Fantasy Sports Betting Sites - Legal Daily Fantasy Leagues Online

Daily fantasy sports (DFS) contests put fans in the driver’s seat by giving them a chance to build their own dream teams and compete against players from around the country for real money prizes.

Today, daily fantasy sports contests are legal in most US states. Some states have passed legislation legalizing and regulating DFS sites while others simply allow the industry to operate under existing law. Only a handful of states have laws on the books that actively prohibit fantasy sports.

On this page, BettingUSA provides a complete getting started guide. Read on for our most highly recommended fantasy sites, reviews of major DFS providers and plain English explanations of how it all works.

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Table Of Contents

FanDuel: FanDuel.com opened for business in 2009 and quickly grew to become one of the biggest players in the fantasy betting market. FanDuel.com is based in New York City and has a solid reputation for processing payments and running fair events.

At FanDuel, you have two options for participating in events. You can either join competitions that other people have started or you can create your own with your own rules. The buyins for these events range from $1 to $200 and even higher from time to time. Payouts for winning bets vary based on the rules of the event and the number of people registered.

DraftKings: DraftKings.com is a Boston-based company that that hosts daily fantasy matchups every day of the week in a variety of sports. The main focus at DraftKings is on the NFL, NBA, MLB, NCAA basketball and NCAA football. One thing you’ll like about DraftKings is that the website is super easy to use. You don’t even need to log in to see all open competitions and or to practice drafting your own team.

Deposits and withdrawals are processed via credit cards, debit cards (including prepaid gift cards) and PayPal. When you withdraw your earnings, DraftKings.com sends the money back to whatever you used to deposit in the first place.

DraftKings also hosts several major promo events every season for each sport. During the last baseball season, for example, they hosted a $200 tournament with a guaranteed first place prize of $125,000. That is some serious money for fantasy sports.

MonkeyKnifeFight: Monkey Knife Fight is the most unique fantasy site in operation today as it involves making prop-style predictions on what will happen during upcoming games. This is arguably the closest thing to actual sports betting while still technically meeting the definition of daily fantasy sports, and for that reason is highly recommended for fans in states without legal sports betting.

Operating since 2018, Monkey Knife Fight advertises its platform as the easiest way to play fantasy sports for money. “No sharks allowed” is a phrase often used to describe this brand.

Which States Allow Daily Fantasy Sports?

Key

Red = Prohibited
Blue = Legal

Fantasy

Each state takes a different approach to regulating (or not regulating) daily fantasy sports. Some states have passed legislation specifically legalizing and regulating the conduct of DFS operators, others prohibit the activity and yet others do not regulate the activity at all.

Below are brief overviews of how every state in the Union treats daily fantasy sports along with links to read more.

Alabama

Alabama formally legalized daily fantasy sports (DFS) in 2019 with legislation establishing a registration process, taxes and basic consumer protection regulations. Fantasy operators are now required to register with the Office of the Attorney General and ensure customers are 19 or older.

Daily Fantasy Reviews

The daily fantasy industry is largely dominated by FanDuel and DraftKings, the two titans of DFS, but these are far from the only choices for sports fans across the country. There are numerous fantasy sites to choose from today and the differences between each are significant in some cases.

Choosing the right fantasy site involves finding a site that is both safe and that fits your personal needs. Players looking for massive tournament-style contests with million-dollar prizes will be best served with one of the established mainstream operators while those looking for the next best thing to actual sports betting will gravitate to an entirely different subset of DFS sites.

The following fantasy site reviews break it all down on a site-by-site basis. Our daily fantasy reviews are purposely neutral in tone but do discuss the pros and cons of every site in addition to explaining how each works.

Key Considerations in Our DFS Reviews

Below is a basic breakdown of the BettingUSA approach to reviewing fantasy sites. These are the key considerations BettingUSA makes when writing reviews and making recommendations.

How Each Works

The early days of daily fantasy were marked with dozens of competing sites that largely resembled one another in their approach to the business. Several years and many mergers later, the remaining mainstream fantasy companies offer a great deal of variety in how they work, the types of contests offered and more.

While many fantasy operators still place an emphasis on “traditional” multi-player salary cap contests, an increasing number of sites now specialize in certain types of games such as in-game predictions contests or snake-style drafts.

Understanding how each fantasy site works is critical to finding the best fit for your needs and play style.

Big Vs. Small

You can broadly categorize today’s fantasy betting sites as either “big” or “small.” Big sites include the likes of FanDuel and DraftKings. These sites have the largest user bases, greatest selection of leagues and the largest cash prizes. It’s always worth at least keeping an account open at one of the big sites because you’ll always have a large selection of leagues to choose from.

One of the primary advantages offered by big sites apart from volume is the chance to win life-changing amounts of money. For example, last year the two biggest sites each hosted multiple contests that awarded $1,000,000+ prizes to the grand champions. If you manage to pick the perfect team for a major contest, you can actually become a millionaire on the spot. That’s an opportunity that simply isn’t found at smaller sites.

Larger sites provide the largest potential reward for your dollar. The tournaments at major fantasy sites can attract thousands of entrants and potentially return five-figure payouts in tournaments with buyins under $20. Yes, it’s harder to win in large tournaments but big sites also host smaller contests with limited numbers of entrants.

Smaller fantasy sites do have their own advantages though. Here’s something you might not know – federal legislation requires all prizes to be made known before the tournament begins. Furthermore, prizes must not be determined by the number of entrants in a contest. This means every single contest you compete in has a guaranteed prize pool.

The advantage here is that smaller sites sometimes host tournaments in which the total sum of buyins is less than the guaranteed prize pool. All you former poker players out there will recognize this as an “overlay.” It means you’re playing for a bigger prize than what the number of entrants can justify. This results in increased value for your dollar.

Sports Offered

Major sports leagues are covered by all major fantasy betting sites. The NFL, MLB and NBA are the big-three that are covered almost universally. If your primary focus will be on one of the major professional North American leagues, you ca play pretty much anywhere you want.

Other leagues might require more looking around. For example, the PGA is covered by DraftKings but not by FanDuel. NASCAR, MMA and other leagues are sometimes covered by smaller sites trying to carve out their own little niche in the already-competitive daily fantasy market. You can check out any of our reviews to see which site covers which leagues or refer to the chart below.

Reputation

Reputation is always something to consider when looking for a place to participate in real money leagues. Although most daily fantasy sites are legitimate places to play, it never hurts to do a little research and see what you can dig up. The industry is not regulated, and no licenses are issued by any sort of official governing body.

This is one of the reasons I tend to stick with bigger sites for my fantasy needs. Large sites didn’t get large by accident. They got there by giving players a fair game and paying winners quickly. Plus, larger sites are more likely to be financially stable than smaller sites that are just getting started.

It’s amazing what you can find about a site with a few well-executed Google searches. You can also check out our fantasy reviews to read up on what we think about all the major names in online fantasy. We don’t recommend sites that we wouldn’t play at with our own money.

Most states have since passed laws to formally legalize fantasy sports contests. However, some state laws could possibly be interpreted to apply to all forms of online wagering. Customers from the following states are not accepted by most DFS sites.

DFS Bonuses and Promotional Offers

Apart from massive advertising campaigns, one of the primary ways in which fantasy sites compete for your business is through the use of bonuses and promotions. All the major sites are already handing out bonuses worth hundreds of dollars in return for customers signing up and trying a few real money leagues.

Are Fantasy Bonuses a Good Deal?

Yes. Although all bonuses come with fine print, most are a good deal. You get extra cash in return for doing something that you probably would have done anyways. A deposit bonus just makes the deal a little sweeter for the new player.

If you have any intent on participating in real money leagues, you might as well get a bonus while you’re at it. You can play in games like you would have anyways while slowly releasing the bonus cash. It’s a win-win for everyone.

Free Entry to Daily Fantasy Leagues

Free entry promos let you participate in certain contests without paying the buyin like you normally would. Sometimes these are just small contests while other times you can join large tournaments with major prize pools.

It’s quite common to see free entry tickets offered as an incentive for depositing. For example, DraftKings has offered all new customers a free contest entry for years now as a thank you for making a deposit. Sometimes you even get free entries just for signing up. Back when I first joined DraftKings, they let me play in one $1 heads-up NFL league. It wasn’t the most valuable thing in the world, but it was nice because it gave me a chance to test the games there without depositing.

Frequent Player Points

Most fantasy sites have some sort of rewards program designed to encourage player loyalty. For example, FanDuel awards FanDuel Points (FDPs) every time you enter a game. These points add up over time and can be used to take advantage of other promos or enter paid contests for free.

Other Fantasy Promotions

Welcome bonuses are far from the only types of promotions you’ll encounter in your daily fantasy career. Sites are always coming up with some new promo or other as an incentive to keep you happy and active. Promos change all the time but you’ll be notified by e-mail whenever your site comes up with something new. The main thing to remember is that it is important to read all the details before you take up any offer. Read the fine print and make sure the promotion works with your budget and style of play.

How Daily Fantasy Sports Work

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 day (or a week in some cases). This allows players to join real money contests and get paid that same day.

Sports fans can give it a try by visiting a website such as FanDuel.com or DraftKings.com for a list of upcoming contests. Most major sports leagues, including the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, NASCAR, UFC and many others are offered when in-season. Tennis, golf and college sports contests are also covered by the biggest fantasy sites.

Every fantasy contest covers a specific “slate” of games, usually games to be played on a single day or over the weekend. For example, a typical Sunday NFL slate covers all NFL games scheduled for this upcoming Sunday.

After joining a competition, entrants build a dream team of athletes expected to play in that slate of games. Most DFS contests give players a fixed virtual salary and price each athlete according to his or her desirability. For example, a star quarterback will cost significantly more than a backup QB.

DFS players can pick anyone from around the league expected to play, but every athlete comes with a price and players must stay within the salary cap.

For example, imagine your virtual salary cap is $50,000. If you draft a high quality quarterback or running back for $9,000, you will inevitably have to give up strength in some other key position because your pick just took nearly 20% of your salary cap and you still have slots to fill.

After you have assembled your fantasy team, you’re all set. Now, just wait for the games to play out and watch how the athletes on your team perform in the real world. You will rack up points as your players rack up stats in real life. Touchdown passes earn points for your quarterback, turnovers earn points for your defense and so on.

If your team collectively scores more points than the competition, you will be paid a real money payout.

Competitions can be set up in a variety of formats. You can go head-to-head against just one other person or you can join a tournament-style competition with up to 2,000 other people. Payouts will vary based on how the competition is set up. It might be winner-take-all in the case of head-to-head matchups or there might be prizes for the top performers in a bigger tournament-style event.

In any case, the goal is to get as many points as possible. You’ll have to pick your team carefully because you’re required to stay within the fantasy salary cap. That means you can’t just pick all the all-stars and cruise to an easy win. You’ll need to make the most of your salary to get a well-rounded team capable of racking up stats.

Getting Started

For anyone completely new to daily fantasy sports, this section details the basic step-by-step process for getting started.

1. Choose a fantasy site and sign up for an account

The most important part of getting started is choosing the right fantasy site. There are many to choose from today, but only a handful stand above all the rest in terms of reputation, prize pools and user experience. You can see our recommendations at the top of this page for a list of DFS sites that are safe, reputable and worthwhile.

Signing up for an account will require your name, address, e-mail, a username and a password. Fantasy sites are required by law to verify the identity of every customer, which means you may be asked at some point to provide proof of your identity by submitting your SSN and a photo of your driver’s license, passport or state-issued ID. Note that this is normal and is required by law in most states.

2. Make your first deposit

After you sign up for an account and log in for the first time, you will likely be prompted to make a deposit. If not, you should see a “deposit now” button on the main home screen or by visiting your account settings.

Each fantasy site accepts a different range of deposit methods, but some of the most common include credit cards, debit cards, PayPal and electronic bank transfer. In most cases, deposits are credited to your account instantly and you’ll be able to join your first contest immediately after depositing.

3. Join your first fantasy contest

You can join your first fantasy contest by logging in and browsing the lobby showing upcoming contests for the league of your choice. At most fantasy sites, selecting the name of any contest will bring up an informational screen showing key information such as the entry fee, top prize, payout structure and other important information.

Select the contest of your choice and tap or click the “enter” button to pay your entry fee to begin your draft.

4. Draft your team

Now, it’s time to make your draft picks and build the best possible team of players from around the league.

Each fantasy site and contest type has its own approach to the drafting process. Some contests may have you draft a full nine athletes while others may only have you pick six athletes. Yet other contests involve “tiers” in which a single athlete from multiple skill tiers is picked with no salary considerations whatsoever.

Whether it’s a standard salary cap game or some other format, the goal in all fantasy contests is to build the most effective and efficient team possible.

5. Watch and Wait

After you have drafted your team and submitted your lineup, all that remains is to wait and watch the games play out. As the real-world counterparts of your fantasy team accumulate stats in their games, your fantasy team is awarded points. If you score more points than your opponents, you win the contest and collect the prize money.

All prizes are awarded automatically following the conclusion of the last game of the slate. These winnings can be used to enter additional contests or cashed out to your bank account.

Are Fantasy Sports Sites Legal?

Yes. Daily fantasy is legal at the federal level and in most states. A handful of states with overly-broad gambling laws prohibit daily fantasy contests, but the majority of you reading this have access to DFS sites.

A growing number of states are also moving to legalize traditional sports betting, but the daily fantasy industry had a head start thanks to a special exemption f rom the UIGEA. The lawmakers who wrote the UIGEA specifically listed fantasy sports as exempt from the law.

The legal situation wasn’t always this cut and dry, though. When FanDuel and DraftKings were undergoing their first major growth phase they had to deal with significant uncertainty in nearly every state.

Major DFS sites consider their contests to be games of skill and entered most states under that assumption. Attorneys general in multiple states ordered FanDuel and DraftKings to cease operations, and this initiated a multi-front legal battle that had both sites fighting for their very existence.

DFS operators also initiated extensive state-level lobbying campaigns, hoping to shape the perception of lawmakers across the country. FanDuel and DraftKings went on a national advertising blitz, continued forging partnerships with professional sports teams, and undergoing multiple investment rounds.

These efforts were largely successful and fantasy sports sites were able to gain 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 clearly prohibit daily fantasy sports.

Types of Fantasy Contests Explained

Fantasy sports sites have introduced quite a variety of contest types over the years that we can generally classify into two major categories: cash games and tournaments.

Types of DFS Tournaments

Tournaments: DFS Tournaments are fantasy contests that are difficult to win but which offer large payouts. Imagine playing in a large contest with thousands of players and a $50,000 payout for first place. That is the prototypical tournament-style contest.

These are very difficult games to win, but the rewards when you do win make it all worth your while. Tournaments require considerable patience and confidence as long stretches between notable wins are just a part of the game.

Payout structures in tournaments are top-heavy, which means you get the most for finishing in first place, a little less for finishing in second and so on down the line. Since the goal is to finish in as high a place as possible, tournament players tend to build volatile but high-ceiling lineups in a sort of go big or go home approach. You’ll need to take some risks when it comes to building lineups for tournaments.

Big tournaments frequently accept multiple entries per user, which means you can enter a variety of different lineups in an effort to find one that gets the job done. Of course, your opponents can do the same, and this means you’ll be facing stiff competition from an endless variation of lineups.

GPPs: The term GPP refers to guaranteed prize pool fantasy tournaments. Technically all DFS contests are guaranteed prize pool events, but generally, the term “Gpp” at fantasy sites refers to large tournaments with big prize pools.
Freerolls: Fantasy freerolls have no entry fee but offer a real-money payout to the winners – often used as an incentive for new customers to sign up or as a part of other promotional activities for existing customers.
Satellites: Satellite contests award entry to a larger tournament in lieu of a cash payout. For example, bankroll limitations might have you enter a $5 DFS satellite for a shot at winning entry to a $100 tournament that would otherwise have been too expensive to buy in directly.
Tournaments: Some DFS sites use the term “tournament” to specifically refer to contests with 3-100 players. It tends to work that the biggest contests with the biggest prizes are called GPPs while smaller tournaments are just called tournaments.
Beginners Only: DFS sites are required by law in some states to offer beginners only tournaments, which are only open to players who do not have much experience. For example, DraftKings hosts beginners only games open to players who have played in 50 or fewer contests.
Steps: Steps are a series of small fantasy sports tournaments with buy-ins that increase as you move up levels. Each step contest on the way up awards entry to the next level up until you get to the final step and play for a larger cash prize. You may enter directly at any level or start from the bottom and work your way up.

DFS Cash Games

Cash game contests at DFS sites are much easier to win and offer smaller payouts. Rather than looking to score a massive win, fantasy sports cash game players are looking to win smaller payouts more frequently.

Head-to-head contests and 50/50s are examples of DFS cash games. In each, you only need to outperform a limited number of people to guarantee a fixed payout. For example, imagine a 50/50 game in which 100 people enter. In this type of contest, you only need to place in the top 50% of the field to earn a payout equal to double your entry fee.

Payout structures in fantasy cash games are flat, which means it doesn’t matter if you finish in first place or just barely squeak by to finish in the top half of the field. All that matters is you beat enough players to earn a payout. As such, players tend to draft lineups that are safe – the goal isn’t to finish in first place; it is to draft a lineup with the best chance possible of performing just well enough to earn a payout. There is no need to make risky plays in cash games.

Types of Fantasy Sports Cash Game Contests

Head-to-Head: Play against a single opponent for a winner-take-all prize pool. You either win the contest and double your money (minus a little commission taken by the fantasy site) or finish in second place and lose your buyin.
50/50s: The goal in fifty-fifty and double-up dfs contests is to place in the top 50% of the field. If 100 people enter, 50 people win double their money (minus commission) and 50 people go home empty-handed.
Multipliers: Multipliers are based on the 50/50 model but offer payouts to a smaller portion of the field. For example, triple-ups offer a 3x payout to the top 33% of the field while quadruple-ups offer a 4x payout to the top 25% of the field.

Types of Drafts

All the above types of contests can also vary in how your lineup is constructed.

Salary Cap: Most online fantasy games use the salary cap model for lineups. That is, you’re given a set amount of money to spend on players and then use that money to 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: Snake drafts have been used in real-world fantasy leagues for years. In a snake draft, athletes who are drafted become unavailable to everyone else. The snake draft format keeps things fair by reversing the order of picks each round. This means the person who picks first in the 1^st round will pick last in the 2^nd round while the person who picked last in the 1^st round will pick first in the 2^nd
Auction Draft: An auction draft works sort of like a snake draft, but rather than simply drafting an athlete when it is your turn, you nominate an athlete. The nominated athlete then goes on auction as you and the other GMs all bid on him. The highest bidder gets the athlete. This is a very strategic form of drafting because you have a limited salary and must choose very carefully not only who you bid on, but also who you nominate.
Pick ‘Em: This term is not very well-defined, and you’ll find fantasy sites use it to describe all sorts of contest types. One type of pick ‘em contest introduced by DraftKings eliminates the salary cap altogether and instead presents you with a group of players for each position until you have filled out an entire roster.

Daily Fantasy vs. Traditional Sports Betting

The legalization of sports betting across the United States beginning in 2018 is giving a growing number of fans the ability to choose between daily fantasy and legal sportsbooks. Some are drawn to the daily fantasy format, while others prefer making sports bets. Some customers enjoy both.

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 your results. In both, highly-skilled players can potentially generate a long-term profit.

There are also some major differences that make each a unique experience. Some of those differences are obvious, others not so much. Let’s take a look at some of the ways the two are similar and some of the ways in which they differ.

Different: The Big Picture vs. Specific Outcomes

Daily fantasy tends to take a bigger picture approach. You’re not just betting on the outcome of a single game or how many points a single player will score in a game; you are going to be building a team of players from around the league – many of whom will be competing in different games.

Building a daily fantasy lineup means you’ll want to consider a variety of players, who they’ll be playing against, how much each player will cost to draft, depending on how strategic you want to get.

Sports betting also requires a wide knowledge base, but individual wagers are much more specific in nature: Will the Broncos win tomorrow? How many points will be scored in tonight’s NBA game? It takes just as much skill to do well in sports betting overall, but each individual bet deals with a much narrower focus compared to drafting a full lineup.

Similar: You Compete Against Other People

Daily fantasy sports and traditional sports betting both put you in competition against other people. People often say sports betting is played against the house, which although true to an extent, does not take into account all the other bettors out there who are also researching their wagers, placing bets and impacting the lines.

On the other hand, the competition is definitely much more in your face when it comes to daily fantasy. You’ll actually see and compete in games with other people in a fantasy contest. Sports betting is a much more solo type of activity.

Different: Daily Fantasy is Legal in More States

Sports betting is quickly catching up to daily fantasy in terms of where it’s legal, but DFS still has the win in this regard. We always urge readers to stay away from offshore betting sites, but even if you ignore that advice, you will still find it quite inconvenient making deposits and getting paid. Daily fantasy is the more convenient form of sports gaming in most states.

Similar: Skilled Players Can Generate a Consistent Profit

Sufficiently skilled players can profit long term in both DFS and sports betting, but it’s extremely difficult and only a small percentage of players are able to achieve regular success.

Different: Sports Betting is Easier for the Casual Sports Fan

The vast majority of sports bettors and fantasy players are what we call casual players, who play for entertainment. They like to win, but don’t take it very seriously and often just draft a slate of their favorite players. For these casual sports fans, regular sports betting is a more convenient way to get action. There is a much lower time investment when it comes to researching a single wager as opposed to drafting an entire lineup.

Daily Fantasy Sports Betting

Which States Allow Daily Fantasy Sports?

Daily Fantasy Reviews

DFS Bonuses and Promotional Offers

How Daily Fantasy Sports Work

Getting Started

Are Fantasy Sports Sites Legal?

Types of Fantasy Contests Explained

Daily Fantasy vs. Traditional Sports Betting

Knowledge Base

Online Gambling

Problem Gambling

Company Profile

Legal Sportsbook Reviews

Daily Fantasy Sports Betting

Fantasy Sports Sites We Recommend

Which States Allow Daily Fantasy Sports?

Daily Fantasy Reviews

DFS Bonuses and Promotional Offers

How Daily Fantasy Sports Work

Getting Started

Are Fantasy Sports Sites Legal?

Types of Fantasy Contests Explained

Daily Fantasy vs. Traditional Sports Betting