Overview

• Industry leading site with hundreds of contests over a great selection of sports
• Slick desktop and mobile offering
• Welcome bonus is well worth having but takes a lot of work to unlock

DraftKings is the big-spending market leader in the world of fantasy sports betting. Following tie-ups with organizations such as Major League Soccer, Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League, in addition to blanket advertising during sports events, DraftKings is riding the crest of the wave in this burgeoning sector. Millions of sports fans try to outwit each other every week by drafting the most valuable team possible in a host of different disciplines, with the potential to win huge cash prizes.

How DraftKings Works

Players pick the sport they wish to play and are presented with a list of contests in which to take part. The entry fee, number of spaces free and prize money all vary, and you can find out how long is left to draft your team before the real-life games begin.

Your task is to choose a team of players, limited by a salary cap of $50,000, that you think will perform well enough on the field, the course or in the ring during a round of games to bring your team as many points as it takes to win the contest. The scoring system is set out on the site, showing you how your players will accumulate the points you need.

You have to fill every position in your team from the pools of players available and must draft players from a minimum number of teams and playing in a minimum number of games, with the requirements varying depending on the sport.

Some contests just pay out to the first-placed contestant, while others offer awards to hundreds of participants. Prizes range from tickets to enter certain contests on the site up to seven-figure payouts. The NFL Millionaire Maker game, for example, boasts a top prize of $1 million.

DraftKings Sports

You can create your perfect team for game night in a host of popular sports from NFL to NASCAR. Mixed martial arts has its own section, as does golf and soccer from both MLS and the English Premier League, along with the usual suspects like basketball, baseball and ice hockey.

The growing popularity of eSports is now catered for, with fans able to craft teams of players involved in various League of Legends events.

DraftKings Contests

DraftKings has a huge amount of contests from which to choose. Some cost nothing to take part in, with others charging thousands of dollars. You can play against just one other competitor in a Head-to-Head or take your chances in a field of 100,000 participants.

There are contests that are guaranteed to go ahead, even if they don’t fill up, whereas others can be cancelled, with your stake being returned to you in that eventuality. A 50/50 contest pays out prizes to any player finishing in the top half, Multipliers will pay anything from three times to ten times your entry fee and winning Steps and Qualifiers will help you progress to higher-stakes competitions.

If you are new to fantasy sports betting and want a bit of time to find your feet, you can play up to 50 Beginners contests in each sport and, once you reach your limit, there are numerous Freerolls in which prizes include tickets for other contests and DraftKings dollars.

Layout/Design

It’s not a flashy site by any means, but navigation on DraftKings is smooth and there is a lot of data presented in a remarkably clear way, which is an impressive achievement. Grays and whites dominate, with occasional touches of the corporate orange and green colors, but that ensures there is no clutter to distract you from the important matters at hand.

The only downside is the lack of any visual representation of your team other than a list of the players’ names on the desktop. Other sites provide this, but it has to be said, those sites do not offer anywhere near as much information or as much choice as DraftKings does. It’s the pay-off you have to make.

Features

You can keep track of your team’s performance throughout the games as they are played, which adds to the excitement of the competition. DKTV is the company’s comprehensive YouTube channel, containing all sorts of tips and strategies to help your play. Similarly, the well-written Playbook is worth a read before making your picks for contests in any of the sports offered.

Mobile

The mobile site is brighter than the desktop, with a white background greeting you on logging in to the former rather than the predominant dark gray of the latter. The navigation is simple and everything moves smoothly throughout the site, with pictures of the athletes displayed as you make your picks, something sadly lacking on desktop unless you click on their name to visit their dedicated information page.

There is a DraftKings app for iOS devices as well as one available through the Google Play store for Android.

DraftKings Promotions and Bonuses

New players receive a free entry into a paid contest worth $3 when they deposit for the first time. DraftKings also doubles your first deposit up to $600, with the bonus paid into your player account at a rate of $1 for every 100 Frequent Player Points you earn in paid-for contests. Although this is a tempting bonus, it does take a lot of effort to achieve it, which may put some players off.

Frequent Player Points are paid out for playing cash games and can be exchanged for items from the VIP store, including contest tickets and DraftKings merchandise.

Conclusion

It is no wonder that DraftKings rules the roost when it comes to fantasy sports betting; the sheer choice on offer is immense and it is delightfully simple to get involved. Mobile and desktop are both slick and easy to navigate, although bizarrely look like they are from two different sites, with the mobile product much brighter than its desktop companion. The tough-to-achieve bonus is a minor squabble in the grand scheme of things.

Whatever your favorite sport, you are sure to be engrossed in the action at this fantastic fantasy sports betting site.

Score: 9/10

• Deposit Methods: All major credit/debit cards, PayPal and Visa, MasterCard and American Express gift cards are accepted by DraftKings.
• Withdrawal Methods: It can take between two and seven business days for withdrawals to be processed to credit/debit cards or PayPal.
• Email: support@draftkings.com
• Registered Address: DraftKings, Inc., 225 Franklin Street, 26th Floor, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Due to the games on offer being skill-based, rather than being based on chance, DraftKings operates in full compliance with US federal law. Players in the United States must be at least 18 years old (or 19 years old in Alabama and Nebraska). Residents of Arizona, Louisiana, Iowa, Montana and Washington are not able to join DraftKings.

DraftKings was awarded a UK gaming licence in 2015, allowing it to accept British players.