DraftKings Daily Fantasy Sports Review
DraftKings Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) is now the most popular and successful DFS operator. Usually, while competing with FanDuel for the top slot, DraftKings always appears to be number one. DraftKings appears to outperform its competitors in every manner. This is true in every aspect of the DFS operator‘s business. They have a wide variety of alternatives to satisfy any daily fantasy sports gamer. Their website is user-friendly and features a straightforward structure for easy browsing. Their annual payouts to clients are likely to exceed one billion dollars. That’s a clear indication of how many options they have for their players to choose from. Every day, DraftKings offers over 20,000 public contests and has millions of users worldwide.
A corporation does not reach that level unless it has a loyal consumer base. Customers are loyal because they are pleased with the services provided by DraftKings. Our DraftKings review will break down all of the information you’ll need to make the most of your daily fantasy sports experience with the best company out there, and maybe, we’ll be able to help you win some of that multi-billion-dollar prize money.
DraftKings’ title as the world’s leading DFS company is well-deserved, as the company pioneered and polished key technologies that have since become industry standards. These unique features include a salary cap model that levels the playing field by giving each fantasy participant a set monetary amount to work with when assembling their lineups (hence the “draft” part of DraftKings’ name), as well as the ability to monitor your fantasy team’s performance in real time via computer or mobile device. Furthermore, the sheer variety of sports available for fantasy contests at DraftKings is borderline mind-boggling – while the NFL is by far the most popular, attracting hundreds of thousands of players from all over the world, DFS contests are also available for MLB, NHL, NBA, golf, NASCAR, mixed martial arts, and several other sports of global interest.
How to Make Use of DraftKings
This DraftKings review will provide insight into the many regions of the website as well as the amenities that they provide to all of its DFS players. Not only will those be emphasized, but so will other important details like how to choose your games, make deposits, request withdrawals, check for promotions, and download their app to use on any mobile device with internet access. The laws of DFS will be explained, and some of the most commonly asked issues about DraftKings and DFS in general will be addressed.
How to Begin with DraftKings
DraftKings, which was formed in Boston, Massachusetts in 2012, has one of the easiest-to-use websites in the DFS market, but it’s also totally well-thought-out in terms of aesthetics, giving everything a really “slick” look. This simply adds to the idea that DraftKings is a high-quality, well-managed website. Aside from the aesthetics, you’ll find everything you need laid out in a fairly logical manner, making finding the sign-up menu a breeze.
In fact, almost every button you can click will send you to the sign-up menu before you create your free account. You’ll be asked to provide information such as a username, email address, password, location (either inside or outside the United States), and date of birth (most states require you to be at least 18 to participate in DFS contests). After successfully signing in, your account will be rewarded with $50,000 in-game currency – keep in mind that this is only for recruiting athletes for your fantasy team lineup and is not real-world money.
Choosing A DraftKings Competition
After you’ve checked in and gotten your $50,000 recruitment credits, you may choose whatever contest you wish to enter. DraftKings provides a plethora of possibilities via the contest lobby dropdown menu at the top of the main page. As of this year, the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, golf, NASCAR, mixed martial arts, Canadian Football League (CFL), and numerous soccer leagues such as EPL, MLS, La Liga, Liga MX, and Champions League are all accessible for daily fantasy games. Fantasy eSports is a recent addition, albeit play is now limited to League of Legends.
DraftKings employs a live scoring system that allows users to track the progress of the events they’ve signed up for, complete with up-to-the-minute score updates. This approach makes it simple to keep up with the activity on the field in real time. As you’re probably aware, each sport has its own scoring system, so it’s important to be well-versed in the specifics of the sports you’re participating in before you lock in your fantasy lineup.
Types of DraftKings Contests
No DraftKings review would be complete without mentioning one of the more interesting parts of this daily fantasy sports site’s offerings: numerous contest kinds. Picking a sport is only half the battle, as DraftKings keeps things interesting by offering a variety of contest types to players, some of which are industry exclusives. DraftKings now provides the following contest kinds as of this year:
Beginner – Everyone needs to start somewhere, and if you fall into that group, the beginner contest type is ideal for you. Because DraftKings will pair you with other inexperienced players, you can focus on honing your strategy without having to worry about fighting more experienced players. You can still win money in certain contests, but not as much as you may in others.
GPP – Guaranteed Prize Pool – These are tournament-style contests with a significant number of entrants. The more the cash prizes available, the higher up in the tournament bracket you make it, although typically, only the top 10% of entrants receive actual money.
50/50 (Double-Up) contests are popular among more talented players because they allow entrants to win twice the entrance money if they finish in the top half of all contestants.
Multipliers are the bigger, worse version of 50/50 matches that are typically controlled by more experienced players. If their lineup does well in a given contest, entrants can expect to win three to ten times their entrance cost.
Head-to-Head – These contests are ideal for participants who wish to compete against a friend, and many a daily fantasy sports feud has been waged utilizing this game type. This is due to the fact that this is a winner-take-all contest, with the winner receiving double his or her entry price.
Qualifiers/Satellites – consider these competitions to be stepping stones to more prominent and profitable tournaments. Qualifiers, also known as satellites, allow winners and players who finish in the top tiers of DraftKings contests to progress to further contests with potentially life-changing cash rewards.
Step Tournaments – This event type is similar to the preceding one in that winners rise in rank from very low entry fees (as little as $2) through four successive levels, competing for cash prizes of up to $200.
Leagues are one of the most recent additions to the DraftKings contest type list. In essence, gamers can create their own private daily fantasy contest for friends to compete in on an invitation-only basis. Real money can still be won in these games, although the stakes are likely to be lower than in contests accessible to all players.
FreeRoll – These contests are the polar opposite of everything else we’ve discussed so far. Winners do not earn cash prizes for selecting the greatest lineups. Instead, players win DraftKings Dollars, which can be traded for other things on the main DraftKings site (such as entry into other contests) but cannot be redeemed for cash. In some states, this is the only way to play DraftKings.
How to Select a DraftKings Lineup
So you’ve signed up, determined what sport and contest type you want to participate in, but you’re still unsure how to choose your DraftKings lineup. Fortunately, this is not a difficult process, and it is one of the most exciting aspects of playing daily fantasy sports. As previously stated, DraftKings employs a simulated salary cap method in which players are granted $50,000 to choose their fantasy lineups.
This is where a lot of the strategy in DFS comes into play, because stronger athletes with higher stats will command higher “salaries,” so you’ll have to pick which positions to emphasize in order to obtain the best players while not exceeding your salary cap. Once you’ve settled on your lineup, confirm it by clicking the enter button and entering the contest you chose earlier. The rest is up to your chosen players, so keep a careful check on how your fantasy squad is doing in case you need to make a substitute, which is also permitted at DraftKings as long as you don’t exceed your salary cap limit.
Making A Deposit On DraftKings And Receiving Payouts
DraftKings makes it simple to deposit money to enter a paid event because it accepts the majority of credit cards used by American players (American Express, Discover, Mastercard, and VISA). The company also accepts alternate payment methods, such as a verified PayPal account. There is no deposit limit, but you must be cautious about locking up your funds because there is no option for a refund. If you ever need to increase your deposit limit, contact DraftKings’ superb customer service department, but remember to play responsibly.
Withdrawals are also straightforward. After you’ve won a few daily fantasy contests and want to withdraw your winnings, you’ll only need to go through a few screens where you’ll be asked whether you want to be paid by Paypal or the credit card you used to deposit. DraftKing typically requires 48 hours to process a payout, although this can be extended to seven full business days in some cases. Monday through Friday, during regular business hours (9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Eastern Time), all payouts are processed.
DraftKings Special Events And Promotions
Fantasy football is DraftKings’ crown jewel, and the NFL season comes with it a slew of amazing incentives and other special events for DraftKings users. Prizes are not limited to money; tickets to major athletic events are also up for grabs for those willing to throw their hat in the ring. Still, you can simply find all of these amazing special events by hitting the “Promos” link at the top of the main DraftKings webpage.
During the NFL season, one of the promotions is the DraftKings Team Pick’Em. You select the game’s outright winner for each week of the NFL regular season. You have a chance to earn big money if you correctly predict more than half of the winners by the end of the season. The contest is absolutely free, and if you get far enough, you might earn a piece of a $1 million prize pool. Aside from unique events, there are the standard DraftKings fantasy football tournaments, in which you choose a roster and compete against others to see who comes out on top.
Aside from football, there are a lot of NHL and NBA games going on right now because all three sports are not only popular, but they all occurs at the same time of year. Other sports, such as MLB, tennis, MMA, NASCAR, and the PGA, will have plenty of promotions depending on the season. Whatever sport is in season will have current promotions featured on the website.
DraftKings Frequently Asked Questions
Is it illegal to participate in daily fantasy sports on DraftKings?
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Answering this question is technically risky. The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA) expressly exempts daily fantasy sports, including DraftKings, from the financial institutions’ limitations on processing online gambling-related transactions. This loophole was designed to protect operators who run season-long fantasy contests, but DFS operators also use it as a legal defense against jurisdictions that want to categorize fantasy sports as “games of chance” (i.e. gambling) and outlaw the practice.
All of this is to argue that there is no federal or state law that specifically prohibits DFS gambling. Nonetheless, some states prevent its residents from entering paid-entry competitions at DraftKings and other DFS firms. Hawaii, Idaho, Louisiana, Montana, Nevada, and Washington are among these states.
What DraftKings bonuses are available to new players?
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New players can take advantage of deposit bonuses, with DraftKings presently providing a $15 free play on your first deposit. Alternatively, after making a deposit of $5 or more, a new player will receive free admission into a $3 paid-entry contest. DraftKings’ welcome incentives are continually changing, and the most recent deals may be seen on the site’s main page.
Is There A DraftKings Mobile App?
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DraftKings was an early adopter of the notion of mobile fantasy sports and is one of the organizations that has truly embraced smartphone technology in recent years. DraftKings has a free mobile app that is available in both the Apple and Android app stores. Having said that, DraftKings can be accessed via an internet browser on smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices. It is not necessary to download the mobile app to play DFS on the move, but in this DraftKings review writer’s opinion, using the app rather than using your internet browser would make the procedure much easier and more streamlined.
Are DraftKings winnings subject to taxation?
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DraftKings will give you a 1099 tax form if you win more than $600 in DFS over the course of the year. This is due to the fact that revenue from side employment under $600 is not reportable to the IRS, as well as the way DraftKings is taxed. You won’t get rich quick playing DraftKings, especially at first, so there’s nothing to worry about when it comes to doing your taxes. However, some players become really proficient at DFS straight away and will surpass the $600 cap, making it mandatory for them to declare their winnings during tax season.
What Do Draftkings Dollars Mean?
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DraftKings Dollars are a technique for DraftKings to keep you on their website while also rewarding you for engaging. While most contests are for cash, others are for DraftKings Dollars, which can only be redeemed at DraftKings. Some bonuses are also awarded in the form of DraftKings Dollars. These are essentially account credits that can only be redeemed at DraftKings and serve the same purpose as actual money when used on the website.