DraftKings Sportsbook Review

DraftKings history started in 2012 from daily and weekly fantasy sports contests in the NFL, the NHL, the NBA, and the MLB. It was a perfectly legal alternative to traditional sports betting: the US government doesn’t consider fantasy sports a gambling game and treats it as a contest requiring skills, not just luck. Still, DraftKings immediately entered the updated market as soon as New Jersey announced sports betting legalization and became the first mobile betting operator in the United States.

License

As you may probably know, all legal online and retail bookmakers in the USA must hold a license issued by a particular state. For instance, if a sportsbook wants to operate in New Jersey, it must get approval from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, and so on.

Basically, it is exactly what DraftKings did first as an online sports betting operator.

Later, it got gambling permits from the authorities in West Virginia, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Iowa, Mississippi, and New York.

Still, the brand is aiming to expand to more territories and work outside the USA, too: at the moment, it holds two prestigious licenses allowing it to operate worldwide. The licenses are granted by the UK Gambling Commission and Malta Gaming Authority, the two most reputable gambling regulating organizations.

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Legality in the US

So, is Draftkings sportsbook mobile app and online betting site legal in the USA? Speaking about their daily fantasy sports platform, you can use it from all states, but the sportsbook and casino have a range of geo-restrictions and limitations. For your convenience, we prepared a list of all states where DraftKings is legal and what are sports betting and casino nuances in every jurisdiction.

• Arizona: only mobile betting.
• Colorado: mobile and retail sports betting;
• Connecticut: mobile or retail betting, and online casino games;
• Illinois: mobile betting via the Casino Queen Sportsbook app;
• Indiana: mobile and retail betting;
• Iowa: mobile and retail betting;
• Louisiana: only retail sports betting in a single partner casino;
• Michigan: mobile sports betting and online casino games;
• New Jersey: mobile and retail betting and online casino games;
• New York: retail sports betting; mobile betting is now legal but is not live yet;
• Virginia: mobile sports betting
• Tennessee: mobile sports betting;
• New Hampshire: mobile and retail sports betting;
• Pennsylvania: mobile and retail sports betting and online casino games;
• West Virginia: online and retail sports betting, and online casino games;
• Wyoming: only online sports betting.

All states where mobile betting is legal allow retail betting, too, so if DraftKings opens their retail sportsbook in more states, you can safely wager on sports at local betting shops.

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Banking Options at DraftKings

DraftKings offers the top popular banking methods widely used in the USA. Still, some options are missed: for instance, you won’t find Skrill and Neteller deposits at the DraftKings cashier, and no cryptocurrencies are accepted, too. What can you use, then?

• Online Banking;
• Visa/Mastercard/American Express/Discover credit and debit cards;
• PayPal;
• Electronic gift cards;
• DraftKings gift cards;
• Play+ prepaid cards (only sportsbook and casino deposits); Cash (at retail sportsbooks, only sports betting and casino deposits);
• Wire Transfer (only sportsbook and casino deposits);
• VIP Preferred E-Check (only sportsbook and casino deposits).

As you see, not all methods are available for topping up your Fantasy Sports account. Overall, whatever product you use, you must make a separate deposit for it: you won’t be able to use your sportsbook funds for playing slots, for instance.

Registration Process

DraftKings has a user-friendly site, so you will easily find the large green ‘Sign Me Up Button’ on the main page. When you click it, it transfers you to the registration form.

• Step 1: Create a unique username, indicate your email address, set a password, and enter your promo code if you have any;
• Step 2: Enter your real name and last name, indicate your date of birth, the last four digits of your SSN, and your home address, including the ZIP code;
• Step 3: Enter your mobile phone; you can opt for extra security and enable 3FA identification for your account;
• Step 4: Your DraftKings account is ready! You can now place your bets or play casino games if they are available in your state and download the Draftkings sportsbook app for instant mobile action.

If you want, you can use your Facebook account to connect it with DraftKings and make a quick registration; you will still need to add your personal details later before you claim your first withdrawal.

Registration panel

How to Bet at DraftKings?

In short, betting at Draftkings is not different from placing wagers at any other online betting site. Still, if you are just beginning your sports betting experience, we are happy to help you: here is a brief guide.

First, find the event (NFL match, UFC fight, etc.) and the outcome you want to bet on (for instance, Dallas Cowboys to win the full game).

You will see numbers next to each outcome: they are betting odds, and you must click on them to add a selection to the bet slip.

If you want, you can add more than one pick and create a multiple bet: Parlay or Round Robin. When you are ready with adding selections to the bet slip, enter the stake amount: the sum, you want to invest in your wager. Finally, click the Place Bet button, and wait for the outcome! In some cases, you can cancel your bet using a Cash-Out service; it is not available for all markets, so be careful.

Depositing a Funds

You already know what methods you can use to top up your sports betting or casino deposit, so how can you do it? Luckily, DraftKings offers a detailed guide for every available payment method; we will give you some common instructions. If you need more information, please visit the DraftKings help center.

The process is similar for the DraftKings app, desktop, and mobile sites: you must find the Deposit button in the right upper corner of the app or your screen, indicate how much you want to deposit, and click ‘Add payment details.’ DraftKings will show you detailed instructions for the next steps, depending on what you choose. For instance, if you opted to pay with your credit card, you will need to enter your card’s number, expiration date, and CVV code.

Please, remember you must make separate deposits to top up your Fantasy Sports, Sports, Casino, and Marketplace accounts.

Using DraftKings on Your Smartphone

DraftKings emerged in the sports betting market with a ready mobile betting and casino solution and actively promotes its app, available for iOS and Android. More pointedly, the Fantasy Sports app had existed since the very beginning, when DraftKings launched its Fantasy Sports platform. Still, as soon as sports betting and online casino gaming became available in several states, too, there was a release of a dedicated DraftKings Sportsbook and Casino App.

The overall app’s rating is pretty good: 4,8 stars out of 5 on the App Store is an excellent mark for a betting application, but there are still complaints about technical issues and lags.

When we tested the app, we didn’t witness any freezes or bugs but suppose you need to know that some problems may arise. What we particularly liked when we prepared this DraftKings app review is that the company replied to almost every negative review trying to solve the question with a customer. Such an approach made us think DraftKings has a superior customer service team, so let’s discuss it in more detail.

DraftKings Customer Support

As we’ve already mentioned, DraftKings has a large help center with very convenient navigation: it allows you to search guides, glossaries, and answers to the most frequent questions by keywords and have a comprehensive structure overall. However, what if you need to talk to customer support agents?

Here Draftkings offers two options: you can reach the site representative via an email contact form or ask some questions in the live chat. However, you will have to deal with a bot in the chat before you are connected to some human.

Unfortunately, there are no phone numbers. Still, the chat and email agents are available 24/7 and reply quickly, at least when you apply with some more or less standard questions or problems. There are only a few complaints about the service: some people claim they were ignored for five or more days. Still, it doesn’t seem to be a common practice for DraftKings, and we suppose that their service can be rated 4 out of 5: it definitely lacks toll-free phone lines and overall efficiency sometimes.

The sportsbook was one of the most expected DraftKings’ projects, and all US bettors were curious about what the first legitimate betting site could finally offer to them. After years of sneaky sports gambling at semi-legal offshore platforms, they were hoping to finally get a breath of fresh air and safely place their favorite bets at the top popular, respectable platform.

Sportsbook

In this part of our DraftKings review, we will learn if it managed to live up to punters’ expectations and discuss its overall sports betting offering: from betting events to the odds quality.

Betting Markets Available at DraftKings

We didn’t expect much from DraftKings in terms of sports disciplines choice: it has always been the US-facing company after all, so it would be nonsense to hope for various exotic options like, say Muay Thai, or Russian National Football League 2. Still, DraftKings doesn’t limit its customers with the top American leagues and offers almost twenty disciplines to wager on. Among them are, of course, football, basketball, baseball, and ice hockey, including college leagues and some European tournaments like Eurocup basketball. Besides, you wager on MMA fights, darts, boxing, cricket, motorsports, boxing, rugby, Australian rules, tennis, and table tennis.

Not that DraftKings paid much attention to various events worldwide: most disciplines are limited with the top popular tournaments that attract the whole world, including picky Americans.

For instance, soccer coverage involves only major British, European, and Asian leagues, apart from the MLS.

Unfortunately, the sports betting section does not involve eSports: you can only find them on the Daily Fantasy Sports platform.

Available Types of Bets

The list of sports is not the largest one; in fact, it includes a minimum set of disciplines. So, what’s about the selection of markets and betting options for each of them?

Let’s start our research with the most demanded sporting events: for instance, top NFL matches. When we select NFL odds in the list on the left, DraftKings shows us all upcoming games, including the ones scheduled for today, and all betting options available for all matches, instead of keeping them in a separate match coupon.

Types of Bets

Thus, the NFL betting markets involve the following:

• Game Lines: Spread, Total, Moneyline, Alternate Spread and Alternate Total, 3-Way MoneyLine, Half Time and Full-Time bets;
• Touchdown Scorers: First Team TD First, Last, or Anytime Scorer, 2+ TDs, 3+ TDs, To Score First and Win, 1st and 2nd Half TD Scorer, and more;
• Quarterback Props: Pass TDs, Interceptions, Pass+Rush Yards, Completions, Pass Attempts, etc.;
• Running Backs/Wide Receivers Props: Receptions, Recs+Yrds, and more;
• Player Parlays;
• Week Specials;
• Team Futures;
• Season Specials;
• Game Parlays;
• Next Year Drafts;
• Halves;
• Quarters.

We named just a few markets: enlisting them all would take most of the article, but it’s already evident that the NFL coverage is superior and offers an extensive number of various props and even special single-game parlays, which is a rare thing among other online sportsbooks.

It’s essential to mention the odds in this paragraph, too, and we have to admit they are not the best: a 7%-10% average margin is too high even for an American bookmaker, as there are less popular but more lucrative betting sites in the legal and offshore zones.

Fantasy Sports

The Daily Fantasy Sports is the DraftKings’ main expertise area: it is the second main fantasy sports provider in the USA that nearly emerged with Fan Duel to achieve the monopoly in the Daily Fantasy Sports market of the United States.

The first thing that comes to an eye when you open the DraftKings Fantasy Sports platform is the number of sports: you can create your fantasy team of the NFL, NBA, Golf, NHL, MMA, CFB, CBB, and more, including various cybersports leagues.

You can enter classical and showdown contests or start your own, using valuable statistics from the pre-draft rankings.

While you are playing, you accomplish different missions to collect reward points; besides, you can opt for some promotions like the KFC Sunday Night Showdown Series, which offers you to fill the line-up and compete for the prize pool of $180,000.

Fantasy sports

Overall, there are nine different contest types at DraftKings fantasy sports: the difference is the entry fee amount and the final payouts. Some of them have a guaranteed prize pool which means you know how much you will gain if you make the correct picks. The main advantage of DraftKings is that it is suitable for all players’ levels: from the very beginners to experienced fantasy team managers.

Live Betting

Let’s get back to our DraftKings sportsbook review and check out what does it have to offer in the live betting section. To switch for in-play events, click the Live In-Game tab: it will open the list of sports that are currently live. You can select markets for every sport using a drop-down list, and what you will see there depends on the discipline and the event level.

For instance, Tennis live betting coverage is almost as good as the one in pre-match: you can make bets on the Moneyline, Point By Point, Total Games, Total Sets, Current and Next Game Score, Game Total Score, and more.

What is specifically nice about DraftKings’ live betting is that it includes even the least popular sports, like snooker or table tennis. The odds are regularly updated, so the line fluctuation is pretty dynamic, but the site is capable of accepting live bets pretty quickly: it takes up to thirty seconds.

Live betting line

The live streaming is available via BetRadar service provider, and players can access it via the DraftKings website or a mobile app. Still, the broadcasting offer involves only top popular events, so don’t expect to watch some cricket matches in real-time mode.

DraftKings Sportsbook Bonuses

It seems like DraftKings has major advantages above most other online betting sites: we have found only a couple of drawbacks so far. Still, there is one more thing that could be improved: it is the DraftKings’ bonus system.

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When you open the promotions tab, you see no more than a couple of sports betting bonuses apart from the one you receive with your first deposit. Still, many punters wouldn’t regard it as a con: sometimes it’s easier to earn some money on sports betting and withdraw them without any wagering requirements that necessarily come along with any special offers. Let’s overview the full offering:

• The initial deposit bonus: 20% deposit match up to $1,000;
• Referral program: share your referral code with a friend, and after they join and make their first deposit, you both get free bets of up to $100 (depending on the friend’s first deposit amount);
• Contests: this regular promotion is offered for some major matches. You must answer the contest questions correct to win a part of a prize pool;
• Boosted odds: DraftKings has a daily boosted odds offer for selected markets, usually in the NBA and the NFL games.

The other promotions are related to the casino (we will mention them later) or their gift store and crypto marketplace.

You already know that DraftKings’ casino is available exclusively in the five states: Michigan, Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. If you haven’t got a chance to visit one of these states and check out what is the DraftKings casino like, we are happy to make a review of the whole portfolio: from slot machines to live dealer tables.

DraftKings cooperates with several casino gaming providers, and it seems it is very constituent about its partnerships. You won’t find some shady unknown titles in DraftKings’ portfolio, but it’s full of slots and table games powered by Netent, IGT, and its home-grown gaming products, too!

Available Casino Games

The DraftKings gaming library consists of almost six hundred titles: classical and jackpot slots, table games, virtual sports, video poker games, keno, and live dealer games. You will find DraftKings featured games under the separate tab: they involve various types of Las Vegas-like activities, but let’s get first things first and speak about available casino options in more detail.

Casino section

Poker

The video poker section is pretty modest: it consists of seven games and does not include many popular variants. You can select from Ten, Triple, and Five Play Draw Poker, and a couple of other titles: not very generous for such an industry giant. However, there might be more options hidden under the table games tab: let’s see.

Other Card Games

Yes, we knew it! Besides various roulette versions, games shows, and some dice games, the Table Games section is full of card activities, including poker. Not that the poker portfolio was significantly bigger here, but you still can opt for Fortune Pai Gow Poker, Four Card Poker, I Luv Suits, Blackjack Poker and Pairs, and classical blackjack titles, too. Don’t miss featured DraftKings Retro Blackjack, Baseball Blackjack, Basketball Blackjack, Classic Blackjack, Pride Blackjack, and more exclusive options that you will not find anywhere but in this small casino.

Slots

With less than five hundred slot machines, including nine jackpots, Draftkings’ collection seems really small compared to many other online casinos. Another drawback: it’s not convenient to scroll down the slots page to find the one you need: search filters would not hurt. Still, the games are amazing: you might have guessed it when you saw the mention of Netent, famous for top-notch slots like Starburst, Gonzo’s Quest, and more.

Slots section

Hold on to your hats, sports and fantasy fans, because DraftKings gift cards are your ticket to a world of winning potential and adrenaline-pumping action! But how do you unlock this treasure? We will guide you through the simple steps of redeeming your DraftKings gift card.

How to Redeem a DraftKings Gift Card Online

Congratulations, your DraftKings gift card is now officially activated!

Once you’ve redeemed your DraftKings gift card, you can use the funds to:

• Back Your Champs. Cheer on your favorite teams and athletes from football to MMA, spiking your adrenaline with every play.
• Draft Your Dream Team. Outsmart your rivals and build a fantasy force to be reckoned with, ruling the leaderboard with every touchdown and slam dunk.
• Challenge for the Crown. Enter paid contests and tournaments across sports and fantasy, where epic prizes and bragging rights await the victorious.
• Strike it Rich at the Royal Casino. Test your luck at classic games like blackjack, roulette, and slots, feeling the rush of every spin and deal.
• Gear Up in Royal Style. Visit the DraftKings store and rock official jerseys, hats, and more, proudly declaring your allegiance to the win.

You need to remember, that your DraftKings gift card is your passport to a land of endless thrills and potential riches. So, strategize, bet smart, and let your inner ace conquer the kingdom!

Bonus Tip: Keep your eyes peeled for special promotions and bonus offers that can double your DraftKings fun!

DraftKings Casino Bonuses and Promo

To start, let’s review the casino welcome bonus for those who deposited money to play DraftKings casino for the first time. The offer is very standard: you get $100 in free credits, but unlike many casinos, DraftKings allows you to use the credits for all available casino games. Your minimum deposit must be at least $5 to take part in the promotion.

However, this is not the only special offer you can get, and here is the full set of promotions that can boost your casino experience. Here they are:

• Referral program: get a $100 free play for sharing a referral link with a friend;
• A Welcome Package: get up to $2,000 bonus cash for casino games with a 100% deposit match; the bonus money can be wagered for selected games;
• Slot Promotion: Get $1 casino credit for every $5 bet on the Atomic Meltdown slot;
• Hot Streak: play selected games at $5 stakes and try to reach your highest winning streak to get in the leaderboards; the winner will be awarded a $10,000 prize.

We suppose that DraftKings’ name is self-explanatory, but our research proved that it has much to offer to players of all levels: from the very beginning, fantasy sports fans to experienced sports bettors who long for many betting options and appreciate Draftkings’ in-depth coverage.

While the odds are not sky-high, and the casino library is smaller than at some industry giants’, there is still much to do at DraftKings. The exclusive games, a great assortment of soccer, football, basketball, and ice hockey props, and the overall reliability of the company compensate for most cons it has. What is our final verdict? We can safely recommend DraftKings to everyone who is lucky to be eligible for joining it.