DraftKings Sportsbook Review

Fans of sport betting in New Jersey have a reason to be excited because DraftKings Sportsbook is now fully functioning and running. Just several days after its approval for soft launch and testing, DraftKings sport betting platform was launched. It is officially the first app for online sport betting operating outside the state of Nevada.

The company has prepared a no deposit bonus of $25 in free bets for all new players who register. Each new user will receive 5 free bets, with a value of $5 each. Another great perk is that players will receive another free bet up to $200 when they make their first real deposit.

DraftKings is definitely the leading company in the daily fantasy sports industry. It is now entering the sports betting industry as well and its future is quite promising. Continue reading to find out more details about DraftKings and its offers.

What will be the location of DraftKings Sportsbook?

We have information that there will be at least one location in New Jersey with more to follow in the future. This year DraftKings formed a partnership with Resorts Atlantic City in New Jersey. So given this partnership, the company will probably be present in the NJ sports betting industry quite soon.

The agreement with Resorts might also result in launching a DraftKings online casino as well by using Resorts’ gaming license.

Other than that, we don’t have more details about the future expansion plans of DraftKings but here is a list of other states that consider legalising online sports betting soon:

• Delaware
• Pennsylvania
• West Virginia

More states will enter the sports betting industry next year as well, so DraftKings will have new opportunities coming soon.

DraftKings Sportsbook Software

DraftKings worked in collaboration with Kambi Group to create a new mobile app for the sportsbook which will be separate from the existing DFS app. There is also a browser-based sportsbook so players can place bets via computers as well.

The owners of DraftKings released information that the new app is in the making.

What sports will be available for bets at DraftKings?

You will be able to place bets on anything that is also available in a Nevada sportsbook, including the most famous sports such as:

• Auto racing
• Baseball
• Basketball
• Football
• Golf
• Hockey
• Soccer
• Tennis

DraftKings also plans to offer betting for fun and interesting events such as hot dog eating contests. You can choose from variety of bet types:

• futures
• moneylines
• point spreads
• propositions
• totals.

Which countries can play at DraftKings?

In order to register and play real-money games at DraftKings you must be located in one of these countries:

• Australia
• Austria
• Canada
• Germany
• Ireland
• Malta
• The Netherlands
• USA
• United Kingdom

However, the residents of the following US states are not allowed to participate no matter their physical location:

• Arizona
• Hawaii
• Iowa
• Louisiana
• Montana
• Nevada
• Washington

Also, Alabama and Idaho residents are excluded from participation in their states but can play when they are located in a state or country without a ban.

Employees of DraftKings must not enter public, real-money contests. All players must be 18 years of age or older.

DraftKings desktop application

If you want to enter DraftKings’ contests fast then you should choose their browser-based version. It offers great user experience for both desktop computers and mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones.

You will be automatically redirected to the lobby once you sign in your DraftKings’ account. In the lobby you can select a sport contest by using the different filters:

• Contest type
• Entry fee (min. to max.)
• Field size (3 to 1,000+)
• Free contests
• Guaranteed tournaments
• Slate date

Above the contest list you will see a link for “Strategy & Research” where you can find game summaries, as well as match analyses. Your real-money balance is located in the top right corner of the page together with a Deposit button for quickly changing your balance.

In the contest list you can find the following information:

• entry fee
• number of entrants and maximum capacity
• time until the tournament starts
• total prize pool

In conclusion we can say that the browser-based app is very easy to use and has lots of functions, but still not good as FanDuel’s platform.

DraftKings mobile app

For the smartphone users DraftKings has prepared two native apps – one for each of the top mobile operating systems:

• iOS: DraftKings app for iOS is compatible with all Apple devices and requires iOS version 10.0 or higher to be properly downloaded from the App Store and utilised.
• Android: the app requires software version 5.0 or higher. Players located in the UK or USA can directly download the DraftKings app from Google Play Store. User from Canada should head to the official website of DraftKings and get the app from the download link there.

When using the mobile app, you will be able to change your account settings, enter contest, deposit and withdraw money, create lineups. The application’s interface is minimalistic and all important functions can be easily found. It might take you several minutes to get used to the app but once this process is over you won’t need to go back to the browser-based version.

Drafting at DraftKings

Do you want to draft your lineup? Simply push the “Enter” button which is located on the right hand side of any contest in the lobby. Clicking the button will take you to a page where you can select players by FPPG score or position. If you want to learn more about the previous performance of a certain player, just click on his name.

There are a few other details that you can find on the drafting page:

• The amount of Frequent Player Points (FPP) that you will get when entering a contest
• A list of all games available on the slate
• The start time of the contest

If you want to find out the structure of the prize payout, select “Full contest details” located in the top menu. For your convenience, you can also export or import a CSV file with the lineup players.

While your draft your team, you should have in mind that there is a $50,000 salary cap. Usually, world-known player will cost you somewhere between $10,000 and $14,000. On the other hand,  an athlete with less capabilities will be around $2,500 – $5,000.

Different Contests at DraftKings

DraftKings provides a variety of contests. Let’s see what makes them stand out:

• 50-50s: the better half of the sport field gets paid
• Beginner contests: only players with no experience can take part in this contest.
• Double-ups: you can receive doubled amount of your entry price
• Head-to-head: tournament organized between two players
• Multipliers: similar to double-ups contests, but the payout is a 3x-10x multiple of your entry price
• Qualifiers: you can win entries to any of the other DraftKings contests instead of a cash prize
• Steps: these contest include multiple levels and the prize for each level is an entry to the next one. The reward for the final level is a large payout.
• Contest with guaranteed prize pools: the tournament pays regardless of the number of people taking part in it.

Another great feature of DraftKings is the custom contests option. Click on the “Create a contest” link located in the upper left side of the contest list in the lobby. You can choose whether the custom tournament is private or public and whether it is head-to-head or multiplier. You can also set the entry fee from free up to $10,600.

What are the scoring rules at DraftKings?

The scoring rules at DraftKings depend on the type of sport. You can find the full list of scoring rules on the dedicated page at DraftKings’ website.

What types of sports can be found at DraftKings?

We’ve prepared a list of available and popular sports, together with the lineup size for each of them:

• CFL, 7
• Golf, 6
• League of Legends, 8
• MLB, 10
• MMA, 6
• NASCAR, 6
• NBA, 8
• NFL, 9
• NHL, 9
• Soccer, 8

DraftKings VIP rewards

The loyalty program at DraftKings gives you one Frequent Player Point (FPP) for each dollar you deposit into real-money tournaments. The FPPs you’ve collected can be exchanged in the VIP store of DraftKings. The exchange rate is 550 FPPs for one dollar.

If you collect the loyalty program points, you will be able to reach new account levels and receive entry for guaranteed tournaments. We’ve prepared information about the different tier levels you can reach, the Frequent Player Points need to reach each level and the total guaranteed prize pools:

• Bronze (100 FPP/month): $15,000 total prize pools
• Silver (500): $25,000
• Gold (2,000): $85,000
• Platinum (10,000): $90,000
• Diamond (25,000): $60,000
• Black (125,000): $90,000

Other DraftKings promo offers

There is only one other promotion at DraftKings and it is a referral program for your friends. To access this refer-a-friend option, click on your username which is located in the top right corner of the lobby page. There you will find your unique affiliate link, which you can share with friends. When they use this link for their registration and make their first deposit, you will get a bonus of $20.

DraftKings refer-a-friend program is better than the one at FanDuel, because it provides a $20 bonus opposing to a $10 bonus at FanDuel.

Deposit methods at DraftKings

You can choose one of the following deposit options at DraftKings:

• PayPal
• VISA and Mastercard gift cards
• popular credit/debit cards

Deposits should be an amount between $5 and $2000. If you’d like, you can increase your deposit limit by reaching the customer support at DraftKings. Have in mind that they will request a scanned copy of your ID and utility bills.

Withdrawal methods at DraftKings

DraftKings offer two withdrawal options:

• cheque by courier
• PayPal

If you use a credit card to deposit $30 and then request a $70 withdrawal with PayPal after a month, you’ll be refunded the $30 payment and the remaining $40 will be credited to the PayPal account.

DraftKings Customer Support

You can find a thorough FAQ section at DraftKings website where there is tons of valuable info on most important and frequent questions. If you wish to be assisted further, you can select one of the following methods to reach the customer support centre at DraftKings:

• Live chat: operating from 6 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. EST.
• Email: [email protected]