US operators rolling out special promos and products for March Madness

March Madness represents one of the best prolonged acquisition periods on the US sports calendar and operators are taking full advantage of the opportunity, with most of the key players in the space rolling out special promotions and products centered around the NCAA basketball tournament.

Free-to-play (F2P) bracket contests are a surefire way to augment user databases, and both BetMGM and bet365 are looking to leverage that strategy through their respective bracket challenges.

BetMGM is offering a $10 million prize to anyone who creates a perfect bracket, while bet365 is putting $5 million up for grabs in return for correctly predicting all 63 games.

In the (likely) absence of an unblemished bracket, both BetMGM and bet365 are guaranteeing $100,000 to whoever accumulates the most points by the conclusion of the tournament.

“March is the one of the greatest times of the year for sports fans, and it’s a huge moment for us at BetMGM to reach more customers than ever before,” said CEO Adam Greenblatt.

While other operators such as DraftKings and Bally’s are also offering bracket challenges, PointsBet is using the magnitude of the tournament to unveil a handful of new products as part of its ‘OddsFactory’ proprietary technology integration.

The Australia-based operator is rolling out real-time micro-markets called ‘Lightning Bets’ that will enable users to make wagers on which team will score the next point, as well as markets that will settle in the ensuing minute or four minutes of gametime.

PointsBet will also be featuring its Live Same Game Parlay product for tournament games, whereby users will be able to make in-play parlays consisting of player props and game-related outcomes as the action plays out on the court.

“Our NFL and NBA engagement has been outstanding,” said PointsBet USA CMO Kyle Christensen. “We expect the same experience and increased adoption as fans tune into the excitement of March Madness.”