bet365, the leading sports betting brand, and Incentive Games, a premier B2B games provider, are excited to announce the return of the highly anticipated ‘bet365 Bracket Challenge’—the ultimate free-to-play predictor game with a potential $10 million jackpot.

Launching on Sunday, March 16, just in time for the 2025 Men’s College Basketball Tournament, the ‘bet365 Bracket Challenge’ allows basketball fans to test their knowledge and prediction skills. With a grand prize of $100,000 and a leader board rewarding the top 5,000 players, the competition is set to be bigger than ever.

For the player who achieves the elusive perfect bracket, $10 Million prize awaits!

Participants can access the bet365 Bracket Challenge page and check out the full terms and conditions by visiting nj.bet365.com/olp/bracket-challenge.

This free-to-play game is now open to new and eligible bet365 customers aged 21 and over, residing in the USA across: Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana (permitted parishes only), New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Virginia. The challenge is also available in Mexico and other jurisdictions. In order to participate, players must be fully verified by bet365, with one entry allowed per person.

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Ahmed Baker, Chief Commercial Officer at Incentive Games, commented, “We’re proud to once again partner with bet365 to bring back this high-energy, high-stakes challenge. This game is more than predictions; it’s about exciting players, driving community engagement, and being part of a monumental sporting event. We are honored to play a role in bet365’s continued success in the US and international markets.”

A bet365 spokesperson said, “With the 2025 bet365 Bracket Challenge, Incentive Games delivers yet another slam-dunk free-to-play game! Basketball fans will undoubtedly enjoy every heart-pounding moment, as they make their predictions and compete for a $10 Million prize!”

There’s a timeless adage from NBA great Allen Iverson: “Practice?!” But now, almost ironically, AI (that is, Artificial Intelligence) will be helping us replicate big-time pressure in that very scenario.

Evenplay, an AI technology company based out of Las Vegas, has created a patented golf simulator application that creates challenges for all skill levels, with the intention of improving play performance through the use of cash rewards.

“What we have is a machine-learning algorithm that takes all of your shot data and says, ‘What are you going to do next from 175 yards?,’ and creates targets personalized for your skill level with money on the line,” said Sameer Gupta, co-founder of Evenplay. “If you practice with pressure, you’re probably going to get better faster.”

UNLV has partnered with Evenplay, taking on the task of studying the impact of rewards on skill level, and how well this experience translates the gains from practice into practical use on the real course.

“It sounded like a good opportunity to build a relationship and a bridge with this company,” said Chris Cain, director of the PGA Golf Management University Program within UNLV’s Harrah College of Hospitality. “And to see if we can continue to advance off-course golf, improve diversity in the consumer base, and think a little bit differently and daring, which is what UNLV’s all about.” 

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Upping the Ante on Research

The ability to create a feedback loop – one where you practice in the same conditions as when something’s on the line – is the goal: replicating the jitters that come from staring down a big putt, and then training yourself to handle the pressure before you step onto the course.

Evenplay does this by paying out money depending on the shot, using rewards as a way to create real stress in a controlled setting.

“What we have is a turn-key stress generator,” said Gupta. “Our model projects a thousand shots from every distance, with a target drawn where about half of your shots should be capable of landing. We’ve taken a skill-based activity and are able to predict what you will do next.”

The study at UNLV uses a more controlled version of the wagers. Randomly selected participants will receive various payouts such as lesson or UNLV Gift certificates based on their group assignments and the level of contributions to the study.

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“This is a skill-based gaming application that allows someone to make a bet and have fun doing it,” said Cain. “What we’re doing at UNLV is seeing if the variable payouts influence program retention – do they play longer or more often? Does this also influence skill improvement? Wouldn’t it be cool to have some sort of technology in place that actually uses gaming as a way to positively influence skill improvement?”

The study is made possible through UNLV’s Sports Innovation Institute (SII), and the College of Hospitality’s Center for Golf Management, in collaboration with the university’s International Gaming Institute. The SII acts as a hub for all of the faculty who do research in sports, enabling them to work together to find solutions to problems and advance the commercialization of products fitting that criteria.

“With Evenplay’s expertise, as well as the Sports Innovation and the International Gaming institutes, that trifecta makes for a pretty special partnership here in Las Vegas,” Cain said. “There are thousands of data points in every swing that UNLV is looking forward to analyzing to see if this really changes the way we practice.”

Growing the Game

It’s no secret that the game of golf is expensive and often exclusive. The National Golf Foundation estimates the cost of a full round at a public course in the U.S. was $43 in 2023. That’s just getting on the course. When you add hundreds and thousands of dollars into equipment costs, training, and lessons, the financial barrier to entry becomes quite imposing.

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“There are about 120 million people interested in the game and only 45 million participating,” said Cain. “Technology’s going to help close that gap, and being able to take lessons without being on the golf course will be part of the future, making it more inclusive, accessible, and affordable.”

Improving the accessibility of the game is one of the desired outcomes for the research, potentially showing a greater translation of the skills developed in a simulator using Evenplay to the course itself.

“It’s winter right now – nobody’s taking swings on green golf courses in Chicago,” said Gupta. “All of those players are using simulators indoors. We’re growing the amount of people who can engage with golf by changing how often people can meaningfully play the sport at all times of the year.”

Changing the game doesn’t end with golf. The patent for Evenplay features a baseball player swinging a bat, and the plan is to roll into bowling next. Its partnership and ongoing study with UNLV is only expediting the interest in this potential shakeup to the practice session.

“The ability of UNLV to effectively structure a relationship with the PGA is very impressive and unique in the market,” said Gupta. “And bringing that knowledge to a private company like ours is essential to our growth.”

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The results of Evenplay’s efficacy in providing measurable improvement to player skill will be shared as the study concludes later this year.

Adventura Gaming, a new boutique gaming company pioneering branded casino games that blend world renowned celebrities and brands with cutting-edge gameplay, is launching its casino table game, Penn & Teller Casino Monte, on March 3 at Rio Hotel & Casino. Creating an innovative table game experience with the beloved and iconic Penn & Teller, the game is poised to attract valuable new audiences to casinos as the first celebrity branded casino table game of its kind.

“We couldn’t be more proud to officially announce Adventura Gaming to the industry with the launch of our Penn & Teller Casino Monte, a groundbreaking table game that merges entertainment, innovation and the magic of one of the world’s most iconic duos,” said David Anthony, president and cofounder at Adventura Gaming. “By combining engaging gameplay with a celebrity brand that resonates with audiences outside of slot machines, we’re creating a fresh and exciting experience for players while delivering added value to casino operators,” added Cinnamon Booth, Adventura Gaming’s executive vice president and cofounder.

“Casino Monte is a brand-new table game that’s fiendishly fun,” remarked Penn Jillette, one half of the storied Penn & Teller duo. “When Adventura introduced us to this new casino table game concept, it quickly became clear—not only could we learn it and play it, but it was genuinely fun. I thought if we can learn it, anyone can, and they’ll have a great time doing it.”

As soon as they saw its engaging mechanics, Adventura Gaming was immediately captivated by its potential, and moved decisively to license and refine the game. Anthony and Booth said they’ve “loved the idea of Penn & Teller going all the way back to their three-card game shenanigans in Run DMC’s Tricky music video. So of course, we knew right away they were the only ones we wanted to partner with.”

Drawing in an audience with internationally recognized celebrity magicians Penn & Teller, and its original patented gameplay, Penn & Teller Casino Monte allows players to place a bet on ‘Penn,’ ‘&’ or ‘Teller’ and the higher the card, the better the chances to win.

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