DraftKings Daily Fantasy Sports Site Review
DraftKings Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) is the most popular and successful DFS operator in the US. This rings true for every single part of the DFS operator’s business with over 5 million active users. Their website is easily accessible and they have an app as well - both with a simple layout for smooth navigation. Annual payouts for their customers have broken the $2 billion mark, a clear sign of just how much people play DFS at DraftKings.
- Note: This is not a DraftKings Sportsbook review. To see where the sportsbook side of the site ranks among other US competitors, check out our sportsbook reviews page.
DraftKings Basics:
| DraftKings Apps: | DraftKings for iPhone | DraftKings for Android | |||||||||||||||||
| DraftKings Location: | Boston, MA, USA | |||||||||||||||||
| Where is DraftKings Legal? | All US States, except: Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, and some parishes in Louisiana. | |||||||||||||||||
| DraftKings Deposits: |
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| DraftKings Payouts: |
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| DraftKings Bonuses: | Get a $15 Free Play | |||||||||||||||||
| DraftKings CS: | csupport@draftkings.com | |||||||||||||||||
| DraftKings Telephone: | No Telephone Support | |||||||||||||||||
How To Use DraftKings
2012 was the founding year for DraftKings in Boston, Massachusetts. Despite this late start, DraftKings has one of the easiest-to-use websites in the DFS industry. prior to actually creating your free account, practically every button you can click on will take you to the sign-up menu. You’ll then enter information like a username, email address, password, location (either in or outside the United States), and date of birth. You need to be at least 18 to participate in DFS contests in most states. Then, you join any of the DFS contests at DraftKings.
How To Choose A DraftKings Lineup
So you’re all signed up, and you’ve decided what sport and what contest type you’re interested in, but you still aren’t sure how to choose your DraftKings lineup. Fortunately, this is not too arduous a task, and it’s actually one of the most enjoyable parts of playing daily fantasy sports. DraftKings uses a simulated salary cap system wherein players are given $50,000 with which to draft their fantasy lineups.
This is where a lot of the strategy comes in. Better athletes with higher stats will accordingly command higher “salaries,” so you’ll have to decide which positions to emphasize in order to get the best players possible while not going over your salary cap. Once you’ve decided on your lineup, lock in your roster by clicking the enter button and join the contest you selected earlier. From then on, it’s all up to your chosen athletes.
DraftKings Contest Types
Unlike picking a sport at say Texas online sportsbooks or Florida online sportsbooks, picking a sport at DraftKings is only half the battle. DraftKings keeps things interesting by making numerous contest types available to players, some of which are industry exclusives. As of this year, DraftKings offers the following contest types:
Beginner – everybody has to start somewhere, and the beginner contest type is suited for you if you’re in that category. That’s because DraftKings will match you with other newbie players, enabling you to work on perfecting your strategy without having to worry about facing more advanced players. You can still win money in these contests, but usually not as much as in other types.
Guaranteed Prize Pool – often shortened to GPP, these are tournament-style contests with a large number of entrants. The bigger cash prizes are available the higher up in the tournament bracket you make it, but usually, the top 10 percent of entrants will win real money.
50/50 (Double-Up) –these contests are popular with more skilled players, as they enable entrants to win amounts worth twice the entry fee for finishing in the upper half of all contestants.
Multipliers – these are basically the bigger, badder version of 50/50 contests and are usually dominated by very experienced players. Entrants can expect to win anywhere from three to ten times the initial entry fee if their lineup does well in a given contest.
Head-to-Head – these contests are great for players who want to go mano-a-mano with a friend, and many a daily fantasy sports rivalry was played out using this contest type as well. That’s because this is a winner-take-all contest, in which the victor wins double his or her entry fee.
Qualifiers/Satellites – think of these contests as stepping stones to more prestigious and more profitable tournaments. Qualifiers, also known as satellites, give winners and players that finish in the upper echelons of DraftKings contests to advance to other contests that may be worth some truly high-dollar prizes.
Step Tournaments – this contest type is similar to the previously discussed type, except that winners advance in rank from very low entry fees (a minimum of $2) through four successive levels, vying for the chance to win cash prizes of as much as $200.
Leagues – this is one of the newest additions to the DraftKings contest type list. In essence, players can form their own private daily fantasy contest to play amongst friends on an invitation-only basis. Real money can still be won in these games, but the limits may be lower than contest types open to all players.
FreeRoll – these free-to-enter contests are the polar opposite of every other type we’ve mentioned so far. Winners don’t receive real money for picking the best lineups. Instead, they win DraftKings Dollars – a form of token that can be exchanged for various things on the main DraftKings (entry into other contests, for example), but not redeemed for cash. This is the only form of DraftKings play available in some states.
Making A DraftKings Deposit And Collecting Payouts
DraftKings makes depositing money to enter a paid contest a breeze thanks to widespread acceptance of most common credit cards (American Express, Discover, Mastercard, and VISA ) used by American players. The company also offers alternative forms of payment, namely via a certified PayPal account. Each sports betting deposit method at DraftKings has no limit, but you will need to be careful about locking in your funds, as there is no option to get a refund. Contact DraftKings’ excellent customer service department if you should ever need to increase your deposit limit, but be sure to play responsibly.
Withdrawals from DraftKings are similarly simple. After you’ve won a few daily fantasy contests and want to withdraw your winnings, you will only need to click through a few screens in which you’ll be asked whether you prefer to be paid via PayPal or the credit card with which you made your deposit. The fastest DFS payout methods at DraftKings usually require 48 hours to process, but in some instances, this may be extended out to seven full business days. All payouts are processed during regular business hours (9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Eastern Time), Monday through Friday.
Special Events And Promos At DraftKings
Fantasy football is the crown jewel for business at DraftKings, and the NFL season brings with it tons of great promotions and other special events for DraftKings players. Prizes are not exclusive to just money, things like tickets to big-time sporting events are also on the line for participants willing to throw their hat in the ring. Still, all these exciting special events can be found easily by clicking the “Promos” tab at the top of the main DraftKings homepage.
One of the promos during the NFL season is the DraftKings Team Pick’Em. For each week of the NFL regular season, you choose the outright winner of the game. If you are able to get more than half of the winners correct by the end of the season, you have a chance to win huge cash prizes. The contest is completely free, and you can win your share of a $1 million prize pot if you get far enough. In addition to special contests, there are the traditional DraftKings fantasy football contests, where you draft a lineup and enter it against others to see who comes out on top.
Besides football, there are plenty of NHL and NBA contests happening at this time because all three sports are not only highly popular, at one point in the year, they all coincide with one another. Depending on the season, players will find plenty of promotions on other sports such as MLB, tennis, MMA, NASCAR, and the PGA. Whatever sport is in season is the one that will have current promos listed on the website.