DraftKings Sportsbook Review

DraftKings Sportsbook is now live and taking bets in New Jersey. DraftKings sports betting in New Jersey was approved for soft launch, and after a few days of testing, the NJ online sports betting app was cleared for a full launch. It became the first online sports betting app outside Nevada.

For new players, DraftKings Sportsbook has a no deposit offer of $25 in free bets. Players can get five free bets of $5 each. You also get a free bet matched up to $200 when you a make first deposit.

Sign up now and get $25 in free bet from DraftKings Sportsbook!

The leading name in daily fantasy sports is getting into the sports betting industry. Read on to learn more about the company’s sports offerings.

DraftKings Sportsbook

DraftKings sports betting is here. Here’s a rundown of what we know so far.

Editor’s review

Where will DraftKings Sportsbook be located?

The only place we know there will be one for sure is New Jersey, but more are likely on the way.

DraftKings announced a partnership with New Jersey’s Resorts Atlantic City in 2018. Under this agreement, DraftKings may enter the NJ sports betting market very soon, possibly in the summer of 2018. Considering the utility of Resorts’ gaming license, a DraftKings NJ online casino is also a possibility.

Beyond that, we don’t know a whole lot about DraftKings’ plans for sports betting. Other states that will have legal online sports betting in the near future include:

• Pennsylvania
• West Virginia
• Delaware

Other states will likely legalize wagering in 2019, providing more possible entry points for DraftKings.

What will the DraftKings Sportsbook be like?

DraftKings worked with Kambi Group on a sports betting offering and that the sportsbook app will be separate from the DFS app. DraftKings offers a browser-based sportsbook as well as a sports betting app.

The founders have teased that their app is on the way; more on that here.

What will you be able to bet on at DraftKings?

You can bet on anything that you can bet on at a Nevada sportsbook or major European book will be available for betting, including all the major sports:

• Football
• Basketball
• Baseball
• Soccer
• Hockey
• Golf
• Tennis
• Auto racing

DraftKings has also said it plans to take bets on all sorts of offerings, including hot dog eating contests.

You can place normal bet types such as moneylines, point spreads, futures, propositions, and totals.

Join DraftKings Sportsbook now and get your free $25 in bets!

DraftKings daily fantasy sports

DraftKings first started as a daily fantasy sports company, dating back to 2012.

Who can play at DraftKings

You must be physically located in one of the following jurisdictions to participate in DraftKings’ real-money games:

• US
• Canada
• Germany
• United Kingdom
• Ireland
• Malta
• Austria
• The Netherlands
• Australia

Residents of Hawaii, Arizona, Iowa, Montana, Louisiana, Washington, and Nevada are, unfortunately, excluded from participation regardless of their location. Moreover, employees of any DFS business are not allowed to enter public, real-money contests.

Residents of Alabama and Idaho who remain inside their respective state borders are excluded from participation but can join the action when they visit a non-banned state or country.

You must be 18 or older to participate.

DraftKings desktop application

The fastest way to access DraftKings’ contests is through their browser-based, HTML5 application. The app was designed with desktop computer users in mind, but it’s also compatible with modern smartphones and tablets.

Sign in to your account and the website will automatically redirect you to the lobby. From there, choose a sport from the top menu to reveal its filtering options, which allow you to sort by:

• Contest type
• Entry fee (min. to max.)
• Field size (3 to 1,000+)
• Guaranteed tournaments
• Free contests
• Slate date

Click the “Strategy & Research” link above the contest list to read game summaries and professional match analyses. The top-right corner of the page tracks your real-money balance, and a prominent “Deposit” button lets you quickly top up your bankroll.

The contest list displays the entry fee, total prize pool, number of entrants and maximum capacity, and time until the tournament starts.

Overall, an intuitive and functional interface, but not as functional as the one offered by FanDuel.

DraftKings mobile app

DraftKings offers native apps for the following mobile operating systems:

• iOS: compatible with iPhones, iPads, Apple Watch, and iPod Touch. Requires iOS version 10.0 or higher and can be downloaded from the Apple App Store.
• Android: requires operating system version 5.0 or higher. Players from the United Kingdom and the United States can download the app from the Google Play store; however, Canadian players must use the download link available on DraftKings’ website.

The mobile apps let you enter contests, create lineups, deposit and withdraw funds, and modify account settings. The interface is uncluttered, and all essential options are on prominent display. The application does take a little getting used to, but after spending 10 minutes with it, you won’t see a reason to go back to the browser application.

Drafting at DraftKings

To draft your lineup, click the “ENTER” button available to the right of any contest in the lobby. This will take you to the drafting page where you can sort players by position or FPPG score. Clicking on a player’s name reveals expert analyses of their past performances.

The drafting page also lists the number of Frequent Player Points (FPP) you will receive for entering, a list of all games on the slate, and the contest start time. Click on “full contest details” in the top menu to reveal the prize payout structure.

You can also export the player list to a CSV file or import any saved lineups that you previously created.

Note that DraftKings supports flexible rosters in many, but not all, of their contests.

When drafting your team, you must keep the $50,000 salary cap in mind. Typically, a world-class athlete will set you back between $10,000 and $14,000, while a less capable player will cost you $2,500 to $5,000.

DraftKings contest types

DraftKings offers the following contest types:

• Tournaments with guaranteed prize pools: the contest pays regardless of the number of participants.
• Head-to-head: played between two players
• 50-50s: the top half of the field gets paid
• Double-ups: get paid double your contest entry price
• Qualifiers: win entries to other DFS contests instead of cash
• Multipliers: similar to double-ups, but pay a 3x-10x multiple of your entry
• Steps: these tournaments comprise multiple levels, with each level awarding an entry to the next one. The final level awards large payouts.
• Beginner contests: only inexperienced players can participate.

Additionally, players can create their own custom contests. Custom contests can be public or private and can be played heads-up or in multiplayer mode. Entry fees can range from free to $10,600. You can set up a custom tournament by clicking the “create a contest” link up and to the left of the contest list in the lobby.

What are DraftKings’ scoring rules?

Scoring rules vary significantly by sport. Please see DraftKings’ rules & scoring page for a complete list.

What sports are available at DraftKings?

Here’s a list of available sports, along with the lineup size for each:

• NFL, 9
• MLB, 10
• NBA, 8
• NHL, 9
• Golf, 6
• Soccer, 8
• MMA, 6
• NASCAR, 6
• CFL, 7
• League of Legends, 8

DraftKings VIP rewards

DraftKings’ loyalty program awards one Frequent Player Point (FPP) for every dollar you spend on real-money contests. You can exchange your FPPs in the VIP store for contest entries at a rate of 550 Points per dollar. Considering you must spend $550 on tickets to accrue 550 FPPs, this offer amounts to 1/550 = 0.18 percent cashback.

Additionally, FPPs let you level up your account and earn entries to guaranteed contests. Following is a list of available tiers, the FPPs required to reach a tier, and the total guaranteed prize pools a given tier gives access to:

• Bronze (100 FPP/month): $15,000 total prize pools
• Silver (500): $25,000
• Gold (2,000): $85,000
• Platinum (10,000): $90,000
• Diamond (25,000): $60,000
• Black (125,000): $90,000

Other DraftKings promotions

The only other promotion available at DraftKings is refer-a-friend, which you can access by clicking your username in the top-right corner of the lobby. Your friend must click a unique link, called an affiliate link, and register an account. When your friend makes his first deposit, you’ll receive a $20 bonus.

This is better than FanDuel’s refer-a-friend promotion, which awards $10 instead of $20 and only after your friend has spent at least $20 on tickets.

Depositing at DraftKings

You can deposit using PayPal, popular credit/debit cards, and VISA and Mastercard gift cards. Deposits cannot be smaller than $5 and cannot exceed $2,000. You can contact DraftKings’ support and request a limit increase, but be prepared to verify your identity by uploading scans of an ID and utility bill.

Withdrawals at DraftKings

DraftKings processes withdrawals through PayPal and cheque by courier. The company will refund any deposits you made over the last 90 days and will send the excess through your chosen withdrawal method.

For instance, if you deposit $30 with a Discover card and request a $70 PayPal withdrawal a month later, your previous $30 payment will be refunded, and the remaining $40 will be credited to your PayPal account.

DraftKings support

DraftKings’ website offers an excellent FAQ section with detailed answers to a plethora of important questions. Additional help can be obtained through live chat support, which is available from 6 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. EST.

In our experience, chat operators are exceptionally knowledgeable about all topics related to DraftKings; they understand the terms and conditions very well and can answer complicated questions.

You can also contact support by email: [email protected]