Guide to the Best Daily Fantasy Sports sites for US players

Our In-Depth Guide to Fantasy Sports Betting

Any sports lover will tell you that there is something exhilarating about watching your favorite team come out victorious at the end of a hard-fought game. Online fantasy sports betting websites developed from a desire to make watching sports even more exciting. The concept of sports betting in the USA did not develop without controversy, however. Since the appearance of entities committed strictly to RT fantasy sports betting, the legality of the practice has been a subject of major contention. Instead of only being available in states such as NJ, fantasy sports betting has grown to become an option available in the majority of states throughout the country. 

Our experts dive headfirst into this growing style of betting and explore the important question, “Is fantasy sports betting legal?”. We will provide you with our top choices for trusted fantasy betting platforms and everything you need to know about the legal issues surrounding making a fantasy wager.

We recommend that you play daily fantasy sports on these legal sites

Finding the right website to place your fantasy bet is essential if you want to have the opportunity to walk away with money after an event. There are a handful of trusted entities that we have identified to provide you with this type of betting. Here are our top three favorites: 

• FanDuel
  FanDuel has offered fantasy betting options to its customers since 2009. It provides a multitude of daily sporting events to bet on including the NFL, NBA, and NHL. The minimum and maximum deposit and withdrawal thresholds are relatively low, which is ideal for a casual gambler. The site is easy to navigate with individual competitions categorized under the primary sport. FanDuel also created an app that you can use on any mobile device, which makes creating a fantasy line-up fast and easy.

  What makes FanDuel even more enticing is its partnership with Betfair Casino and the development of the FanDuel sportsbook. Betfair is a highly regarded name in the internet casino industry and offers a fantastic selection of online casino games, including slots and card games such as roulette and blackjack. While this feature is only accessible to players in the State of New Jersey, checking out this casino is worth your time.

• Draftkings
  Draftkings officially launched in 2012 as the direct competitor of FanDuel. The premise of Draftkings is identical to FanDuel, however, in the sense that the platform provides their users with a myriad of options for fantasy betting for nearly any type of sport.

  Similar to FanDuel, Draftkings has their own sportsbook and casino section. The primary difference between the two is that FanDuel has partnered with Betfair while Draftkings is trying to develop a unique brand of casino-style games.

  We would be remiss if we did not point out that FanDuel and Draftkings have not grown without experiencing controversy. In 2015, employees of FanDuel and Draftkings were implicated in a scandal that revolved around placing bets based on insider information that they received before release to the public. Individuals involved amassed thousands of dollars before the scheme was uncovered.

• FantasyDraft
  FantasyDraft is another viable option for fantasy sports betting. The leading difference between FantasyDraft and their competition is the number of game choices. While Draftkings and FanDuel offer over ten sport options, FantasyDraft only has seven.

  FantasyDraft is set up for gamblers that take part in daily fantasy betting as opposed to the casual bettor. The site offers membership options with the benefits of accessing games with higher betting thresholds. While players aren’t required to sign up for a paid membership plan to place bets, the free membership option is very restricted.

• Yahoo! Fantasy
  Yahoo created its own first of daily fantasy sports betting to add a level of competition to DFS superstars such as DraftKings and FanDuel. Yahoo is an excellent choice for a player who is trying to ease into fantasy sports betting. They offer a handful of contest options for a mix of popular sports such as football and hockey. The major drawback of choosing Yahoo, however, is that they offer PayPal as the only method to fund or withdraw funds from your player account.

  While FanDuel and Draftkings have their associations with casinos, that is not always the standard. If you are interested in our top 10 rated casinos or the best roulette sites, we highly recommend that you read through our reviews for the best gambling sites.

Answers to Common Questions about Daily Fantasy Sports

Q: In which states is daily fantasy sports betting legal?
A: Most of the states in the US allow for daily fantasy sports betting. There are only a handful of states that do not allow their residents to take part in this pastime. Those states include Alabama, Arizona, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Montana, Nevada and Washington. The legality of sports betting has been widely contested in these areas with the Attorney General of each state taking a tough stance against fantasy sports betting.

Q: How can fantasy sports not be illegal as regular gambling is in most states?
A: The United States government decided that it would allow individual states to make their own determination regarding the legality of fantasy sports. The issue at the center of the controversy is whether fantasy sports betting is a pastime of skill or one of chance. The states that have deemed that fantasy sports betting is a contest of skill have deemed sports betting as legal.

Q: Do you bet with real money?
A: Yes. Once you register for a fantasy sports betting site, you will be directed to fund your account so you can start taking part in events. Real money is transferred from your personal bank account, e-wallet or credit card onto your player account. At that point, you can decide on which games to wager. Money is then deducted from your player account. If you win your bet, those earnings are typically reflected in your player account within a matter of hours. 

Q: What is the most popular fantasy sport?
A: The popularity of a fantasy sport tends to revolve around the time of year. During the fall and winter months, football becomes the rotisserie frontrunner. However, when the football season is over, baseball takes center stage as the popular roto. 

Q: Which are the biggest operators where you can play DFS?
A: The two main entities that have cornered the market in DFS are FanDuel and Draftkings. There was some talk recently that the two entities would join forces; however, before the merger could happen, the Federal Trade Commission filed a formal objection with the United States Government. The FTC contended that the combination of FanDuel and Draftkings would create a monopoly in the industry. Faced with an uphill battle, the two companies opted to discontinue merger talks. 

Q: What is the difference between daily fantasy sports and just fantasy sports?
A: There is a unique difference between daily fantasy sports betting and fantasy sports betting. Daily fantasy sports betting allows a player to set up a new line up every day. Fantasy sports betting locks a player into a team of set athletes throughout the season. The downside of fantasy sports is that if an athlete is hurt during the season, your entire line up is destroyed. 

Q: If a fantasy sports betting site is associated with a casino or a sportsbook, do I have to create a separate username and password to access those features?
A: Yes. Online casinos and sportsbooks operate under stricter standards than a fantasy sports betting site. At the moment, the majority of all legal US internet casinos are regulated through the New Jersey Gaming Enforcement which mandates that bettors must be in New Jersey to take part in casino-style gaming or sportsbook events. 

Q: Can you change your line up during the game for a daily fantasy sports event?
A: No. Once you submit your line up for the day, you are locked into that line up for better or worse. However, daily fantasy sports betting affords you the chance to change your line up every day, so you are never stuck with an injured or subpar player throughout the season.

DFS: Best Bonuses and Campaigns

Regardless of which platform you choose, you should always keep an eye out for the welcome bonuses. These bonuses are the easiest ways to cash in on free money from the entity just for signing up. For example, FanDuel offers an initial deposit bonus match of up to $20. Once you make your $20, they instantly add $5 to your FanDuel account. Over the next three weeks, you’ll see increments of $5 deposited into your player account. Any bonus funds are only available to you for 14 days from the day of deposit into your player account. 

Draftkings offers a more enticing initial deposit bonus in comparison to FanDuel. They will match your initial deposit up to $500. For example, if you deposit $20 of real money into your account, Draftkings deposits an additional $20 in Draftkings cash. 

Regardless of which platform you choose, you need to use your bonus cash sooner rather than later. Generally, if you don’t use your bonus cash within 14 days, it is removed from your player account.

Daily fantasy sports games to play

There is seemingly no end to the type of games on which gamblers can place wagers. Examples of events that you can bet on include: 

• NFL
• NBA
• Nascar
• NHL
• Golf
• Soccer
• MLB
• College football
• MMA

Keep in mind that the same sporting events will not always appear on every RT sports fantasy site. For example, while you can create a fantasy line up for a Nascar event on Draftkings and FanDuel, this sport is not an option on other platforms like Yahoo! Sports. We always recommend that you read through our review of FanDuel and our Draftkings review to determine which site suits your betting needs. 

Daily Fantasy Sports Contests & Tournaments

On DFS betting sites, “contests” are defined as the type of game you decide to enter. Each contest has an entry fee with a unique list of rules that centers around payouts. Unlike typical sports betting, most contests have a payout that goes to a set amount of the top-scoring players. For example, if your line up places you in the top 20 among other users for your contest, there is a chance that you will see a percentage of the earnings. Of course, the user with the most points at the end of a contest or tournament will walk away with the most money.

How to’s for daily fantasy sports

Overall, placing bets on daily fantasy sporting events is easy if you follow these guidelines:

• Do your research:
  It’s important to remember that regardless of which sport you select, each player will be awarded a particular monetary value according to their skill. When you are given a “fantasy salary” to spend on an event, you have to make sure that you us the salary smartly. Before you start selecting players, make sure you check on their stats, so you improve your chances of walking away with a payday.
• Choose your platform carefully:
  While FanDuel and Draftkings are alike in many ways, you pick the one that you feel comfortable navigating. Draftkings tends to offer better promotions. However, FanDuel has better options if you want to transition over to casino games. Make sure to read through our full reviews of the best daily fantasy sports betting sites.
• Keep track of your games:
  It’s very easy to get caught up in the excitement of placing bets. Try not to wager on too many contests to avoid the possibility of losing too much money in one day.

If you need help with the odds and statistics of different players, you should try clicking over to RotoGrinder. This site is exclusively dedicated to providing you with updated statistics and information about any game or individual player. It supplies you with a comprehensive injury report which enables you to know how long your favorite athlete is out of commission. 

How does DFS work?

The concept of DFS can be confusing to players that have never made this type of bet before. The first step is to pick your sport of choice for that day. For the sake of this example, let’s pretend that it is Sunday and the NFL is in full swing. 

Next, you need to decide on your contest. The main difference between the contests is the bet amount and the payout. The minimum bet could be as small as a quarter and can go as high as thousands of dollars.

Once you settle on your contest, the fun begins. You will receive a salary of $50,000 to use to “buy” players to put into your line up. Athletes are given a set monetary value each week based on their current and projected statics. For example, if Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers has had a fantastic season, you will need to pay more to have him on your team than Andy Dalton of the Cincinnati Bengals. For an NFL lineup, you will need to select eight players to fill an assortment of positions including wide receiver and tight end. You also need to choose a team that you think will present a strong defense during their game.

As soon as you finalize your bet, you sit back for the day and cheer on the games. The athletes you select amass points based on their performance of the day. For example, if your quarterback throws a touchdown, they are awarded a set amount of points, however, if he is intercepted, points are deducted. The players with the most points at the end of the game wins the pot. 

How to join a league and create your team

The major contenders for daily fantasy sports betting allow players to create a league and invite friends and family to join them for private games. Any player can start a league by utilizing the league feature through the platform of their choice. Once established, the owner of the league receives a unique link that he or she can e-mail, text or post on social media so others can join. 

Leagues are entirely customizable, and you can invite as many people as you would like to take part in contests. You can create new matches at any time, and you can always adjust the bet settings to suit your league. You create your fantasy line up the same way that you would for any other contest. Each player receives a salary, and they create their line up according to athletes that stay within their salary cap.

Daily fantasy betting vs Regular Sports Betting

There are key distinctions between daily fantasy betting and regular sports betting. The first significant difference is the type of event on which you can bet. With regular sports betting, you are restricted to placing bets on the outcome of one specific game. For example, a regular sportsbook will offer options for NFL games throughout the day. Players can opt to make a wager on who will win a game between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots based on their statistics. 

Daily fantasy betting, on the other hand, allows you to set up a private fantasy line up for any given sport. You create a unique line up that you can change after completion of the events of that day. Opting to make a wager using this style of betting captivates the interest of a player throughout the day instead of focusing on just one game. A smart gambler will include players from a variety of sports throughout the day and not stick to players on one team. While it may be challenging to add an athlete from a team that you despise, doing so increases your chances of coming away with a payout. 

Trustworthy Software Providers for Daily Fantasy Sports

With the growth in popularity of daily fantasy sports, there has been an explosion of software companies that have focused on this type of market. Here are a few examples of popular software companies that have recently taken center stage:

• Chetu
  Chetu markets itself as the company for “world-class software solutions”. The programs that this entity develops offer user-friendly access for desktops and mobile devices that focus around multiple sports, including golf, football, baseball and hockey. The entity has grown to be a go-to company in the industry with clientele that includes Fortune 500 companies.
• GammaStack
  GammaStack has been in business for over a decade and is a highly regarded name in the fantasy sports and sports betting software industry. The company offers customized software options to make the hte player’s experience unique at every click. They have opportunities to develop software for a variety of games, including tennis, basketball, football and rugby.

This is the current legal situation in the US for DFS

The current legal situation regarding placing bets on daily fantasy sports betting websites is continually changing. According to the United States federal law, fantasy sports betting is deemed legal because it is a game of skill which is different than online gambling which is considered a game of chance. Regardless, the federal government leaves it up to the individual states to enforce this mandate. 

States including Montana, Washington, Iowa, Arizona and a handful of others do not agree that fantasy sports betting should be an accessible activity to their residents. If you are considering signing up for one of these sites, you should always ensure that it is legal in your state. 

Another consideration that you should keep in mind is that each state has its own laws regarding how old a player must be to register for an account. Most states dictate that you need to be at least 18 years old; however, if you live in Nebraska or Alabama, you must be 19. 

When you register for a fantasy sports betting site, you must remember that this is a hot topic issue and that decisions on the legality of fantasy sports betting could change at any time. A primary example is what took place in New York in 2018. New York Supreme Court Justice Gerald W. Connolly declared that DFS should be considered games of contest and not games of chance and, therefore, was illegal. As of 2019, due to extensive litigation, Draftkings and FanDuel are accessible to gamblers in New York, but it wouldn’t surprise us if an issue like this continues to come up around the country indefinitely.

Takeaways from our Fantasy Sports betting Guide

Fantasy sports betting adds an element of excitement to a series of sporting events. The development of this style of betting pulls the player in from being a generic bystander to having a stake in the outcome of a variety of games. Instead of clicking a button and playing online slots, a user has the opportunity to create their dream line up with the potential of winning money. 

While the legalities of fantasy sports betting will seemingly always remain up in the air, our experts recommend that you give this style of betting a try at least once. If you are a major sports fan, the fun that is associated with online fantasy sports betting is undeniable.