and conclude on April 3, 2023, with the national championship game.

According to the American Gaming Association (AGA), this year's March Madness is expected to top the Super Bowl in total wagers, with an estimated 68 million people planning to make a bet.

Here's a complete list of the key dates to watch:

• First Four: March 14-15
• First round: March 16-17
• Second round: March 18-19
• Sweet 16: March 23-24
• Elite Eight: March 25-26
• Final Four: April 1
• NCAA championship game: April 3

March Madness betting apps

The college basketball betting landscape can be a bit tricky to navigate, thanks in large part to the variety of rules from state to state. While the best sports betting apps can be used in some regions, others will require you to visit a retail sportsbook to submit a bet slip. College sports betting has become more prominent, but it still isn’t as ubiquitous as wagering on professional sports. Here are some things to consider when using March Madness betting apps:

• Sportsbooks must abide by regulations specific to college sports in each state. This can include, but is not limited to, bans on betting on in-state college teams as well as prop bets.
• The best March Madness betting apps offer popular features, including live streaming — which can come in handy for those who don’t subscribe to sports channels.
• Most sportsbooks will be running some kind of March Madness betting promotion throughout the tournament, so it’s important to remember to take advantage of more than one to maximize value.

March Madness live betting

The best March Madness betting sites tend to be the best live betting sites, too. Traditional fixed odds betting requires players to place wagers before the games begin. With live betting, sweating your picks ahead of time morphs into sweating your picks in real time. When participating in March Madness live betting, keep the following considerations in mind:

• Live odds are often boosted during special events, such as March Madness, and taking advantage of them can pay off in spades.
• Live betting often comes with live streaming, providing a convenient way to watch the game via your sportsbook's website or mobile app.
• It can be difficult to prepare for live betting, but having a strong understanding of March Madness betting trends certainly helps.

States with legal March Madness betting

Since sports betting is regulated on a state level, the laws surrounding it change with almost every border crossing. The rules get even more specific when it comes to legal March Madness betting, given the extra stipulations placed upon college sports betting. To find out if you’re old enough to place March Madness bets, please refer to the table below. If sports betting is currently illegal in your state, it will not appear below.

How we rate and review March Madness betting sites

Deciding where to bet on March Madness can be tricky. There are a lot of things to consider and the sheer number of options can be overwhelming. Luckily, we've built our foundation on finding you the best March Madness betting sites. All you need to worry about is which snack to get and where you’re going to catch the game.

While developing the evaluation process, we've managed to zero in on some essential criteria. The best sports betting sites, in particular, need to meet a certain standard to keep up with the increased demand of March Madness wagering. Some of the key performance benchmarks include:

Exclusive March Madness Promotional Offers

Sportsbooks are well aware of the increased interest in college basketball betting around March Madness, and often prepare to attract their wave of new customers with exclusive March Madness offers. For example, some sites will offer a bracket challenge with a low entry fee and the potential to win a massive cash prize.

Affiliated March Madness Sign-Up Offers

Most sportsbooks run a sign-up offer all year, and that promotion is often available in combination with whichever March Madness promo is available during the tournament. If a specific sportsbook has two offerings with a lot of value and appeal, there’s typically no rule disallowing users from activating both. The only exception is if a sportsbook’s March Madness bonus is also a sign-up bonus, but most March Madness betting sites will elect to keep those offers separate.

Payout Speed

Payout speed, and the speed at which free credits from promotions are transferred into account balances, matter more than usual during March Madness. After all, the tournament lasts for under a month, meaning every day spent waiting for a payout or betting credits is a day of missing out on wagering. Most sportsbooks typically have quick payout speeds, but some do not. It’s also important to note which March Madness betting sites will be able to stay consistent under increased consumer demand.

Customer Service

Like payout speed, customer service is more important during March Madness as time is of the essence. Knowing which sportsbooks provide the best customer service can make all the difference, especially since some operators don’t offer instantaneous support. For example, some sportsbooks have phone and live-chat support, whereas others simply use social media and/or email.

Common bonuses at March Madness betting sites

New players dipping their toes into the waters of sports betting will quickly find that three types of bonuses dominate the welcome-offer space at March Madness betting sites: Deposit match bonuses, bet and gets, and first bet insurance.

Deposit match bonus

One of the more traditional offers a sportsbook can put forth, a deposit match bonus is exactly what it purports to be. After registering and making an initial deposit with an operator, it will match the amount you put down via bonus funds, up to a certain percentage.

For example, if a sportsbook provides a 100% deposit match bonus with a limit of $500, you could put down $500 in real cash and receive an additional $500 in bonus funds.

Bet and get 

Bet and get offers have become highly popular amongst sportsbooks, especially over the last several months. Since they are generally low-risk entry points for new bettors, industry titans such as DraftKings and FanDuel will use them to tempt first-timers during big events, such as March Madness. 

The bonus involves placing an initial bet with a sportsbook, usually at a small amount, such as $5. Then, once that bet has settled — typically, the wager does not need to win — you will obtain bonus funds that far outweigh your wager amount. For example, bet365 is running a bet $1, get $365 sign-up bonus right now.

First bet insurance

Long the king of welcome bonuses amongst sportsbooks, first bet insurance permits you to be riskier with your initial wager and try for a big payday immediately. If you win, great — you'll collect your earnings, and the bonus won't activate. Should you lose, the promo will trigger, and the sportsbook will reimburse your stake in bonus funds, up to a specified amount.

For example, if a sportsbook has a $1,000 first bet insurance sign-up offer, you can make a qualifying wager of $1,000, and if it fails, you'll get that amount back. However, it's important to remember that bonus funds must be used to bet further with a sportsbook and cannot be withdrawn or transferred.

More March Madness betting resources

Now that you’ve learned all about the best March Madness betting sites, it’s time to ensure you’re up to speed on some sports betting basics. Whether you’ve never wagered on sports before or you’re just looking to learn about specific sportsbook bonuses, we’ve got you covered:

• Best sportsbook promotions and bonuses
• How to bet on sports
• Choosing a betting site
• How to read odds
• How to manage your bankroll