DraftKings Daily Fantasy Review
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Legal
Legal in most states
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Licensed
US legal based company
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Safe
Over 5 years of secure transactions
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DraftKings Daily Fantasy Sports Story
DraftKings is an inspiring story about a company that started out of someone’s home. From their early days as fledgling in the daily fantasy sports industry, DraftKings has catapulted to a major player in the national sports betting scene. Here is how this home-based idea became recognized as the worldwide leader in fantasy sports. This a complete review and history of the daily fantasy offering from DraftKings. We’ll cover company history, promotions, website design, rewards program and an Editor’s review. Let’s start with the fun stuff…. bonus money.
DraftKings Promotions
DraftKings Daily Fantasy Promo Code
DraftKings will post frequent promotional contests and other perks for account holders. One nice one to grab is the new user sign up bonuses. Currently, a new account that makes a deposit of more than $5 will earn a $15 in bonus games. You can divide this $15 up however you wish and play the games of your choice.
DraftKings Sportsbook Promo Code
For DraftKings Sportsbook players, DraftKings offers a $500 bet insurance promotion. The online sportsbook has daily specials and other odds boosts posted. See our detailed page on how to claim the DraftKings Sportsbook promo code.
DraftKings History
DraftKings actually wasn’t the first daily fantasy website to launch. However, the brainchild of Jason Robins, Matthew Kalish, and Paul Liberman quickly raced by the competition. Robins, Kalish and Liberman started DraftKings in Liberman’s Massachusetts home. Their first game was a one-on-one fantasy baseball contest on baseball’s opening day in 2012. By April of the next year, DraftKings skyrocketed to the top of the DFS industry, receiving an undisclosed financial commitment from Major League Baseball.
DraftKings has benefited from these partnerships with major professional sports leagues. DK management has also contracted working relationships with ESPN and Fox Sports. Today, DraftKings has more than 10 million users, by far the most of any in the DFS industry.
How DraftKings Contributed to the Advancement of Legal Sports Betting
There was a great deal of supposition surrounding a study designed to show a relationship between DFS players and sports bettors. Some were scratching their collective heads over why DraftKings would be part of such a study, let alone pay for it.
While the results presented a few contradictory facts to the apparent objective, it still proved DraftKings was all-in on both legal daily fantasy sports, and sports betting across the country. They won an important legal battle against the State of New York.
A loss in US Circuit might have been a legal loss too overwhelming for even DraftKings to overcome. What these legal outcomes did do, was fuel the controversy surrounding the original US Supreme Court ruling that forbade sports betting in any state but Nevada.
Though there were some calculated risks taken along the way, DraftKings ultimate objective throughout the whole legal struggle had to have an eye on sports betting. Daily fantasy sports overwhelming popularity notwithstanding, the big money is in DK’s sportsbook aspirations.
DraftKings Enters Sports Betting in New Jersey
Reports calculated that New Jersey online sportsbook operations took in just under $1.25 billion. DraftKings was the first and most active online sportsbook. By the end of the year, indicators had online sportsbook bets jump more than 75-percent over in-person wagers.
Much of this increase in online sports betting must be attributed to the success of DraftKings. Being the most prevalent player in New Jersey, DK took in the highest dollar amount. It was the fluid operation of their mobile app and website platform that helped ease user apprehension over placing bets online.
DraftKings CEO Jason Robbins indicated that as of last November, sportsbook operations had jumped to 20-percent of their overall operations and nearly 80-percent in New Jersey. With new states blooming on the horizon, DraftKings is perfectly positioned to continue a surge in the national sports betting industry.
Future of DraftKings Company
Any discussion about the future of DraftKings couldn’t be anything more than optimistic. Some think the company will skyrocket to the top of the sportsbook industry because of their ties to professional sports and massive number of DFS players.
One account feels that the study conducted a few years back was actually in an effort to uncover any tendencies inherent to both DFS players and sports bettors. Thus far, all their research efforts have proven to be lucrative.
DraftKings has the experience and backing to be primed for new states that legalize sports betting. As the landscape continues to expand across the United States, look for DraftKings to be a prominent player. Don’t be surprised if they further their ties to the casino industry to take advantage of that source as well.
DraftKings Timeline
2012 – DraftKings is established in Paul Liberman’s home in Boston, Massachusetts.
2012 – On March 28, the first DraftKings DFS contest launched; a head-to-head baseball contest involving the Seattle Mariners and Oakland A’s season opener in Japan.
2012 – In July 2012, DraftKings received their first source of outside funding, a $1.4 million commitment from Cambridge-based Accomplice.
2013 – Major League Baseball agrees to a financial partnership with DraftKings, a financial commitment of an undisclosed amount.
2013 – In November of that same year, another five investors, including Accomplice, contributed over $24 million in Series B funding.
2014 – The first financial disclosure for prize awards from 2013 made in February reported that DraftKings awarded over $50 million in prizes to contest winners during 2013.
2014 – During the summer of 2014, DraftKings was still ranked as the second best DFS site. In July of that year they purchased DraftStreet. This acquisition nearly doubled the number of accounts at DraftKings.
2014 – A month later, in August, primed by a multi-million dollar contribution for The Raine Group, DraftKings generated another $41 million in investment capital.
2014 – A portion of these investments was focused on attracting another big-name professional sports league. The strategy worked, as DK became the official DFS service for the National Hockey League.
2015 – While there were partnerships and financial ties between Major League Baseball and DraftKings, one of the biggest announcements was when MLB announced DraftKings as their exclusive DFS service as well.
2015 – July 2015 was a huge month for DraftKings. This is the month they announced the agreement with ESPN and Fox Sports. The Kraft Group, owners of the New England Patriots, was also part of a collective $300 million in additional capital.
2016 – DraftKings suffered a temporary setback early in 2016. In February, ESPN announced that they had legal questions about their association with the DFS giant and stepped away from the advertising arrangement they made with DraftKings.
2016 – In November of this same year, one of the biggest pieces of news across the entire sports world was a proposed merger between FanDuel and DraftKings. The US Federal Trade Commission estimated this would give the new combination a stranglehold of more than 90-percent of the DFS market. The deal would have been met with anti-trust litigation. In the summer of 2017, fearing this legal battle could be devastating to both companies, the deal was called off.
2017 – In September, both DraftKings and their prime competitor Fan Duel paid $1.3 million to settle out of court in Massachusetts. The lawsuit alleged both engaged in deceptive practices, and a settlement seemed far more cost-effective than the damaging publicity of a legal fight.
2018 – With legal sports betting looming on the horizon, DraftKings about Sean Huxley to oversee possible sportsbook operations in New Jersey.
2018 – In August, less than three-months after the US Supreme Court overturned the ruling that banned sports betting, DraftKings launched their New Jersey sportsbook operation. By the first week of September, DraftKings had entertained more than a million bets.
DraftKings Daily Fantasy Website and App
DraftKings has stuck to their original website design. While the logo has been modified somewhat during the last four years, the black background with flamboyant greens and orange colors has been the DK trademark.
The system is user-friendly, with easy navigation links. Since DFS lineups often benefit from leaping back and forth from multiple tabs, the way DK links open is extremely appealing. Their app is equally important.
DFS users enjoy being able to alter lineups on a mobile device. The implementation of online sportsbook operations made it imperative that DraftKings have a high quality mobile app.
Their app is user-friendly, mirrors the website, and can be easily installed on Android or Apple devices. You can download the app easily via The Apple App Store, Android downloads, or on Google Play.
DraftKings New User Registration
To register for a DraftKings account, you must be 18 years old. The age is 19 in Alabama and Nebraska, and 21 years of age to play in Massachusetts. You can play for cash in any of the unrestricted states. DFS players can participate in gratis DFS games in excluded states, but cannot compete for cash awards. Here’s how you register.
Step 1: Access the DraftKings website or mobile app. It is easier to set up a new account using the website, and then transfer all information automatically once you download the mobile app.
Step 2: Either click “set up a new account”, or “play now”. If you do not already have a DK account, both will take you the account activation page.
Step 3: Enter your username, email address and a password. You will reconfirm your password, and then click your country and state of residency. Remember, you must be physically in a legal sports betting state to use the DraftKings sportsbook features.
Step 4: Check the pair boxes to confirm you agree with the Terms of Service, after you read them of course, and that you are over 18 years of age.
Step 5: You will then be directed to a deposit page with information about how to make your first deposit, and what types of bonuses and gratis games you will get when doing so. You do not need to make an initial deposit to participate in gratis games.
Your account will still be active. Your first deposit bonuses will not expire or take effect until you make that deposit. You will need to provide other residence information to claim cash awards. Nothing else is required, and you’ll be ready for your first contest. Currently, DraftKings is not allowed in Alabama, Arizona, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Montana, Nevada and Washington.
DraftKings Contests and Awards
DraftKings has more contests than any other DFS site. The contests are organized by favorites and can be limited to a specific sport. You can also isolate contests by type, entry fee, and prize amount.
When you make your first deposit, you will setup how to fund your account and take your winnings. There are also rewards available for frequent players. Here are the contests, how to work your bankroll, and how to earn awards on DraftKings.
Contests
There are literally hundreds of DFS contests posted every day on DraftKings. The entry fees range from as low as 10-cents to a few thousand dollars. Prize awards are determined by the level of entry fee and number of entries.
You can play classic games that use standard fantasy scoring. There are games where more strategy is involved, such as tiers. For single game contests, DraftKings has what are called showdowns.
These are games where you don’t pick a lineup under the normal fantasy format. In a showdown, you will have a feature player. The rest of the lineup card is filled will additional players from this single game and must be under a predetermined salary cap.
DraftKings also has 50/50 split contests where the top 50-percent will double their entry fee in winnings. You can play in multipliers and step tournaments. DraftKings has head-to-head cash contests as well, contests where it’s just you against one other player.
Bankroll Options
You can use American Express, MasterCard, Discover or Visa to make a deposit. Unless you indicate specifically through proper channels, the same method for withdrawal of winnings must match your deposit source.
DraftKings will request authentic verification for large cash awards. You may also link your PayPal account to your DraftKings account to both deposit and withdraw funds.
DK Crowns
Crowns are the awards you can earn on DraftKings. These rewards are generated each time you enter a contest with an entry of $1 or more. For every $1 amount you enter, you earn one crown. DK crowns can be used for DK apparel, or to purchase tickets into additional contests.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Can players win cash on DraftKings?
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Are there any gratis contests to play on DraftKings?
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Do any of the gratis contests every have cash prize pools?
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Are DraftKings and FanDuel owned and operated by the same company?
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What do terms like PMR and EI mean on DraftKings?
Frequently Asked Questions
The short answer is, yes you can win money playing on DraftKings. There will be some study involved to win consistently, but there are hundreds of cash contests available every day.
Each day there are a series of gratis contests that anyone with a DK account can participate. These range from 10-player setups to 200 player pools. These do not cost anything to play, but they also do not award prizes.
There are frequent promotional contests that are no charge as well. These no-charge contests will award cash prizes with prize pools often totaling a few thousand dollars. There are also occasional no-charge contests where the winners can earn tickets into larger cash contests.
While there have been rumors this is true, it is not. There was a great deal of discussion of a merger between the two biggest DFS companies, but potential anti-trust problems have been too much of a concern to allow this to happen. Since then, FanDuel was purchased by Paddy Power Betfair and FanDuel Sportsbook was launched. It’s difficult to see any type of merger ever happening between these two companies.
PMR is an in-game number that shows how many total player minutes you have left on your lineup card. This number is useful when watching how your point total is shaping up against other lineups in your contest. EL is another DFS term used for basketball. EL is the EuroLeague for daily fantasy basketball contests. You can check out a full glossary of terms on DraftKing’s website.
DraftKings Daily Fantasy App
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Prize Pools
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Player Action
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Beginner Protection
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Trustworthiness
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Support
Summary
DraftKings is a fairytail tech company story that started in some visionaries home. Three Bostonians put their passion for sports into every decision. They have been more than just a platform to play fantasy sports games.
DraftKings has been at the leading edge in the legal battle for both the rights of daily fantasy sports players and sports bettors. The company has been influential in the changing landscape of legalized sports betting in the United States.
Well Done
DraftKings has the largest prize pools of any DFS site.
Registration is simple, and handling the financial aspects of playing DFS contests or making sportsbook wagers is safe and simple as well.
With more than 10 million users worldwide, if you want to play with the best that DFS has to offer, you will get that opportunity on DraftKings.
Needs Help
DraftKings doesn’t offer enough set contests for beginners. They have a number of information pages to help you devise a strategy, and they do designate who the experienced players are. However, there aren’t many contests exclusively designed specifically for new players.
While the DK Crowns are a welcome rewards system, they are hard to earn and it takes a large number to earn gratis contest entries. For instance, it takes 150 crowns ($150 worth of contests entered) to generate a ticket to a quarter contest.
