While Fantasy Sports have existed for decades, Daily Fantasy Sports are relatively new in comparison. Daily Fantasy Sports can be traced back to 2007 with the launch of Fantasy Sports Live and with NBC’s SnapDraft the following year.
Shortly thereafter, we saw the launch of FanDuel in 2009. Today, FanDuel is touted as the largest DFS platform in the industry. We also saw the second-biggest DFS company come to fruition in 2012 in DraftKings.
Fast forward to today and there is a wide variety of unique daily fantasy options located across the US with new and unique operators entering the market including Underdog Fantasy, Sleeper, PrizePicks, Jock MKT, and more!
What is Daily Fantasy Sports?
DFS is the short-form concept of fantasy sports. Instead of drafting a team and being married to it for an entire season, you draft your team once per contest.
In other words, if you draft a team and it is a dud and/or injury-stricken, you can try again the next day or later in the same day or night, depending on the sport you are playing and the schedule on a given day.
As you can see, this is quite different from traditional fantasy sports.
Best Daily Fantasy Sports Sites
Sleeper Fantasy
Sleeper entered the market through its season-long fantasy platform and immediately gained attention with a fantastic user interface, clean app, and added social experience.
Founded in 2017, Sleeper has quickly expanded into the DFS contests and prop offerings known as “PICKS". It’s a worthy addition to your DFS app repertoire and is available in 30+ states.
Sleeper Fantasy has continued to expand into different sports, combine with key partners in the Fantasy and Daily Fantasy Sports industry, and is going to be a top DFS app for the foreseeable future.
Underdog Fantasy
Underdog Fantasy was founded in 2020 in Brooklyn, New York by a slew of notable investors that include Mark Cuban, Kevin Durant, and Future. While other platforms offer Best Ball style DFS contests, Best Ball is UnderDog’s bread and butter.
In addition to season-long Best Ball, Underdog also features daily snake drafts and their own version of Pick’em contests, similar to the ones you will find at Monkey Knife Fight and PrizePicks.
Though Underdog is still new to the industry, it is rapidly growing. It won’t be long until they are mentioned in the same breath as FanDuel and DraftKings on account of the unique game types offered on the platform.
Underdog Fantasy is currently legal in all states except for Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Nevada, Louisiana, and Washington.
Jock MKT Fantasy
Jock MKT is a unique DFS platform in that it allows you to buy and sell players and teams as if they were stocks. Similar to the stock market, the market will fluctuate in both the short and long term due to big plays, winning awards, scoring touchdowns, etc.
It’s one of the most unique platforms in the DFS space and after being founded in 2020, has quickly gained in popularity due to not competing against the sharpest DFS players in the world — but competing against the market.
FanDuel DFS
FanDuel was founded in 2009 and rapidly emerged as the top DFS site in the industry. One of the master providers of salary cap DFS, FanDuel now offers a slew of different contests to satisfy all players.
In addition to the variety of game types and sports markets offered, FanDuel also has the best customer service and the most banking options of all its competitors.
FanDuel DFS is available in 44 states, excluding Hawaii, Idaho, Louisiana, Montana, Nevada and Washington.
DraftKings DFS
You don’t think of FanDuel without also thinking of DK, the second-largest DFS provider in the industry. Founded in 2012, DraftKings made its rise along with FanDuel to the top of the Daily Fantasy Sports food chain.
Because of DraftKings DFS‘s size and notoriety, you will also find enough banking options, game types, and sports markets offered to suit the needs of every player.
Similar to FanDuel, DraftKings also features contests for only beginners to help level the playing field. They also have a recently new pool option that offers free pick’em contests that will pay out real money.
DraftKings fantasy is available in 44 states, excluding Hawaii, Idaho, Louisiana, Montana, Nevada and Washington.
How to Choose the Best DFS Site
Due to the popularity of Daily Fantasy Sports, there is an abundant amount of DFS platforms to choose from. It is no longer only FanDuel and DraftKings.
In the current market, there are over 10 DFS apps to choose from. While some are similar, most have a variance in game types, sign-up bonuses, and sports markets offered.
When choosing the right DFS platform to sign up for, you must find the one (or more) that works best for you.
If you are more interested in salary cap games, you might want to target what FanDuel and DraftKings have to offer. However, if you have a bigger interest in Best Ball and Snake Drafts, then Underdog or Drafters might be right for you.
You can also be a Player Props/Pick’em style of player, which would in turn make you want to try out Underdog or Sleeper. Or you can choose to take some chances on the stock market of sports with Jock MKT.
Who knows, you might be like me and like to play in a multitude of different contests on different sites. Then, it would be in your best interest to join a few different DFS platforms as you would join multiple sportsbooks to take advantage of what each one has to offer.
If you go this route, you will also want to take advantage of all the free money via sign-up bonuses, which DFS sites are currently offering their new users.
In the end, you want to be sure you are making the right choice for you and target the DFS sites that you will get the most out of. There isn’t one right way to do it.
How to Play Daily Fantasy Sports
- Go to the lobby of the DFS App that you choose to play.
- Then, choose the sport you want to play.
- Next, select the contest and type of contest (cash, GPP, Pick’em, etc).
- Now, you will draft your team, but make sure you stay at or under the salary cap.
- Remember, everyone can have the same players from the player pool unless otherwise noted (Best Ball). Keep ownership percentage in mind.
- In order to win, you must score more points than your opponents.
- If you place in a position to win a prize, you will be paid a percentage of the total pot.
Available Sports on DFS Sites
All DFS sites are not created equal. Some platforms feature more sports markets than others. Below are all that’s available in the overall market:
- NFL
- NBA
- NHL
- CFB
- Tennis
- Soccer (EPL)
- WNBA
- Golf (PGA)
- eSports
- MMA
- Rugby (Aussie Rules)
- CFB
- NASCAR
DFS Game Types
The following are the types of DFS contests you will find through all the platforms. However, not all platforms feature the same types of games or contests.
- Tournaments (GPPs): A large tournament with a massive prize pool that is guaranteed.
- Beginners Only: Players with experience are not allowed in this contest.
- Beat the Score: Tournaments in which the prize pools are shared between the winners. To win, FanDuel presets a score to beat.
- Friends Mode: A private league to create and play with your friends.
- Multipliers: Depending on the type of multiplier you join, the winners can double, triple or quadruple their money.
- Head-to-Head: Play against one person.
- 3-100 Players Mode: Play in a tournament format but in a smaller capacity compared to GPPs.
- 50/50: You must finish in the top half of the player pool to win.
- Satellites and Qualifiers: Play in this game type to win tickets to a larger contest.
- Single Game: This is a salary cap-style contest for one game off the slate.
- Daily Snake: This is a live draft that is performed with your opponents. No one can have the same player on their team.
- Best Ball: Live draft with your opponents. No one can have the same players. Once your draft is complete, the computer will set your weekly lineup with the highest-scoring players. This is season long with no trades or other roster management.
- Salary Cap: Some DFS contests require you to build a lineup under a set salary cap. These are similar to auction leagues in redraft or Dynasty.
- Pick’em: Pick’em contests are similar to head-to-head player prop games.
- Over/Under Pick’em Prop Contests: You will pick Over or Under a set player total for a statistical category. Similar to a Player Prop wager at a sportsbook.
- Pick’em Player vs Player Contests: You will choose which player will have a better statistical output. In addition to normal statistical categories, you may also have a choice of if a player will have more fantasy points than the other. Sometimes, these contests will have a player handicap — think Point Spread — on one side.
How to Sign Up to a DFS Site
Before you sign up for a DFS platform, be sure to take advantage of a new user sign-up bonus. There are two ways to do so:
- On this page, you can click on the “Get Bonus” button and it will redirect you to the DFS site of your choosing. The button is also the first step to unlock your bonus.
- You can also go to the DFS site or App of your choice with a promo code to unlock your new-user sign-up bonus.
Now that the sign-up bonus is squared away, here is how you register:
- If you want to use the mobile app, you must visit the app store that corresponds with your chosen device. Then, you will search for the DFS site you want to sign up for and hit the download button.
- On the first page of the sign-up screen, you will normally be asked for a username, email, password, DOB, and promo code.
- Once you complete that sign-up form and agree to the terms of service, you’re in and ready to play once you make your first-time deposit.
- Next, you must make your initial deposit to unlock your sign-up bonus and away you go.
Payment Options for DFS Players
Deposit Methods
- Credit Card
- Debit Card
- Gift Card (at select platforms)
- Pay Pal
- Online Banking
- Venmo
- Wire Transfer
- Apple Pay
Withdrawal Methods
- Credit Card
- Debit Card
- PayPal
- Online Banking
- Check
Where Can I Play Daily Fantasy Sports?
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Deleware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Minnesota
- Nebraska
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
