What is daily fantasy sports?
The standard version of daily fantasy sports is where you build a team and enter it in contests against other players. If your team manages to pick up more points than your rivals, you may be able to win anything from a cash prize to bragging rights.
Your line-up will be composed of players based on real-life athletes. So if you were playing fantasy football, your team could have NFL stars like Patrick Mahomes, Tyreek Hill and so on. Points will be awarded depending on these players’ performances in real life. So if Patrick Mahomes throws a touchdown pass, you’d get a certain number of points.
Recently I’ve seen many DFS brands offering different ways to play. Some fantasy sports platforms let you play by making predictions on individual player statistics, while the
best fantasy baseball auction apps for Android
will let you compete according to the MLB draft. The key thing is that all of these DFS providers will get you closer to your favorite sports and potentially let you win some cool prizes too.
- Build line-ups to compete in tournaments
- Enter paid or free DFS contests
- Fantasy sports contests can last a day, week or even a whole season
- Play for bragging rights or to win cash prizes
- More innovative DFS products being launched every month
- Adds an extra dimension to your sporting entertainment
Building a winning line-up for
DFS betting
The majority of DFS platforms work by allowing you to create your own line-up of sports stars that will then be entered into tournaments. This is something that requires a fair amount of skill as you’ll need to make sure that your team picks up more points than your rivals. So here are the key things to keep in mind when aiming to build the ultimate DFS line-up.
Staying under the salary cap
Most DFS platforms will give you a strict salary cap that you have to stay under when assembling your line-up. This means that you could quickly blow your budget if you pack your squad with star players like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Travis Kelce and so on. So think about getting a well-balanced squad and don’t leave a single cent of your salary unspent.
Spotting undervalued players
It’s always interesting to see how DFS platforms rank certain players in terms of their salaries. I’ve found that it’s often the case that some of my favorite athletes will be seriously undervalued. This means that I’m usually on the lookout to fill up my line-up with players who offer a lot of quality, regardless of what the DFS provider thinks.
Balancing quality with consistency
There are always those star players who can sometimes put in a game-winning performance and then fade the next week. This is why I always choose those players who are consistent week-in, week-out. Sure, they might not get the press attention, but consistency is key when it comes to picking up those DFS points.
Even the world’s best athletes can have their off days. Whether it’s just a lack of morale or an issue with the head coach, you’ll need to analyze how these players have been performing in the past few games to get a good idea of whether to include them in your squad. So be ready to spend a fair amount of time looking at stats for things like rushing yards, three-pointers, goals scored and so on.
Monitoring injuries and suspensions
I’d recommend reading the latest sports news so that you are aware of any recent injuries to your favored players. The same applies to any sporting stars who are prone to bad behavior as a suspension can make a mess of even the most assured DFS line-up.
Simple strategies for your
fantasy sports betting
Now that I’ve got the basics of building a good line-up out of the way, it’s time to get a little more strategic. After all, being successful in DFS is about so much more than just knowing a lot about sports. So here are some simple strategies to start you off:
Play at the best daily fantasy sports sites
OK, so this is kind of obvious, but you’ll need to play at those DFS sites that are right for your level. If you go straight into somewhere like DraftKings or FanDuel and enter a big contest, then you’ll quickly be outclassed. Instead, I’d recommend getting to grips with the basics of DFS first by trying something like those Higher/Lower contests at ParlayPlay.
Enter the free daily fantasy sports contests
I’ve noticed that most DFS platforms will put on a handful of free tournaments. You might not win too much from taking part in these free events but they can go a long way in terms of helping you figure out things like the scoring system and how to build a better line-up.
Choose your daily fantasy sports tournaments wisely
Most DFS sites will have dozens of different tournaments to take part in. Don’t fall into the trap of automatically entering the contests with the highest prize pools as the chances are that you won’t win. Instead, look around for those DFS contests with a sensible buy-in and a realistic chance of winning.
Understand the scoring system
Each DFS site will have a unique scoring system that determines how many points you get when something happens like a quarterback gets sacked and so on. Understanding this scoring system is essential as it’ll play a big part in knowing which players to include in your line-up.
Know who you are playing against
Some fantasy sports contests feature thousands of players and some just a handful. Obviously you will have a better chance of winning if you are playing against fewer people. But also think about who you are actually playing against as major brands like DraftKings and FanDuel are largely populated by pro DFS players who are very hard to beat.
Recognize the best times to play
OK so this might be a bit of a myth, but I know lots of people who will only play DFS at some weird hours of the day or night. The theory is that doing this means that you’ll encounter a weaker opposition and therefore get a higher chance of winning. It might not be true, but it’s something worth thinking about.
Use those daily fantasy sports promos
I love the fact that most DFS sites will have a welcome offer for new customers and plenty more deals to encourage you to stick around. Most of these deals will work to give you extra credit that corresponds to how much you initially deposit. So be sure to check out the following fantasy sports promos to see which offers you the best value for your DFS gaming.
| DFS platform | Sign-up offer |
| Underdog Fantasy | 100% up to $100 + Mystery Pick’em Special |
| DraftKings | 20% up to $500 + free $3 ticket |
| FanDuel | 100% up to $100 |
| ParlayPlay | $5 Free Pick |
| OwnersBox | 100% up to $500 |
Don’t overlook these standout DFS betting bonuses
Showcasing the best
daily fantasy sports sites
While daily fantasy sports have been with us for a couple of decades now, that hasn’t stopped many new brands entering the arena. I’ve found that only a handful of DFS brands are worthy of your time, and here are my recommendations for anyone looking to get into fantasy sports:
Underdog Fantasy – Top Pick’em contests here
Underdog Fantasy: Pros & Cons
- Innovative Battle Royale contests
- Easy to use Pick’em DFS platform
- Huge prize pools possible
- Rookie-friendly entry fees
- Only covers big US sports
This is a relatively new DFS brand that has picked up many new customers as a result of its simple Pick’em contests. These cover all major US sports and I’ve seen some prize pools of around a million dollars for things like the Best Ball Mania tournament. Underdog Fantasy is also a good choice for newbie DFS players as you can often play from just $5 at a time.
Draftkings – Heavyweight DFS provider
Draftkings: Pros & Cons
- All top sports featured
- Endless variety of contests
- Generous prize pools
- Good welcome offer for new customers
OK, so you already know all about DraftKings, but there was no way that I was leaving this brand out of this shortlist. After all, you can enjoy DFS for pretty much every sport here and it’s got a vast range of tournaments – often containing some towering prize pools. So people have said that DraftKings is largely populated by pro DFS players that make it hard for newbies to get involved. However, I think it’s worth a look as there are so many contests that everyone should be able to find something to enjoy.
FanDuel – Market-leading brand and for good reason
FanDuel: Pros & Cons
- Good sign-up bonus
- Full range of DFS contests
- Great for fantasy football
- User-friendly fantasy sports app
- Website can be difficult to navigate
I’m still a huge fan of FanDuel even though this is one of the oldest DFS providers on the market. After all, it’s maintained its position in the industry by putting on a world-class variety of tournaments that feature all the sports you can think of. Check out some of those one-day contests for a good introduction to what FanDuel is all about, and then get ready to dig in deep for one of those massive season-long tournaments. I should note that FanDuel even has some pretty cool free contests too.
ParlayPlay – A simple way to enjoy fantasy sports
ParlayPlay: Pros & Cons
- Great for fantasy college sports
- Simple Higher/Lower contests
- Play for free in some tournaments
- User-friendly welcome offer
You can’t really go wrong at ParlayPlay as it has some of the best free-to-play contests around. Not only are these free to join, but you can win well over a hundred bucks if you play them right. ParlayPlay features some unique kinds of tournaments like the Hit-It contests, but it’s those Higher/Lower events that offer you the easiest way in. I should note that ParlayPlay even includes college sports alongside heavyweight sports like NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL and the UFC.
OwnersBox: Pros & Cons
- Big welcome offer
- Cool one-on-one tournaments
- Good app for iOS and Android
- Fast way to build line-ups
- Only four sports featured
I’ve had plenty of fun playing against friends at OwnersBox in the private pool tournaments, but you can also enter a range of regular contests. OwnersBox lets you build your line-ups for football, basketball, hockey and it’s also one of the
best daily fantasy baseball sites
too. Check out some of the extra features like Lightning Lineups that give you a speedy way to enter the DFS arena.
Each of the above five fantasy sports sites will give you an excellent way to play. So if you’re ready to give it a try, here’s what you need to do:
- Pick one of the DFS providers featured in the banners of this page and click on the link
- The link will take you to the fantasy sports site where you can click on an icon saying something like Join Now
- Here you will have to fill in the registration form with your details like your name, date of birth, email and so on
- Verify your account by submitting some kind of photo ID
- Make your deposit with one of the payment methods
- Start building your line-up
- Enter the team into a tournament by paying the ticket fee
- Watch the action and hope that your team gets more points than anyone else
Is daily fantasy sports legal?
To understand how the legal landscape of daily fantasy sports works in the United States, we need to explore the federal and state-level laws separately.
Federal legislation
If you haven’t heard of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (the “UIGEA”), it’s perhaps the most important federal-level legislation on iGaming that you should read up on. It was passed by Congress in 2006, and it exempted fantasy sports based on certain parameters.
Before I tell you what those are though, I want to clarify that fantasy sports is a game of skill. Sure, you might get lucky and your underperforming pick might suddenly have a great game day, but playing fantasy sports regularly and playing it well takes a lot of skill. You need to know a lot about what’s currently happening, which players are doing well, have a strategy, and so on.
Since fantasy sports is a game of skill, it is largely legal across the United States. For
daily fantasy sports sites
to be considered legal, they need to adhere to the following policies outlined in the Fantasy Sports Contests Act. Here’s what they say about DFS:
- The value of all prizes and awards being offered by the daily fantasy sports sites should be made known to all participants in advance of the contest.
- The winning outcomes should be a testament to the knowledge and skill of the participants who are playing the contest.
- Participants cannot have a winning outcome based on any sort of score, point spread, or performance of a single actual team or combination of teams or on the performance of a sole athlete in any single actual event.
To make the last point clear, it essentially prevents fantasy sports from becoming gambling on an actual team, since there are different laws and licensing requirements for that. So, if you want to draft the whole New York Knicks team for
fantasy basketball betting, you unfortunately cannot do that. You can only draw players from different teams.
State-level legislation
As I mentioned earlier, although Federal legislation considers DFS legal, you cannot play DFS in every State across the US. This is because each State has its laws and licensing requirements which the DFS site has to fulfill to be able to launch in that State.
So, ideally, if any particular sight has caught your attention, just go to their website directly and check whether they are legal in your state or not. Sometimes, there might be discrepancies even among different game types on the same site. For example, you can play Underdog Fantasy Draft in Kansas but not the Pick’em format, so it’s best to review this information in advance.
How to make sure fantasy sports site is legal?
Even though I compiled a list of the legal and reputed DFS sites for you, I am not naive to think you won’t seek out new adventures along the way! So, here’s my two cents, try out new DFS sites but always make sure to check whether they are legal in your state.
How to do that? Just follow this three-step process below and you and your money should be safe.
Check whether the site has a valid license. You can find the license information at the bottom of the site’s homepage. Remember, they are obligated to post this information and, if it’s missing that info, that’s a major red flag and you should immediately retreat!
Once you find the license that the site has, go to the website of that license issuer and check whether the site is featured on their list of licensed DFS sites.
The final check I always recommend is a simple Google Search just to be sure that the site is not involved in anything shady that would hurt your interest. Some DFS sites, despite being legal, have gone bankrupt or have scammed people of their money, so always make sure to research the site a little in advance.
Staying responsible when
DFS sports betting
While daily fantasy sports are a lot of fun, it’s important to remember that this activity is still fairly close to being regular gambling. After all, you have to spend money to enter many of the contests and many people will be hoping to win cash prizes for taking part.
As such, it’s essential that you only play in a way that is responsible and keeps you fully in control. The good news is that each of the DFS providers featured in my guide will give you a variety of tools that you can use to keep your fantasy sports gaming in check. Here are just a few of the responsible gaming tools that I’d recommend using:
- Apply limits on how much you deposit
- Use limits on how much time you spend at a DFS site
- Check to see whether you can take a cooling-off period
- Make sure that the DFS site allows you to exclude yourself if necessary
Above all, I’d recommend that you only treat fantasy sports as a way of adding some more entertainment to your sports viewing, rather than being a way of making money.
Conclusion – Get ready to climb the
daily fantasy sports rankings
I’ve given you everything you need to get involved with the daily fantasy sports phenomenon. From outlining the basics of how DFS works to revealing some awesome strategies you can use at the best fantasy sports sites, so you can now start building your line-ups.
Of course, you have to remember that
new daily fantasy sports sites
are being launched on a regular basis and they’ll all offer you an innovative take on the DFS formula. So be sure to check back here to get updates on who’s giving you the best daily fantasy sports experience.
Don’t miss our selected DFS betting hubs
Daily fantasy sports
FAQ
❓ What is DFS betting?
Daily fantasy sports betting requires you to build a line-up that you enter in tournaments against other players. The fact that you usually pay to enter these tournaments and can potentially win money makes it a form of betting.
🤔 Is daily fantasy sports legal?
It depends on where you are playing from and many regulators are still debating whether daily fantasy sports is actually a form of gambling or not.
Yes, there are some daily fantasy sports contests that you can play without it costing you a single cent. Just note that these free contests probably won’t have the same kind of prize pools that you get at paid DFS tournaments.
💡 Who has the best daily fantasy sports app?
It depends on what you’re looking for. I’ve found that DraftKings and FanDuel have good all-round DFS apps, while the likes of ParlayPlay, OwnersBox and Underdog Fantasy give you a new way to play from your mobile.
Each of the DFS providers featured in my guide has great fantasy football contests. You can read my other resource about
fantasy football sites
here, but I’m pretty sure that you’d be happy with what you can find anywhere from FanDuel to Underdog Fantasy.
