Pros
Intuitive best ball formats Simple pick'em games Earn rake back rewards Refer-a-friend bonusesCons
Lacks salary cap contestsIt is not the perfect fantasy app for everyone, but Underdog Sports concentrates its efforts on a few key strengths to make it an easy choice for some players. One need only ask Twitter for best ball recommendations to see Underdog may actually be the top dog, at least in certain fantasy sports categories.
Underdog Sports is also a prominent operator in the pick'em fantasy space. Fans who prefer fast, straightforward action can enter Underdog fantasy pick'em contests to make higher/lower predictions on athletes' statistical projections for real-money payouts.
Underdog Sports doesn’t do it all, but what it does do, it executes very well. Former DRAFT players who enjoyed the best ball concept will be happy to know that its founder, Jeremy Levine, is also the man behind Underdog Sports.
A pleasing interface and lightweight mobile app wrap the concept into a pretty package that makes it easy for newbies and vets alike to get straight to the action.
Underdog Sports Legal States
Underdog Sports offers each of its main types of contests (more on how they work below) in different states:
Underdog Sports Promo Code: BETUSA
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
Underdog Sports Promo Code | BETUSA |
| Welcome Bonus | Choose Your Bonus |
| How It Works | Choose one of the following bonuses:
|
| Eligibility | New customers 18/21+ |
Underdog Sports Bonus Offer
New users who sign up with the Underdog promo code BETUSA can choose from one of three welcome bonuses:
- 50% Deposit Match (up to $1,000): Make a first deposit of at least $10 to receive an extra 50% in bonus funds. For example, if you sign up and deposit $100, you’ll receive an additional $50 in bonus funds.
- Play $5, Get $100: Choose this bonus and play a $5 entry to receive a $10 bonus entry each day for 10 days.
- 5 Free Rips Packs (up to $750): If you select this bonus, you’ll receive five free packs worth up to $750 to try Underdog Rips (mystery packs of real, physical trading cards)
Underdog Sports Promotions
Fans can follow Underdog Sports on social media for updates on the latest promotions, which can take various forms, such as:
- Gimme Pick Tokens: Tokens fans can apply to any roster selection to have it graded a win regardless of the athlete's actual performance.
- Multiplier Boosts: Enhances the standard payout on a winning roster - for example, a roster that would normally pay 10x may instead pay 20x with a multiplier boost
- Pick'em Specials: Adjusts an athlete's projection to heavily favor the user - for example, adjusting a starting quarterback's passing total to 0.5 yards
- Vulture Protection: Get your entry refunded a free pick if you pick over on a running back's TD total but an athlete from a different position scores a rushing TD - for example, your RB gets your team to the end zone but they score with a quarterback sneak (rest of your roster must win to receive vulture protection)
Underdog Sports Rewards Program
Underdog Sports has an underappreciated rakeback rewards scheme called the Gladiator Program. Customers who enter a minimum number of paid contests in a week qualify for 10% to 50% rake back paid as bonus funds.
Note: Rake is how fantasy sports sites make money. It's the difference between the total value of entry fees paid into a contest and prizes issued to entrants. For example, a $20 contest with five entrants and 10% rake would collect $100 in entry fees and return $90 in prizes. That means each entrant contributed $18 to the prize pool and paid $2 in rake. A user on a 50% rakeback plan would get back $1 for entering that contest.
Underdog's Gladiator Program offers rakeback on Battle Royale entry fees year-round. However, Best Ball and pick'em contests only generate rake back during promotional periods.
For Battle Royale contests, players can achieve three rake back tiers based on the number of paid entries they enter in a single week:
- 25-49 Entries: 10% rake back
- 50-74 Entries: 25% rake back
- 75+ Entries: 50% rake back
Best Ball and pick'em rakeback rates vary because rakeback is only available for those contests during time-limited promos. Here's an example from a past Gladiators promotion that ran for three months and awarded rakeback on all Best Ball contests:
- 50+ Entries during the entire promo period: 10% rake back
- 150+ Entries: 15% rake back
- 250+ Entries: 20% rake back
Players can follow Underdog Drafts (@underdogdrafts) and Underdog Sports (@underdog) on X or opt-in to promotional e-mails to receive a heads-up whenever a rakeback promo launches for Best Ball or pick'em contests.
The Underdog Sports rakeback program provides tremendous value to frequent players, but there's room for improvement in two aspects.
First, the Gladiator Program is easy to miss, and the details are hard to find. Underdog Sports could improve in both regards by publishing a comprehensive explainer somewhere prominent on its app and website.
Second, there's not an easy way for players to track their progress in the Underdog rake back program. It would be ideal for Underdog Sports to implement a rewards tracker displaying how much rakeback users have generated since the last payment and how many more contests they need to enter to advance to the next tier.
Instead, Underdog notifies users that they have become "Gladiators" via e-mail once they have reached the minimum threshold of entries to qualify for rakeback or move up a tier.
That said, those are relatively minor complaints because other daily fantasy rewards programs tend to be underwhelming or nonexistent. Rake back is practically unheard of in daily fantasy, so being able to accumulate rewards at a nice clip is a big plus for Underdog customers.
Underdog Sports Refer-a-Friend Program
Underdog Sports maintains a simple refer-a-friend program. Current customers can refer their friends by inviting them to download the app and input the referrer’s username in the promo field when signing up.
For each new user existing customers refer, they receive $10 in site credit after their referrals deposit at least $10 and play through it one time.
Underdog Fantasy Games & Contests
Underdog made its reputation on best ball fantasy, but it offers a range of contest types covering short-term and season-long commitments. The one mainstay category that Underdog lacks is salary cap contests, as its games are all of the snake draft or pick’em variety.
Underdog Sports App Review
One of Underdog Sports' strongest points is its lightweight and functional app. Users will find it intuitive due to its simple styling and intelligent presentation of information. Getting started is easy, even for users unfamiliar with some game types.
Many users compare it to the former DRAFT app in online discussions, which is a positive because customers also liked that one before FanDuel acquired and retired it. With much of the same team that built DRAFT now employed by the company, the Underdog app feels a lot like a better version of DRAFT.
After signing up and logging in, customers can browse the main games lobby to view all upcoming contests, sorted by type. A simple tab system allows users to view only the game types they want and quickly enter contests.
When users select a specific contest, the Underdog app displays all relevant rules and info specific to that game. Among other details, the app also shows how much rake Underdog is taking out of each contest. All the major fantasy operators collect rake, but only Underdog is transparent about it.
Underdog Sports Deposit Methods
Underdog Sports accepts most basic deposit methods:
Players can withdraw their winnings via PayPal or ACH.
Underdog Sports FAQ
Expert Opinion: Is Underdog Sports Legit?
Underdog Sports is a legitimate fantasy sports app in terms of reputation, security, and overall quality.
Since its launch in 2020, Underdog Sports has filled a massive void by offering DFS fans uncomplicated and less time-intensive forms of best ball and snake draft fantasy contests. Underdog Sports is now a market leader in best ball DFS, online snake draft tournaments, and pick'em predictions.
The Underdog approach to daily fantasy is refreshing, even if it isn’t for everyone. Fans interested in expanding beyond the shark-infested waters of mainstream DFS sites should consider giving Underdog Sports a chance.
Wes Burns has more than a decade's worth of experience as a writer, researcher and analyst in the legal gambling industry and is co-founder of BettingUSA.com. As a former professional online poker player, Wes approaches his work from the viewpoint of players.