Conference tournaments are underway. Selection Sunday is less than a week away. Next week, the opening round of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament tips off.

March Madness is upon us. Across the nation, millions of brackets will be filled out in pursuit of bragging rights among friends and coworkers or even a pool prize.

DraftKings Sportsbook has now created another outlet.

The online sports betting leader in New Jersey, the sportsbook introduced DraftKings Brackets ahead of March Madness. With this feature, customers can fill out brackets and earn cash for correct picks.

The product makes New Jersey the first state outside of Nevada to boast a legal product of this sort.

How to enter, play DraftKings Brackets

DraftKings Brackets offers two pools in which users can enter. Additionally, customers can join public pools or create private contests prior to the NCAA tournament, which gets going with the First Four on March 19.

Users in any state, including Pennsylvania, can enter the free-to-play bracket for a shot at a share of $64,000 in prizes. Residents and visitors in New Jersey, meanwhile, have the option to purchase a $20 bracket for a chance at a slice of $100,000.

Per the DraftKings announcement, the company could roll out more offerings in the near future.

“College basketball and sports betting fans alike can expect more contests to open prior to the beginning of the tournament, too. Using the app’s ‘Reserve A Seat’ function, players can hold a spot in various contests until the teams are selected on March 17.”

How to access DraftKings Brackets

The Brackets feature has been integrated within the DraftKings Sportsbook app, available on iOS and Android. According to the announcement, this is all in an effort to, “provide customers with the most complete tournament experience available.” The app is free to download for anyone across the country.

Upon opening the app, users will see a banner for DraftKings Brackets. There, they can “reserve a seat” within the free-to-play and $20 entry pools until the field is selected March 17.

Big winners can claim big prizes

Users entering the free-to-play pool are limited to one entry per person. Paid entrants, though, can fill out up to 16 brackets.

The top 6,475 placers in the free-to-play pool earn cash prizes, including the first-place winner who will receive $5,000.

The winner of the paid entry pool will claim $20,000, while the other top 1,194 placers will share the remainder.

“As American sports fans during March Madness, we are all playing bracket contests with our friends, family, and co-workers,” DraftKings co-founder Matt Kalish said in the release. “By launching Brackets on DraftKings Sportsbook, we are bringing the number one-way fans to engage with March Madness to the biggest stage — DraftKings’ industry-leading fantasy sports and sportsbook apps.”

Proximity allows PA players to cash in big

The burgeoning NJ sports betting industry certainly benefited from Pennsylvania residents. Until PA sports betting launched in November, they only had the Garden State as a nearby legal betting option.

With DraftKings Brackets, the nearby state line allows for Pennsylvania citizens to have the choice between free-to-play and paid entry pools.

Additionally, they can continue to take advantage of DraftKings Sportsbook’s industry-leading online betting product. There will be no online betting in Pennsylvania for this year’s March Madness.

Currently, the sportsbook lists Duke as the favorite, at +250, to win the national title. Gonzaga sits just behind at +550, followed by Virginia at +600.

If you are curious about the reigning champ Villanova’s odds, they are currently +5,000 to win the whole thing and +900 to make the final four.

Bettors can also predict which teams will advance to the Final Four. The favorites in this futures category look like this:

  • Duke -200
  • Gonzaga -118
  • Virginia +100
  • Kentucky +200
  • Michigan State +200
  • North Carolina +200
  • Tennessee +200