Draftkings Review

Quick Video Review of Draftkings with Jesper

Is Draftkings Trustworthy?

Have you ever wondered what the outcome of a sports game would be if you could create your own fantasy lineup? Imagine setting up a team for an NFL or NBA event that features some of the top players in the game. Draftkings has created a way to do just that, and the platform has evolved into one of the best bookmakers in the US. Draftkings has become so popular and trusted throughout the country that it has expanded to include a sportsbook component of the brand along with a small selection of Draftkings casino games. 

Keep in mind that the availability of the Draftkings Sportsbook is restricted to players in New Jersey and West Virginia. Our review will touch on essential aspects of the sportsbook so that eligible bettors can enjoy this option, too.

Is Draftkings Licensed and Certified in the US?

Players access to Draftkings is certified on a state-by-state level according to individual laws that allow for fantasy betting. The sportsbook section of Draftkings is licensed through the State of New Jersey’s Gaming Enforcement Division.

When Did Draftkings Launch? 

The fantasy betting side of Draftkings launched in 2012 as part of an extreme sports betting boom. Although Draftkings only initially offered bets for Major League Baseball events, within two years, the platform received substantial funding from outside investors and began to partner with other sports leagues including hockey, football, and basketball. 

Draftkings Sportsbook was not introduced as an option until 2018. While Draftkings is available in most US states, real sports betting is restricted to players physically located in New Jersey and West Virginia.

Does Draftkings Have a Good Reputation?

Draftkings has not grown without controversy. There were issues with the concept of the site in 2015 when some states questioned whether the fantasy games that Draftkings offered fell under the umbrella of gambling or should be considered games of skill. Today, there are numerous US states that have outright outlawed Draftkings. 

Draftkings had to deal with another significant internal scandal in 2015 when an employee admitted to winning $35,000 on FanDuel, Draftkings’ major competitor, based off inside information that the employee had gathered regarding lineups. This scandal resulted in the Attorney General of New York opening an investigation into which measures each casino entity had in place to prevent fraudulent betting. 

The incident led to Draftkings losing several sponsorships, most notably ESPN—the company indicated that it would not continue to allow Draftkings to air sponsored segments.

How Popular Is Draftkings?

Draftkings is incredibly popular with a ranking of 9,865 in global internet engagement from alexa.com. Bettors spend an average of 15 minutes on the site daily. These favorable statistics likely reflect the fact that the site offers an abundance of fantasy betting options for several sports along with a sportsbook and limited casino feature.

Is Draftkings a Listed Company?

Draftkings is a privately-owned company with headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts. Its current CEO, Jason Robins, is one of the three founders of the company. He has not provided any insight into whether the company intends to offer stock options for players in the future.

Brands Associated with Draftkings

Draftkings is not associated with any other betting-style brand. However, the business has partnered with sports teams in various campaign events. Draftkings is heavily promoted by entities including Nascar, the Liverpool Football Club, the New York Giants, and the Toronto Raptors.

Draftkings Responsible Gaming Policies

Draftkings allows players to moderate their gambling practices in one of two ways: 

• Self-exclusion
• Self-limitation 

Self-exclusion is a voluntary restriction to your Draftkings account for a specified period. The shortest self-exclusion duration is three months, but players can extend the exclusion up to five years without the risk of their accounts being permanently closed. 

Self-limitation puts limits on the amount of money that you can deposit into your account daily, weekly, or monthly. Players can increase these figures back to the maximum deposit after a set amount of days depending on your state.

Creating an Account with Draftkings

Establishing a Draftkings account is relatively simple. To set up an account for the Draftkings fantasy betting portion of the site, players must be at least 18 years old, but the Sportsbook and casino section requires that players be 21 years old.

Draftkings protects its players information through a secure socket layer that only a Draftkings team member can access. 

Information You’ll Need to Sign Up

One of the best ways to set up a Draftkings fantasy betting account is signing up through your Facebook account. From the sign-up page, users click the option ‘Sign up using Facebook’. A new screen will pop up that requires you to enter your Facebook username and password. Draftkings creates an account based on the information that you have already provided to Facebook. 

For non-Facebook users, Draftkings requires that you submit the following information: 

• Email address
• A username and password. The password must be between 8 and 20 characters and include at least one number. 

Once you have established an account, Draftkings will ask for additional details, including: 

• Your full name
• Your address
• Your Social Security Number 

While players may be hesitant to enter their full Social Security Number, this information is a Draftkings requirement for income and tax reporting purposes.

Draftkings uses top-of-the-line technology to verify your location. If the site can track your location to either New Jersey or West Virginia, players can register for the sportsbook section of the site. The information that you previously entered for the fantasy betting section will typically carry over to the sportsbook.

Do I Need to Provide Any Documents to Withdraw Earnings from Draftkings?

Draftkings requires that you verify your identity before you can request a payout for winnings earned through any game. Bettors will need to submit a form of identification from the following list of options: 

• Driver’s license
• Passport
• Government-issued ID 

Along with a proof of residence which can include: 

• Utility bill
• Bank statement 

This process should only happen once unless the platform flags your account for fraudulent activity.

How Easy Is It to Create a Draftkings Account?

Prospective users can get a Draftkings account up and running in a matter of seconds. The more time-consuming process is the initial deposit or withdrawal procedure, during which players are required to submit financial or identification information.

How Draftkings Verifies Your Documents

Draftkings has created a website link specifically to allow players to safely upload and submit identification information. The site does not provide players with an approval timeframe but rather states that all documentation will be reviewed during regular business hours, which are from 6 AM to 11:59 PM EST.

How Quickly Can I Start Playing with Real Cash?

One of the advantages of placing bets through Draftkings is that all the platform’s deposit methods provide users with immediate funding. It will likely take longer to enter your financial information than it will to transfer money from a personal account to your player account. 

A fun option for bettors that have a Draftkings Sportsbook account is to take part in MLB betting and make wagers for other events in person if they happen to be in Atlantic City. Players can deposit money into their accounts at this location and enjoy the fun and excitement of the city while they wait to see if their bets will deliver.

Draftkings Withdrawals and Deposits

Draftkings has selected deposit methods carefully to allow players instant access to their game of choice once they complete their transaction. Withdrawals are a little slower, as the Draftkings accounting team only processes withdrawals from Monday to Friday between 9 AM and 5 PM EST.

Draftkings Deposit Methods

Placing a deposit into your Draftkings account is simple. It’s important to pay attention to whether you want to add funds to your daily fantasy account or your Sportsbook account. The process is the same, but the funds in the accounts are kept separate. 

For bettors interested in the Sportsbook and casino side of Draftkings, there are a few options available: 

How to Withdraw Your Earnings

Draftkings allows players to withdraw their winnings from their account in the following ways:

Do I Need to Prove my Source of Wealth?

Draftkings does not require proof of source of wealth if a player does not request an increase to his or her deposit limit. If a player does make such a request, a representative from Draftkings will reach out to the player and ask for specific documentation, including income details, to consider the increase.

Draftkings Bonuses and Campaigns

Draftkings has created different bonuses and campaigns for daily fantasy and sportsbook players. When bettors sign up for the daily fantasy portion of the site, they will notice that there are more promotions available there than in the sportsbook counterpart.

Introducing Draftkings Bonuses

On the fantasy betting side of Draftkings, an easy way to amass Draftkings cash is by opting into the $500 deposit bonus. Once you make a $5 deposit, you can activate your bonus through the site’s promo page. A certain percentage of your deposit will convert to “site credits” that you can use to place bets on other games.

One of the most enticing promotions that the sportsbook section of Draftkings offers is the free bet option. When you place your first bet, the platform will credit your account with a free bet equal to the amount of your initial bet. For example, if your first bet is $5.00, Draftkings will make a deposit of $5.00 into your player account. 

This amount is not eligible for withdrawal, and you can only use it to place a bet. Draftkings will match your initial bet up to $500.00.

Current Draftkings Campaigns

Draftkings enjoys rewarding current players for referring new players. Users can provide their friends and family with a Draftkings code through email, text, Facebook, or Twitter that new users enter during their registration. Draftkings will provide the referral source and new users with a bonus based on the campaign that is active at that time. Remember that the new user must make a minimum deposit of $10 during registration to qualify for the Refer-A-Friend program. 

The sportsbook section runs regular odds-boost campaigns for certain games based on the sports season. For example, during football season, Draftkings allows players to bet on whether they think that three NFL teams will score a touchdown during the first week of the season.

FAQs on Draftkings Bonuses

Which Games Does Draftkings Offer?

Draftkings is primarily known for its fantasy sports betting options. Players have the chance to build their own fantasy team for a variety of sports including baseball, basketball, soccer, and even Nascar.

Sports players receive a certain monetary value based on their statistics. Statistics are calculated according to past and expected performance. Bettors receive a salary and select players to fill up their lineups based on their value. The salary prevents bettors from stacking their lineup with only top league players.

Which Casino Games Can I Play at Draftkings?

Bettors who are eligible for Draftkings Sportsbook have the option to play some Draftkings casino games. These games are very limited and include primarily slot games with a few options for live dealer games such as baccarat, blackjack, roulette, and Texas Hold’Em.

Where Does Draftkings Source Its Games?

Draftkings sources its casino games exclusively from IGT. This software company is known for its quick load times. To access these games from a mobile device, players need to download the Draftkings Sportsbook app. We go into more detail about the pros and cons of this app further in our review.

How Easy Is It to Use Draftkings?

There are many features of Draftkings that users will enjoy. Whether bettors are playing on the fantasy side or the sportsbook side, there are always stimulating games on which to wager. Draftkings allows players to make bets ahead of when a game is scheduled to take place with the option of changing the bet up to 5 minutes before game time. Players can review their current and upcoming bets under the ‘Lineups’ tab, which makes keeping track of bets simple.

Draftkings Compatible Devices

Draftkings is accessible through a desktop computer, the mobile browser on your phone or tablet, or the Draftkings app. The app aspect of Draftkings is where things can get tricky for players. 

Unlike on the website, on the app, players cannot jump back and forth between the daily fantasy section and the sportsbook section of, for instance, Draftkings for an NBA game. Users are required to download two separate apps to access these options. While the emphasis on having separate logins for each feature is likely because of legal restrictions, it is frustrating for gamers who like to toggle between fantasy and real sports bets. 

It’s also worth noting that the Sportsbook app is very slow. Sometimes it loads correctly, but sometimes the app will time out before you even get to place a bet. The Draftkings Sportsbook is only a year old, so we’ll keep our fingers crossed that this aspect of the platform will improve to make it easier for users to navigate it seamlessly.

What We Think about the Feel of Draftkings

Draftkings does an excellent job of categorizing its games based on sporting event. For example, on both its fantasy and sports betting site, games are broken down not only by event but also by time. Players will have no problem finding the game that they want to bet on quickly.

Draftkings Casino Customer Support Services

Based on how popular Draftkings is, you might assume that the platform’s customer service is exceptional. Unfortunately, customer support is an aspect of Draftkings that falls flat compared to its competitors.

How Can I Reach out to Draftkings?

Players can reach out to a Draftkings customer service representative in the following ways:

• Email
• Live chat
• Mail

Customer support is available at different times depending on whether you have an account on the fantasy betting site or the sportsbook site. Sportsbook customer service is available 24 hours per day and seven days per week while support on the fantasy side of the site is only available from 6 AM to 11:59 PM.

There is typically a wait time to speak with someone through the live chat feature that can last upwards of ten minutes—a wait time that we noticed was persistent even at 6 a.m.

Which Features Make Draftkings Unique?

Draftkings stands out among its competition with its massive amount of fantasy betting options. Creating your fantasy lineup is fun and easy. Draftkings provides you with live updates regarding your winnings throughout the game so that you never lose track of how your favorite players fare.

How Is Draftkings Different from Other Online Casinos?

Draftkings is unique in the type of betting that it offers. With only one other major competitor in this market, Draftkings has capitalized on the idea of players creating their own superstar lineup and enjoying the thrilling option to bet on an NBA or MLB game, too.

Is Draftkings a Good Choice for US Players?

Whether Draftkings is the right choice for US players depends on the type of bets that they like to make. If you enjoy casino-style games, Draftkings is not the right choice for you—there are many other online casinos that have higher-quality casino options. However, if you enjoy sports betting, you may have found your home base.

Draftkings – Our Verdict

Due to the differences between the fantasy betting and sportsbook aspects of Draftkings, it’s difficult to give the platform a rating that covers everything. While options such as DraftkingsMLB and NHL betting are thrilling and satisfying, the platform is not the best place to play slots online.

Five Things We Love about Draftkings

We like a lot of what Draftkings has to offer. Some of our favorite attributes of the site are:

• Draftkings Playbook
  Are you new to the world of sports betting? Do you need help placing an educated bet? The playbook should be your go-to source for all sports-related news and tips. It features the most up-to-date sports highlights, including player injury reports, odds, statistics, and advice.
• Game selection
  There is no end to the number of games that Draftkings allows its players to bet on—a fact that holds true for both Draftkings fantasy and its sportsbook. Bettors can place a bet on a soccer game at 10 AM and an NFL game at 1 PM.
• Live stats
  Bettors don’t have to wait until the end of the game to check in and see how their bet is faring. You can log into your account at any time for live updates and see how much money you are projected to win if the standings don’t change.
• Free bets
  The sportsbook section of Draftkings allows you to play games here for free with a free bet promotion. Players can make a risk-free bet and get to know the platforms’ betting rules without the worry of losing money.
• Account security tips
  Draftkings is big on making sure that a player’s identity and financial information stays safe at all times. The platform has dedicated an entire section of the website to advice that players should keep in mind regarding protecting their passwords and sharing account information. 

How Draftkings Could Improve

There are things that we love about Draftkings, but there are many things that the company could improve on, including:

• Customer service
  With the popularity of Draftkings, players might think that a customer service representative is available around the clock. Unfortunately, that is not the case: live customer service is only available during certain hours and, even when there is a live agent available, there is usually an extended wait time before players receive their answers.

Once an agent or “player advocate” joins the chat, it’s hit-or-miss whether the advocate will answer your question. The fantasy betting advocates are not very helpful and tend to transfer the chat over to a sportsbook representative who directs players back to the frequently asked questions section of the site. The problem with the FAQ section is that it is very small and does not always provide the answers that players need. 

• Casino game options
  The casino game choices are so limited on Draftkings that it leaves us wondering why they are even offered at all. If you are looking for better card game options, we suggest that you read our blackjack guide.
• Confusing bonus terms
  Draftkings claims that it offers the best bonuses, but it’s hard to decipher exactly what you need to do to opt into them. The site’s marketing techniques are slightly misleading because, in certain cases, players are not eligible to receive a full bonus until they bet a set amount of money.

Our Draftkings Review Rating

Overall, Draftkings is one of the best online gambling sites for fantasy betting in the US. There are many great features of the website that fantasy betters are sure to enjoy. The sportsbook is still working out some kinks, but we are hopeful that Draftkings will continue to expand and improve. 

We believe that Draftkings deserves a 4 out of 5 star rating.