bet365 Tournament Challenge puts fans in club leagues

• Incentive Games adds a Preferred Team feature to bet365’s Tournament Challenge.
• Players who pick a club join a league made up of fellow supporters.
• The 2026/27 edition runs until entries close on 5 June 2027.

Incentive Games has added a Preferred Team feature to Tournament Challenge, the free-to-play football predictor developed with bet365, for the 2026/27 season.

Announced on 3 November, the update sorts players into leagues with supporters of the same club.

One question, asked once

Tournament Challenge asks players to predict match outcomes and ranks them on a points-based leaderboard. It sits in bet365’s free-to-play portfolio and has been live since the partners launched it in September 2025.

Preferred Team adds a single prompt during gameplay asking players to pick a favourite club. Pick one, and you land in a dedicated league with other supporters of that side, where predictions can be compared. The main leaderboard stays.

Players can skip the prompt, and those who do will not see it again. For a product built to drive return visits, a one-off optional question costs the operator very little in friction.

The release does not say if bet365 will use club selections beyond building the leagues. Even so, a customer telling the operator which team they follow is first-hand information gathered without a deposit or a bet.

Small tables, bigger stakes

A leaderboard of thousands gives most players no realistic shot at the top and little reason to check their position. A league of fellow supporters is narrower and more personal. Finishing above a rival fan matters to people in a way finishing 4,000th overall does not.

That is the bet Incentive Games is making with club loyalty.

Ahmed Baker, Chief Commercial Officer at Incentive Games, said:

“Tournament Challenge is all about bringing fans closer to the action and the Preferred Team feature gives us an opportunity to deepen engagement by building on the loyalty fans already have for their clubs. It gives another reason for users to return to the game and gives them a more meaningful way to compete throughout the season. We’re pleased to continue working with bet365 to develop the experience and explore new ways to connect players with the football they love.”

The game is kept apart from the sportsbook. Entry is separate from standard bet placement, and none of bet365’s offers apply.

What the operator gets is a reason for customers to open the app on a matchday without needing a promotion to bring them back.

A bet365 spokesperson said:

“Football is as much about identity and shared passion as it is about the results on the pitch. Preferred Team brings that into Tournament Challenge, giving customers a way to share the experience with fellow supporters. It’s a natural addition to the game and we’re pleased to continue developing our partnership with Incentive Games.”

Same game, new layers

Preferred Team is the second social feature added to the predictor in 2026. For the FIFA World Cup 2026, bet365 introduced Your Leagues, letting players run private leagues with friends and family through league codes.

That edition gave each prediction a 10-point stake, with returns based on the odds of the selected outcome. Match days and knockout rounds dropped one at a time to keep users coming back through the tournament.

Rival operators are chasing the same football audience. Betfred revamped its Bet Builder for the new season. Entain went the free-to-play route with Seven, a fantasy app tied to Ladbrokes and pitched at younger Premier League fans.

Access and eligibility

Tournament Challenge sits under the Free Games tab in bet365’s football section, with banners across its website and app. It runs in key global territories, alongside standalone versions for Spain, Italy and Greece.

Entry is open to new and eligible customers over 18 who have been verified by bet365. The minimum age in the Netherlands is 24. Each person gets one entry, and predictions can only be edited or reset before a fixture goes in-play, under the game’s terms.

Five seasons with bet365

Incentive Games has built free-to-play titles for bet365 since 2021. Its early output included football games such as Golden Goals and 6 Score Challenge.

The work has since moved into other sports, including the 2025 US Bracket Challenge, which put up a $10m grand prize for a perfect college basketball bracket. In January, the supplier expanded its global partnership with the operator.

The Edinburgh-based studio sells itself on acquisition and retention. It says it is linking its free-to-play and real-money products into one ecosystem.

Its Incentive Studios division, launched in 2025, makes Crash, Tower and Arcade-style games. It holds real-money licences in the UK, Michigan, Ontario, Pennsylvania and Alberta, with more markets planned.

The opt-in test

Neither company has disclosed how many players use the free-to-play suite or how often they return. That makes Preferred Team hard to judge from the outside for now.

The number that will matter internally is simple: how many players pick a club when prompted, and how many skip. A high take-up would suggest fan identity can hold attention across a long campaign without prizes or promotions doing all the work.

If it lands, club-based leagues are an easy feature to carry into other bet365 free-to-play titles.