Bet365 Launches Summer Football Tournament Challenge

The 2026 World Cup is shaping up to be the biggest in franchise history. The tournament will span three countries and feature 48 of the world's best teams going head-to-head across 104 matches.

To match the excitement of the Football World Championships, bet365, the globally recognised online casino and sports betting provider, is launching an exciting new tournament to celebrate the event.

Read on to learn how the promotion works, when it will be running, and how you can get in on football-fueled action for free this Summer.

What Is the WC26 Tournament Challenge?

Building on the success of their previous free-to-play prediction games, bet365 is inviting its customers to get into the spirit of the beautiful game by taking a shot at climbing the leaderboard to take home the win.

The Tournament Challenge features five leaderboard competitions, each offering a $250,000 top prize, with additional prizes available across the leaderboard positions.

These leaderboard events are:

• Matchday 1: Get your predictions in before the opening matches kick off.
• Matchday 2: Make your next pick and see how you're doing on the leaderboard.
• Matchday 3: Keep collecting points as the group stage action unfolds.
• Knockout Stage: Put your football knowledge to the test as the tournament progresses.
• Tournament Final: Find out where you are on the final leaderboard.

Submitting your tournament prediction for each round is free of charge. While the event offers a generous top prize, it is not designed around a winner-take-all structure, as it also offers multiple prizes for supporting positions.

How the Tournament Challenge Works

What makes participating in WC26 entertaining is the combination of several features, which, combined, create an event that matches the energy of the World Cup itself.

The Tournament Challenge includes five key features:

1. Predictions: These allow players to forecast match outcomes.
2. Matchday Progression: These unlock new stages as the tournament develops.
3. Leaderboards: Punters can track performance throughout the competition.
4. Your Leagues: The feature lets players create private groups with friends.
5. Social Sharing: Invite your mates to join by using a custom league code.

The promotional challenge follows the flow of the football tournament itself, with separate leaderboards running throughout the competition.

Match Days 1, 2 and 3 each have their own leaderboard, while the Round of 32 also operates as a standalone stage. From the Round of 16 onwards, the focus shifts to the overall standings before the final leaderboard is settled at the conclusion of the tournament.

This combination of entertaining features allows players to follow the action throughout WC26 while comparing their predictions and leaderboard positions with friends and other football-loving punters.

Your Leagues Bring a Social Element

One of the new additions to the lineup is the "Your Leagues" feature. Punters can now create private groups and invite friends using a unique league code.

Rather than only tracking your score on the main leaderboard, players can check predictions and positions against people they know at any time. Whether you are competing with friends, family, or footie fans at work, the feature adds another layer of entertainment.

As the tournament progresses, members can see how their free game picks stack up against one another, creating friendly rivalries that continue from the opening kick-off to the final tournament whistle.

For league fans who already enjoy chatting about matches and making picks before kick-off, Your Leagues provides a simple way to keep building hype throughout WC26.

The Perfect Summer of Football Fit

In the same way that the spectacle of the World Cup keeps fans and players on the edge of their seats, so does the format of the bet365 Tournament Challenge.

Football fans can look forward to:

• Frequent match schedules throughout the tournament.
• Ongoing engagement across multiple stages.
• Following football beyond individual bets.
• Comparing predictions with friends and other participants.
• More reasons to keep an eye on the action.

With high-energy matches, leaderboard positions constantly changing, and new opportunities to climb the standings, Tournament Challenge gives football fans another reason to follow the action from start to finish.

Interested in taking part? Learn more about the Tournament Challenge and other WC26 football promotions at bet365 Casino.

Full Terms & Conditions:

Gameplay

1. For full details on gameplay, please refer to our Tournament Challenge rules.
2. You are responsible for any tax obligations (reporting and / or tax settlement) that are applicable in your jurisdiction in relation to any deposits, stakes or entry fees or any winnings/prizes or losses as the case may be. Prize values displayed are exclusive of any tax deductions (where applicable).

Using Bet Credits

1. Bet Credits will be added to your balance once your predictions are confirmed as correct and once the result of the final fixture is known.
2. Your Bet Credits are non-withdrawable. Any returns from Bet Credits stakes will be added to your Withdrawable Balance but Bet Credits stakes are not included in any returns. For example, a $20 bet placed at odds of 3.00 (2/1) would give a return of $60 ($40 winnings plus $20 stake), whereas a $20 Bet Credits stake placed at odds of 3.00 (2/1) would give a net return of $40, as the $20 Bet Credits stake is not returned.
3. Stakes can be funded in part by your Bet Credits and part with your Withdrawable Balance; however the Bet Credits element of the stake will not be included in any returns. For example, a $20 bet placed at odds of 3.00 (2/1) which was funded by $10 Bet Credits and $10 cash would give a net return of $50 ($40 winnings plus $10 cash stake) as the $10 Bet Credits stake would not be returned. If a bet is void and has had an opportunity to win (for example, in the event of a push), Bet Credits stakes will not be returned. If a bet is void and has not had an opportunity to win (for example, when a Goalscorer bet is placed on a player who does not then take part in the match), Bet Credits stakes will be returned.
4. Your Bet Credits will expire 7 days after they are added to your Bet Credits balance. If additional Bet Credits are added to your Bet Credits balance within this 7 day period, the total Bet Credits balance will expire 7 days after the last addition.

General

1. Tournament Challenge is available at the discretion of bet365 and bet365 makes no guarantees regarding its availability. bet365 will not be responsible if the Tournament Predictor feature is not available for technical reasons.
2. Please note that bet365 is not responsible for any rewards or promotions offered in connection with the Tournament Challenge by any third party.
3. bet365 reserves the right to accept or decline any Tournament Challenge entry.
4. bet365 reserves the right to reclaim any prize-money or remove Bet Credits awarded for a Tournament Challenge entry if the outcome of a fixture within the relevant game was determined in error.
5. bet365 reserves the right to amend, suspend or remove the Tournament Challenge feature (or any part of it) for any event, fixture or customer.
6. bet365 reserves the right to remove the Tournament Challenge feature for any customer or group of customers where it has reasonable grounds to believe that the customer or groups of customers is misusing the feature.