DraftKings Review
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Overview
- Deposits & Payouts: Credit Card, Debit Card, Bank Transfer, PayPal
- Daily Fantasy Sports: NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, NCAA, PGA, CFB, NASCAR, WNBA, CBB, Soccer, Tennis
- Platforms: DraftKings Website, DraftKings Mobile Apps
- Minimum Deposit: $5
DraftKings was started in 2012 in Massachusetts as a daily fantasy sports or DFS website to compete with the likes of FanDuel. Since its inception, DraftKings has taken over as the number one DFS site in the world, calculated by user entries and total entry fees. It currently has well over eight million active users and as of August 2018, DraftKings introduced the DraftKings Sportsbook as the first legal mobile sports betting operator in the state of New Jersey. In April 2020, DraftKings became the first DFS site to be traded publicly on the NASDAQ under ticker symbol DKNG.
Starting an account with DraftKings is extremely simple and straightforward, allowing you to sign up with an email address or through Facebook. You can get a free entry into any $3 contest with any deposit of more than five dollars right off the bat, to get you into the action. Sign up with credit card, online banking, or PayPal to start your DraftKings bankroll. Just as with FanDuel, local state restrictions do apply to the
DraftKings Review: Daily Fantasy Sports
DraftKings has successfully established itself as the name most synonymous with DFS around the sports world. As soon as you enter the site, you are bombarded with bright orange and green signage, the trademark colors of the company. You are put right into the main lobby of the site, where you can browse through the featured contests for that day. Further to this, you can narrow your search to a specific sport by clicking on the additional that are prominent across the top of the lobby.
You’ll find that DraftKings has a lot of free contests to try out if you want to get a feel for the site before jumping in with real money. Just as in FanDuel there are Beginners Contests and even Casual Contests which permit novices and casual players against each other without fear of having to face professionals. You may play in Beginners Contests for your first 50 contests and Casual for the first 500. These are great ways to learn the game and develop your skills before heading to the more competitive contests.
Entry fees in DraftKings range from $0.10 to thousands of dollars, so you won’t find any of the $0.01 qualifiers or $0.05 mega GPPs that you will find on FanDuel. The Quarter Arcade tournaments are popular though and a good way for new players to get exposure to large field contests without spending too much of your bankroll.
DraftKings offers a host of new and obscure sports that FanDuel does not offer, in addition to the standard line-up of the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, PGA, NCAA, and more. DraftKings was the first to offer eSports as a legitimate DFS option with CS:GO and League of Legends teams battling out for players to bet on. They even offer rare markets like the Canadian Football League and European Basketball Leagues, so if you feel like you have an edge in those markets, you may be able to get a leg up on the competition.
Draft Kings Review Fantasy Sports
Choosing which type of contest to enter can also be a difficult decision. While it is enticing to go for it all in the DraftKings Sunday Millionaire GPP, that attracts hundreds of thousands of entries each week for their chance at the $1 million grand prize, it may be more prudent for new players to seek out the 50/50 Double Up contests that DraftKings offers. These offer players the chance to double their entry fee by finishing in the top half of the scoring line-ups. Cash games, as they are also referred to, are an excellent way for players to learn the ins and outs of line-up construction, while also building up your bankroll. These are absolute musts for new players that aspire to play in bigger contests during the season.
DraftKings also offers the popular Showdown contests that have been all the rage, especially during Primetime games in the NFL season. Showdown contests are one game, where you construct a line-up of players from the two teams involved. Captain Mode Showdown contests allow players to pick one specific player from that game to be the Captain of their line-up. All of the points accrued by the Captain are earned at a multiplier, usually of 1.5x the fantasy points of the other players in the line-up. While this system can lend to multiple players having identical line-ups, it does create more flexibility and creativity for players.
DraftKings Review: Sportsbook
Like FanDuel, DraftKings is trying to capitalize on the rapidly growing industry of sports betting in America. Also, like FanDuel, the DraftKings sportsbook is limited to a few states right now as it is only available in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Colorado, and Indiana. DraftKings also offers an online casino with their Sportsbook but only in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Overall, the DraftKings Sportsbook has received high praise and builds on the success of the DraftKings name. There are some signup bonuses that are included and you can deposit with the usual methods of credit cards, online banking and PayPal.
Interface wise, the Sportsbook looks and feels very much like the DraftKings DFS site. It is easy enough to use and DraftKings has also included the option to use your DFS bankroll to fund your sports betting as well. One thing the DraftKings Sportsbook offers is a lot of different and smaller markets than FanDuel does. For example, DraftKings allows betting on more obscure leagues like the European Soccer leagues, Darts, and even Cricket. Along with all of the big-name American Sports leagues, DraftKings offers you a wide variety of betting options that FanDuel just does not have.
DraftKings also allows players to bet on props and place live bets on contests that have already started. What really sets DraftKings apart is the Cash Out option before a given ticket is finished. Depending on how your current bet is going, you are able to cash out to guarantee profit that you have already made. It is an option that does give players an added sense of security in their bets, especially if you are a conservative player that likes to control your bankroll.
Draft Kings Review Sportsbook
DraftKings Review: Mobile App
Like any good service company, DraftKings offers an exceptional mobile experience when playing either the DFS or Sportsbook site. You do need to have your mobile phone location services on so that DraftKings can ensure that you are in a state that permits DFS or sports betting, but other than that it is a very smooth and user-friendly experience. The DraftKings app is available in the iOS store, but for Android you will have to download it from FanDuel’s website as the Google Play Store does have a rule about not allowing gambling applications.
DraftKings Review: Disadvantages
The cons for DraftKings really are few and far between. A lot of the same complaints that players have about FanDuel apply to DraftKings as well. The DFS professionals dominate the GPPs and win a lot of the prize money which of course a lot of players do take issue with. The main lobby can be a bit cumbersome to navigate at first as well, and sometimes there just seems like there is so much text that it is difficult to read against the black background of the site. We also find the FanDuel mobile app and websites have a slightly better user interface and are more intuitive to what you would like to do. Aside from this, the DraftKings experience as a whole is extremely entertaining and is a must for any fan of sports betting and DFS!
Pros / Cons
- Low minimum deposit
- Weekly tournaments with big payouts
- Offers 50/50s, double-ups, satellites & qualifiers
- Large amount of players
- Create DFS leagues with your friends
- Rewards and free games available for practice
- Smooth & easy to use interface
- The rewards system can be overly complex
- Tough competition from other players
- DraftKings is not available in all states
DraftKings Review: Conclusion
DraftKings is the premier name in sports betting and DFS and it is easy to see why. With the widest range of sports and events available to players, and a platform that is easy to use and even easier to learn, DraftKings has the mobile sports gaming market cornered. In the coming years, sports betting will most likely be legalized across America, and DraftKings will surely be one of the names synonymous with this booming industry.
