Daily fantasy sports (DFS) contests put fans in the driver’s seat by giving them a chance to build their dream teams and compete against players from around the country for real cash.
Today, daily fantasy sports sites and the best DFS apps are legal in most US states. Some states have passed legislation legalizing and regulating DFS sites, while others allow the industry to operate under existing law.
Best Daily Fantasy Sites
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Only a handful of states have laws on the books that actively prohibit fantasy sports sites.
Read on for BettingUSA’s most highly recommended daily fantasy sites, reviews of major DFS providers, and detailed explanations of how fantasy sports betting works.
Fantasy Sports Sites We Recommend
PrizePicks DFS
PrizePicks provides a simple form of daily fantasy that feels a lot like traditional sports betting. In each PrizePicks contest, users select a handful of athletes and make over/under predictions on each athlete’s projected fantasy points total.
Unlike standard fantasy contests, PrizePicks players do not play against other users. Instead, they earn payouts based on the accuracy of their predictions. Players can earn up to 15 times their initial buyin for making just five accurate predictions or make fewer predictions for smaller prizes.
Underdog Fantasy
Underdog Fantasy is a well-rounded fantasy sports operator with daily fantasy contests, season-long best ball leagues, and instant win pick ’em games. Fans will find some of the biggest GPPs in daily fantasy at Underdog, and its best-ball leagues are arguably the best in the business.
In addition, Underdog Fantasy pick ’em games offer player-vs-house predictions contests that offer instant payouts ranging from 2x to 20x. In each pick ’em contest, players can make predictions on whether specific athletes will score higher or lower in stat categories such as rebounds, passing yards, strikeouts, and so on.
In the “Rivals” variant, players predict which of two athletes will have a better performance in a specific stat, such as picking which of two quarterbacks will finish with the most completions.
OwnersBox DFS
OwnersBox offers weekly fantasy sports contests that combine the best aspects of daily fantasy games and season-long leagues. The result is a form of DFS that offers the fun of live drafts and swaps but without the season-long commitments.
IOwnersBox has standard daily fantasy contests and Lightning Lineup games in which bettors pick one of three randomly generated lineups to outscore the other two for a fixed payout.
ParlayPlay DFS
ParlayPlay operates similarly to PrizePicks, with pick ’em predictions contests that pay cash prizes to the players who accurately predict athletes’ performances.
In a typical ParlayPlay contest, players select two or more athletes and predict whether they will accumulate over or under their projected statistical totals.
For example, a player might predict whether each of three quarterbacks will pass for more or less yards than their projected passing totals.
The ParlayPlay experience feels similar to sports betting, is legal in most states, and serves as a convenient alternative for fans who live in states without legal sports betting.
Boom Fantasy
Boom Fantasy offers three types of pick ’em fantasy contests with payouts worth up to 40x players’ buyins.
In toss-up games, players make two to five predictions for payouts ranging from 2x to 10x.
For example, one prediction may involve selecting which of two receivers will finish the day with the most receptions. Another may involve predicting whether the quarterback will pass for more than or fewer than 300 yards.
Players who want to play for the biggest payouts can choose the “Longshots” format to win up to 40x their money.
In each Longshots contest, players pick two or three predetermined long-shot predictions, such as a higher-than-usual rushing total for a running back or an above-average number of strikeouts for a pitcher.
Players can win 10x if they get two long shot predictions correct and 40x if they get three correct.
Boom Fantasy’s “Favorites” contests present players with several easier-to-predict propositions for payouts ranging from 1.3x to 3x their buy-ins.
FanDuel DFS
FanDuel.com opened for business in 2009 and quickly grew to become one of the most prominent players in the fantasy sports industry.
FanDuel.com has earned a reputation for quick payouts and fair games.
FanDuel DFS players can join public events and compete for massive prize pools, start private contests with their friends, or compete in heads-up contests for payouts just shy of 2x.
FanDuel DFS contest buyins range from $1 to $200, sometimes higher for special events.
FanDuel offers DFS players some of the highest payouts in daily fantasy sports, with first-place prizes occasionally exceeding $1 million.
For fans who want to compete for the biggest prizes, FanDuel is an easy choice.
DraftKings DFS
Boston-based DraftKings is home to massive prizes, innovative social features, and varied DFS contest formats such as season-long best ball games.
DraftKings accepts convenient payment methods, including credit cards, debit cards, PayPal, and prepaid gift cards. As a result, DraftKings is one of the easiest DFS sites for new fans to play at for real money.
DraftKings DFS also hosts frequent mega contests with seven-figure payouts to the winners and significant prizes to the runners-up.
Many players prefer DraftKings’ software and mobile app over FanDuel’s because it embeds many features without cluttering the interface or complicating navigation.
Which States Allow Daily Fantasy Sports?
Key
- Red = Prohibited
- Blue = Legal
Fantasy
Each state takes a different approach to legal daily fantasy sports.
Some states have passed laws to regulate DFS operators, others states prohibit daily fantasy sports, and some states do not regulate the industry at all.
Below are brief overviews of daily fantasy sports legal status in every state.
Daily Fantasy Sports Apps
FanDuel and DraftKings dominate the daily fantasy industry, but new DFS sites like PrizePicks, Boom Fantasy, and Underdog Fantasy are creating innovative content formats and gaining market share.
There are numerous daily fantasy sports apps to choose from today, and the differences between DFS sites can be significant.
Choosing the right daily fantasy sports app involves finding safe operators that fit players personal preferences.
Players interested in massive, guaranteed DFS prize pool contests with million-dollar payouts should consider mainstream operators such as FanDuel and DraftKings.
Likewise, fans looking for the closest alternative to sports betting should consider entirely different types of DFS apps like PrizePicks.
BettingUSA’s daily fantasy sports reviews are neutral and unbiased, openly discuss pros and cons, and explain how each fantasy app works.
Key Considerations in Our DFS Reviews
Below is an explanation of BettingUSA’s approach to reviewing daily fantasy sports sites. These are the key considerations BettingUSA makes when writing DFS app reviews and making recommendations.
DFS Bonuses and Promotional Offers
Daily fantasy sports bonuses come in many forms: first deposit bonuses and welcome promotions play a prominent role in the marketing efforts of almost every fantasy sports app. Most DFS sites regularly offer deposit bonuses, free contest entries, and other perks to players who sign up and enter real-money contests.
How Daily Fantasy Sports Works
Daily fantasy sports contests are a twist on traditional, season-long fantasy leagues. The biggest difference between the two is that daily fantasy contests only last for a limited slate of games, typically covering a day or a single week’s worth of action.
Sports fans can try playing fantasy sports contests for real money by creating an account at any DFS site recommended on this page, and checking the app for a list of upcoming contests.
Most daily fantasy sports apps offer contests for a range of leagues, including the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, NASCAR, UFC, golf, tennis, and college sports.
Every fantasy sports contest covers a specific “slate” of games spanning a single week, weekend, or day. For example, a typical Sunday NFL slate covers all NFL games scheduled for that day.
After entering a contest, entrants draft a team of athletes expected to play in that slate of games. Most DFS contests give each athlete a fixed cost according to their recent performances and desirability.
For example, a star quarterback will cost significantly more than a backup QB.
DFS players can pick any player as long as they stay within the salary cap.
For example, let’s use a total starting budget of $50,000:
If you draft one of the best quarterbacks in the league for $10,000, you will inevitably give up strength in another key position because your pick just took 20% of your salary cap, and you still have several slots to fill in your lineup.
After assembling your lineup, watch how the athletes on your team perform and earn points as your players rack up stats in real-time. Touchdown passes earn points for your quarterback, turnovers earn points for your defense, and so on.
If your draft lineup collectively scores more points than the competition, you receive a real money payout.
Daily fantasy sports sites structure contests in many formats. Players can compete in head-to-head matches against a single opponent, join tournament-style competitions with thousands of other players, or make simple predictions against the house.
Payouts vary based on the rules of each contest and the number of entrants. Some DFS contests have winner-take-all prizes, while others provide tournament-style payouts to the top X% of finishers.
In any case, the goal is to score as many points as possible by selecting athletes who perform well on game day.
Start Playing Fantasy Sports
For anyone completely new to daily fantasy sports, this section details the basic step-by-step process of how to play daily fantasy sports for real money prizes.
Are Fantasy Sports Sites Legal?
Yes. Fantasy sports contests are legal at the federal level and in most states.
A handful of states with strict gambling laws prohibit daily fantasy contests, but most fans nationwide have access to daily sports fantasy apps.
Many states are now focused on legalizing sports betting, but the DFS industry had a head start thanks to a special exemption from the UIGEA.
The legality of daily fantasy sports wasn’t always this clear, though. When FanDuel and DraftKings were undergoing their first significant growth phase, they had to deal with substantial legal uncertainty in nearly every state.
DFS sites consider their real money contests games of skill, but Attorneys General in multiple states challenged that view and ordered FanDuel and DraftKings to cease operations, initiating a multi-state legal battle that had both companies fighting for their very existence.
DFS operators also initiated extensive state-level lobbying campaigns, hoping to shape the perception of lawmakers across the country.
In addition, FanDuel and DraftKings went on a national advertising blitz, forged partnerships with professional sports teams, and held multiple investment rounds.
These efforts were largely successful, and fantasy sports sites secured access to most states thanks to a combination of lawmakers passing DFS regulation, and Attorneys general in other states choosing not to intervene.
Only a few states today have laws on the books that explicitly prohibit daily fantasy sports.
Types of Daily Fantasy Sports Contests
Fantasy sports sites have introduced many contest types that can generally be classified into two overarching categories: DFS tournaments and cash games.
Types of Daily Fantasy Drafts
Daily fantasy cash games and tournaments also vary in how players build their lineups:
- Salary Cap: Most fantasy sports games use the salary cap model for lineups. That is, players receive a virtual salary to spend on athletes and build the best team possible. In a salary cap game, drafting an athlete does not remove him from the pool for everyone else; all athletes are available to all contestants.
- Snake Draft: Season-long fantasy football leagues have used snake drafts for years. In a snake draft, players take turns drafting athletes from around the league, and once an athlete is drafted, no other player may select that athlete. The snake draft format keeps things fair by reversing the order of picks each round. For example, the person who picks first in the 1st round will pick last in the 2nd round.
- Auction Draft: An auction draft works sort of like a snake draft, but rather than simply drafting an athlete when it’s their turn, players nominate an athlete to go on auction. During the action, everyone can bid on the athlete, who goes to the highest bidder. Auction drafts are highly strategic because players have limited salaries and must carefully choose not only who they draft but who they nominate.
- Pick’em: Various fantasy sites use the term “pick‘em” differently. For example, DraftKings offers pick‘em contests in which players build lineups by making one selection at a time from groups of athletes chosen by DraftKings. However, some daily fantasy sports sites have pick’em contests that involve making in-game predictions for fixed payouts.
Fantasy Pick’em Sites
Some daily fantasy sports sites provides an experience remarkably similar to sports betting that is legal in most states.
Pick’em fantasy sites function completely differently than sites that specialize in DFS tournaments and cash games.
Instead of building lineups, contestants make more-or-less predictions on individual athlete’s stats, like rushing yards and three-pointers. Some pick’em fantasy sites also offer more-or-less predictions on how many fantasy points individual athletes will score.
Pick’em fantasy predictions resemble sports betting totals (over/under wagers) but they meet the legal definition of daily fantasy sports because they always require players to build “lineups” consisting of predictions for at least two athletes from different teams.
This style of fantasy sports contests takes a unique approach to predictions and over/under props, providing an exciting way for fans in states without legal online sports betting to play for real money.
Fantasy props and over/under DFS contests differ from standard daily fantasy sports contests in two primary ways:
- Players attempt to predict the statistical performances of two or more individual athletes
- Players compete against the house for fixed payouts (a growing point of contention in some states, which has resulted in some operators offering peer-to-peer pick’em contests in which players compete with each other for payouts)
For example, a typical PrizePicks contest involves three steps:
- Select two to five athletes slated to play in upcoming games
- Predict whether each will have OVER or UNDER the projected number of passing yards, points, shots on goal, etc.
- Receive a payout of up to 25x the initial buyin fee
Other DFS prediction apps offer similar types of contests, with payouts as high as 500x the initial buy-in.
The most popular daily fantasy sports predictions apps include:
- PrizePicks
- Underdog Fantasy (also offers best ball DFS)
- OwnersBox
- ParlayPlay
Right now, fantasy props and over/under contests are the next best thing to full-fledged sports betting for fans in states without legal online sportsbooks.
However, some states have started to push back on pick’em style DFS contests.
There have now been several instances where local officials sent cease-and-desist orders to popular pick’em fantasy sites, causing them to pause their operation in those jurisdictions. The future of pick’em fantasy is uncertain, but players in most states still have access to high-quality pick’em fantasy sites.
Daily Fantasy vs. Sports Betting
The legalization of sports betting across the United States is giving a growing number of fans the ability to choose between daily fantasy leagues and legal sportsbooks.
There is a crossover appeal between daily fantasy sports and sports betting for obvious reasons. Both appeal to sports fans and require knowledge of the game, and skill plays a large role in players’ results.
In either format, highly skilled bettors can potentially generate long-term profits.
There are also some significant differences between daily fantasy sports and sports betting: