DraftKings Review

DraftKings is a Massachusetts based company which offers short-term fantasy sports contests for real money. Instead of committing to an entire season, you can play in daily fantasy baseball contests or weekly fantasy football contests. Along with FanDuel, DraftKings.com is one of the two leaders in this new niche industry.

The buy-ins to these contests work like the sit-and-go tournament model at online poker sites. For example, if you're buying into a $10 contest, you might pay $11 to enter. $10 of your entry fee goes into the prize pool for that contest; the other $1 is a commission that goes to the site so that they can maintain their business. These buy-ins and the commissions vary by contest.

Baseball and football are the most popular sports contests available, but DraftKings offers a wide selection of sports you can get involved in. Basketball, hockey, golf, soccer, mixed martial arts, and NASCAR are also available. I'll go into more detail on the different sports later.

There are three main bonuses available at DraftKings. Here's a little bit of information about each one.

I have two minor complaints about DraftKings, and the first one of these is related to the signup bonus. I'm disappointed that the site isn't more forthcoming about the maximum amount that can be claimed. To figure out that the max bonus was $600, I had to register an account and start the deposit process. That information should be available to potential customers without having to register an account at the site.

DraftKings is a United States company operating in US dollars. The site accepts the following major credit cards.

Visa MasterCard

Discover American Express

Discover doesn't offer prepaid gift cards, but the other credit card brands do. DraftKings also accepts deposits via these prepaid gift cards.

DraftKings.com processes withdrawals as refunds to those cards, so you're going to need that card—assuming you eventually have winnings to withdraw.

You can also deposit and withdraw via PayPal.

Withdrawals take up to three days to process. Their policy is to issue your withdrawal first as a refund via your original deposit method. If you have additional funds (i.e. winnings), you're issued a payment via PayPal or via check. If the credit card you used to make your deposit is no longer valid, you need to contact their support department about your withdrawal before making your withdrawal request.

The company processes withdrawals during normal business hours, Monday through Friday, from 9am to 5pm EST. It takes up to three days to process your withdrawal. It then takes another two to seven business days to see the funds in your PayPal or credit card account. Checks take about a week to come in the mail.

Before I get on to the different sports available at DraftKings, I'm just going to explain a little about the concept of daily fantasy sports for those of you who may not be familiar with it. You can skip this bit if you already know what's involved.

Most people are familiar with the basic principle of fantasy sports. You draft a team of players, and you score points based on those players' performances during that day's or that week's games. The team manager (you or your opponent) wins based on how well her team's score compares to her opponents.

For decades, this kind of fantasy sports game has been played on a season-long basis. Daily and weekly contests—the kind that DraftKings offer—are relatively new. You're given a salary cap, and you draft from a list of players provided on the site. Your opponent(s) do the same. But once that day's or week's games are played, the contest is over and you get your winnings or suffer your losses.

You're then free to enter more contests, take the day off, or take the week off. Daily and weekly fantasy sports don't require a season long commitment.

One thing you can't do in these kinds of contests is recruit your team all from the same sports team. That would make it the equivalent of just betting on the outcome of the sports, which entails all kinds of other legal considerations. You must choose different players from different teams for your team.

Since that selection is skill and knowledge based, the United States government doesn't consider these kinds of contests gambling on sports. If you're one of the frustrated players from the US who used to love playing poker on the Internet, DraftKings is a great opportunity to get some similar action without having to worry about the legalities. DraftKings had lawyers go over their business model carefully to make sure that everything they offer is above-board.

That being said, these contests aren't available in every state, because state laws regarding the pertinence of skill in gambling vary.

The following sports are available at DraftKings.

Let's take a look at how each sport works here.

Fantasy Football at DraftKings

Fantasy football contests are available at both the college and the professional (NFL) levels. Because of the way football is scheduled, these contests are held on a weekly basis rather than a daily basis. But a weekly commitment is far less of a commitment than a season long league.

Each player gets a salary cap of $50,000. You use these funds to draft a 9-player team. You choose from a player pool that includes all the NFL (or college football teams) eligible during that contest time period. You have to have players from at least two different teams and that represent at least two different football games.

Your team will consist of the following positions.

For the flex player, you have the choice of another running back, wide receiver, or tight end.

Points are scored based on each player's performance. If you've played fantasy football before, you'll understand how this works.

Here are some examples of how your selected players can earn points.

DraftKings.com keeps live scores posted during the games, so you can watch how your team is doing versus your opponent's team in real time.

Fantasy Baseball at DraftKings

Season long fantasy baseball is even more of a grind than fantasy football. After all, there's a big difference between having to set a lineup every day and only setting one up once a week. So baseball fans who can't handle the commitment of a season long fantasy baseball league should find DraftKings to be right up their alley.

DraftKings only runs contests based on MLB results. You get $50,000 for your salary cap, with which you draft 10 players.

You must have hitters from at least three different teams. Here's how the scoring works.

Live scores are updated on the site in real time.

Fantasy Basketball at DraftKings

DraftKings offers fantasy basketball contests at both the college and the pro level. Most of their contests are based on NBA results.

You get a $50,000 salary cap, and you draft eight players. Players have to be on at least two different teams and be participating in at least two different games. Here are the eight positions:

Scoring for basketball is a little simpler than it is in baseball or football.

DraftKings.com keeps real-time reports of your team's and your opponents' teams' scores.

Fantasy Hockey at DraftKings

The fantasy hockey contests are based on the scores of the players in the NHL. You get a $50,000 salary cap that you can use to draft nine players from the following positions.

You can use any position besides goalie to fill the utility position. You're required to have players from at least three different teams.

The scoring works as follows.

You can follow the action on the DraftKings site with their real-time live scoring.

Fantasy Golf at DraftKings

Fantasy golf contests are scored according to the PGA golfers' performance. You get a $50,000 salary cap and a six golfer team. You draft from a pool of golfers that are participating in the week's tournament.

Golfers get points per hole and for how they finish the tournament. They also get points for streaks and bonuses. Here are the details.

Fantasy Soccer at DraftKings

The fantasy soccer contests are scored based on the performance of players in the EPL and the UCL. You get a $50,000 salary cap with which to recruit eight players. Your roster must include players from at least three different teams. The roster positions are as follows.

The flex position can be filled with any player besides a goalkeeper.

This is how the scoring works.

Real-time scoring is updated on the DraftKings website during the game.

Fantasy MMA at DraftKings

Fantasy mixed martial arts contestants get a $50,000 salary cap with which they can draft five fighters. Points are scored for moves made by each fighter and by the conclusion of each fight.

DraftKings.com offers real-time scoring for MMA contests, too.

Fantasy NASCAR at DraftKings

Fantasy NASCAR is similar to fantasy MMA. You get a $50,000 salary cap with which to recruit five drivers. Drivers score points based on their finishing position as follows.

Real-time results are available for NASCAR contests on the DraftKings site during the races

DraftKings makes multiple types of contests available to players. These include the following.

From the lobby of the site, you can filter which choices you see according to sport, buy-in, and type of contest. You can create your own contests or you can buy into contests that other players have already created. DraftKings creates some of the contests themselves, too, especially the ones with guaranteed prize pools.

Let's look at how each of these contest types work.

A guaranteed contest offers a minimum prize pool regardless of how many or how few people register for the contest. This type of tournament is also popular at Internet poker sites. Smart gamblers love these kinds of contests because of the overlay potential.

Here's how an overlay situation works.

Suppose you have a contest with a $100 buy-in and a $200,000 guaranteed prize pool. If 1,000 people register for that tournament, the site has only taken in $100,000 in entry fees, but they're guaranteeing payouts as if 2000 people had registered for that tournament.

Mathematically, this provides a player with a greater potential return on her investment. Let me explain why.

Suppose the prize pool is set up so that the players with scores in the top half of the field each win an equal percentage of the prize pool. With 1,000 contestants, that means 500 of them will win 1/500 of $200,000, or $400. Assuming everyone is of equal skill level, you have a 50% chance of winning $400, even though you only put $100 on the line.

Most overlay situations aren't that extreme—in fact, they're usually a lot closer than this. I just used that example because it's obvious how the math works. Guaranteed tournaments are fun even if they don't offer an overlay opportunity.

A qualifier is a contest with a low entry fee, but if you're one of the winners, you get an entry to a more expensive contest. For example, you might play in a qualifier that costs $5. If you're one of the winners, you might win entry to a contest that would normally cost $100 to enter. This model is something that the daily fantasy sports industry has also borrowed from the world of poker tournaments.

A head-to-head contest is one in which you play against one other player, winner take all. This is my favorite type of contest. These are usually available in a variety of buy-ins, as low as $1 per player and as high as $530 per player. These contests are opportunities to double your money.

A 50/50 contest is one in which multiple players have fantasy teams. If your score falls within the top 50% of the field, you win money. Otherwise, you don't. These are, like the head-to-head contests, opportunities to double your money.

These are contests where multiple players compete, but only the top tier (often the top 3 players, but it depends on how many entries there are) gets paid. The variance in these contests is higher, because you have a smaller chance of winning, but you win a larger jackpot when you do win. The strategy for league play differs significantly from 50/50 play.

These are multiplayer tournaments which offer you the opportunity to win 3X or 10X your entry fee. In these contests, the top scores all win the same prize. For example, the top 3 players might win $15 each instead of having a different prize amount for 1st place, 2nd place, and 3rd place.

Steps are contests which enable you to parlay a small buy-in at a low level into a big win without having to pay the big entry fee. These are similar to qualifiers, but you can buy into the step at any of the four levels you can afford.

Step 1 might cost $2 to enter, but you could enter at step 3 if you can afford the $25 entry fee. The top of the step is step 4, which you can also buy into directly.

Steps are similar to qualifiers. The fantasy sports folks also borrowed this model from the Internet poker industry.

Beginner contests are only available to players who've competed in 50 or fewer contests for a particular sport. Once you've competed in 50 contests for a particular sport, you're no longer eligible to play in the beginner tournaments.

These are sports-specific. For example, if you've played in 60 fantasy baseball contests but only 20 fantasy football contests, you're still eligible to play in the beginner fantasy football tournaments. You're no longer considered a beginner at fantasy baseball though.

Customer support is available Monday through Friday from 9am – 11pm EST. On Saturday and Sunday, customer service can be reached between 10am and 7pm EST.

You can contact customer support by filling out the contact form on their contact page, or you can send an email to [email protected].

Their mailing address is as follows.

They do not offer a phone number for customer service on their site. This is the second of my minor complaints, as I'm disappointed that they have no way to reach them over the phone. In the 21st century, I should be able to speak with a person over the phone if I need help with my account. It doesn't matter what kind of transaction I'm conducting or at what kind of business; that's just a basic customer service experience I should be able to take for granted.

Here are some commonly asked questions about DraftKings.com, along with my answers.

Is this legal?

How old do I have to be to play?

Is it hard to win?

What is DraftKings' relationship with DraftStreet and/or StarStreet?

How does DraftKings compare to FanDuel?