Author:
Sophie
Last Updated on:
09/09/2021
Topic:
Review
Topic:
Review
Place Your Bets with the DraftKings Review & Rating 2021
Rating: Is DraftKings Legit?
In this DraftKings review we will go through all aspects of the operator in detail. This includes the available bonus offers and payment methods, as well as the answer to the question ‘is DraftKings secure?’ We will also give our DraftKings ratings.
The highlights of DraftKings – as our DraftKings ratings will show – are a few decent promotions, the stylish website design, and especially the dedicated eSports fantasy betting feature. Our DraftKings review should give you enough info to decide if this is the ideal operator for you. However, if you think DraftKings isn’t worth your time, it might be worth reading our eSports betting reviews.
DraftKings Pro and Con
- The largest fantasy betting platform worldwide.
- Hundreds of fantasy betting contests every day.
- A handful of decent bonus offers available.
- Simple, sleek and stylish website design.
- Doesn’t allow traditional eSports bets.
Company
Sport
| Company | DraftKings Ltd |
|---|---|
| Headquarter | 225 Franklin Street. 26th Floor. Boston, MA 02110. United States |
| Year of Founding | - |
| CEO | - |
| Website | sportsbook.draftkings.com |
| Available Languages | - |
| Customer Support | Live Chat, Phone, Email Support |
| support@draftkings.com | |
| Phone | 877-659-6066 |
| Licence | |
 | |
| Verified by | GamCare |
 | |
| Payment Methods |       |
Show More
| Betting Markets | |
|---|---|
| Live Streams | No |
| Odd Level | - |
| Sports | |
| Betting Tax | - |
| Sports | |
| Cash Out | Not Available |
Table of Content
The first part of our DraftKings review is regarding the promotions on offer (using those advertised on the US site as an example – they may vary depending on what region you’re from).
There are a handful of offers listed on the ‘Promos’ page, most of which are eligible for existing customers. Here we’ll focus on the welcome bonus aimed at new customers. If you want to learn more about this promotion, take a look at our dedicated review on the current DraftKings promo codes.
This is a deposit bonus up to $1000. This may sound like a great offer on the surface, but don’t get too excited just yet. Let’s take a look at the terms & conditions.
- The bonus you receive is equal to 20% of your first deposit (minimum $5). Therefore your first deposit must be $5000 if you want to get the full bonus amount.
- The wagering requirements are 5x your deposit (or 25x your bonus amount). So if you deposited the full $5000, you’ll need to play through a whopping $25,000.
- If you bet on the sportsbook, the minimum odds are -300 (1.33).
- You have 90 days from your first deposit to meet these requirements.
So you see, to get the $1000 in bonus money that initially looked so enticing, as well as any subsequent winnings, you need to invest $25,000 of your own funds. It doesn’t seem quite as useful anymore, does it?
Still, you may find such an offer worth your while if you’re a high-roller. Low-stakes or casual players, on the other hand, may not find it very beneficial – even if you were to deposit $50 and get just $10 in bonus money, you have to spend $250 in wagering requirements. Not really worth it for ten bucks.
This has a higher monetary value than most welcome offers, and the wagering requirements are far lower than most, but where it falls down is that it is only a 20% match on your deposit. Average DraftKings ratings at best.
For a betting website that offers a 100% match bonus up to $1000 (plus a $25 free bet), read our Unikrn review!
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Highlights
DraftKings is split into three separate websites, one for each product – daily fantasy sports, the sportsbook and the casino.
Each site has its own version of the DraftKings logo: the original logo – a green ‘D’ wearing an orange crown with no background – for daily fantasy sports; a white ‘D’ and crown on a green background for the sportsbook; and a white ‘D’ and crown on a black background for the casino.
Visiting each product site, we found that each has a similar layout but a slightly different color scheme, which matches the individual logo. These slight variations are a nice touch. They create a professional feel and give the impression of separate arms of the same brand – uniform yet distinct.
The design of all three sites is simple, sleek and stylish. The interface is effortless to use, even if you’re relatively new to betting online. All of the important links and information you’ll need are easy to find – across the top, on the left and in the footer of each page. On the sportsbook, you’ll also find the BetSlip on the right.
When it comes to the mobile app, you’ll be glad to know it is just as attractive and straightforward as its desktop counterpart. It has most of the same features, so you should find it a perfect alternative for the desktop site when you’re betting on the go.
All in all, we’re sure you’ll agree that the three distinct desktop sites, as well as the mobile app, deserve above-average DraftKings ratings.
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- Notifications
- Highlights
- Personalized Feed
The available payment methods include:
- Debit Cards
- Credit Cards
- Online Bank Transfer
- PayPal
- Prepaid DraftKings Play+ Card
- Cash at the Casino Cage
- ACH/eCheck
- Check
The minimum deposit is $5. Maximum deposits will be relatively low if you’ve recently created an account, but it is possible to increase the maximum by contacting customer support.
The minimum withdrawal is $20. The operator’s policy means your withdrawal will be issued via your original deposit method. If your withdrawal amount is higher than your initial deposit, you will receive the profit via Paypal or check.
Withdrawals are processed Monday to Friday between 9am and 5pm, Eastern Time. It can take up to three days for the operator to process your withdrawal. It will then take between 2 and 7 days for the funds to appear in your account. There are no transaction fees.
Though this number of payment methods is lower than the average international operator, this is still a better variety than most online betting sites based in the US. So we’ve decided to give average DraftKings ratings.
Whenever you run into a problem, your first course of action should be to check the site’s FAQ section. At DraftKings, there are not one but three FAQ sections – one for each product site. This is more useful than having one section that encompasses all through products, as it’s quicker and easier to find exactly what you’re looking for. The daily fantasy sports FAQs has 9 sections, while the sportsbook has 5 – this shows how concise they are.
When contacting customer support, each product site has different options. For daily fantasy sports, there is an email address and a query form. The support staff are available from 6am to 11:59pm every day. The sportsbook also has an email address and a query form, but its support staff is available 24/7. The casino doesn’t have an email address, only the query form – also available 24/7.
Unfortunately there is currently no live chat feature – by far the most useful customer support option, and these days regarded as a must in the online betting industry. There is also no phone support, which is less common than live chat, but still good to see.
You’ll find the customer support staff to be both responsive and knowledgeable. Whatever problem you face, they should be able to help you.
Though we believe the support staff deserve high ratings for their friendliness and helpfulness, unfortunately the contact options aren’t as good as most sites. This means we can only give average DraftKings in our review.
It’s finally time in our DraftKings review to give you the answer to the most important question you should ask yourself when searching for the ideal online betting site for you. That is, as we mentioned earlier, ‘is DraftKings legal?’
The reason this is so important these days is because there are betting sites online that aim to scam as many punters as possible before they get caught. Therefore it’s more essential than ever before to find an operator that you can definitely trust with your time, effort and money.
So, is DraftKings reliable? We can confirm that the answer is a resounding ‘yes’. And we’ll tell you why.
According to US law, there are certain strict rules and restrictions that a US-based operator must stay in line with. DraftKings fully adheres to all of these rules and restrictions in all 11 states it presently operates online in. On top of that, the operator uses 256-bit encryption, which is the level of encryption your bank uses.
So in terms of whether there is any chance of you falling foul to a DraftKings scam, it’s clear that this is extremely unlikely if not downright impossible. That means we’re giving top DraftKings ratings for the operator’s reliability.
However, if you’re still not convinced, you may find it useful to compare DraftKings with another operator. You can do that by heading over to our review that explores the answer to the question ‘is Golden Nugget legit?’
+ 10
The invite-only VIP program is only available to the most loyal of DraftKings’ customers. The only way to get an invite is through long-term frequent play.
This VIP program is similar to most rewards and loyalty programs, so you may already be familiar with how it works. Basically, spending money earns you loyalty points (called ‘crowns’). As you earn crowns, your loyalty level increases (there are 6 tiers, from bronze to black). The higher your loyalty level, the bigger and better your rewards become.
The biggest downfall is that the VIP program is invite-only – most operators have almost identical programs that are available to all customers.
There are also a few more promotions for existing customers – a relatively higher number than you’ll see at many other online betting sites (though they’re not exactly the most spectacular). Check DraftKings’ website for more details on these
Overall we’re awarding average DraftKings ratings for this aspect of the operator.
DraftKings Sports Betting
There are currently 21 sports to choose from at DraftKings. These range from the world’s most popular betting sports such as football, basketball and soccer, to more niche options like cycling, handball, and lacrosse.
There aren’t as many exceptionally uncommon sports as you’ll find at other betting sites – no futsal, Gaelic hurling, surfing, etc. DraftKings seems to stick to the top betting sports – though perhaps they are planning to expand.
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To test DraftKings’ odds, we performed an odds comparison between DraftKings and one of its close US-based competitors: Fox Bet. We used the full time result odds for the first round Euro 2020 soccer match between France and Germany. Here’s what we found:
- France to win: DraftKings = +165 (2.65); Fox Bet = +160 (2.60)
- Draw: DraftKings = +220 (3.20); Fox Bet = +210 (3.10)
- Germany to win: DraftKings = +185 (2.85); Fox Bet = +175 (2.75)
As you can see, DraftKings has better odds across the board.
However, DraftKings are known for charging the highest juice on the market, so you will want to take this into account when you’re looking for the best line you can find.
If you want to read more about Fox Bet, you can do so by checking our Fox Bet rating.
You can bet in-play on most of the available sports, all with a wide range of betting options. The odds are updated in real time, and the operator has some of the most detailed stats on the market – they don’t just tell you how teams have performed against others, but also how previous bets on the teams have performed.
Another highlight of the DraftKings sportsbook is that it is one of a select few of US-based betting sites that you can live stream select sports on. However, the current options are very limited. You can live stream the sports that are available on both your desktop and mobile, as long as your account balance is greater than $0.
Limits – No Specifics
There are no specific betting limits listed on the operator’s website. It is possible to set your own limits via your account settings.
DraftKings has a sportsbook that is average or above in every category. There aren’t quite as many sports for you to bet on when compared to other operators, but it does contain almost all of the most popular betting sports. It has very competitive odds, though the juice is high. And there is live streaming available, yet only on a few of the less common sports and leagues as of yet.
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DraftKings ESports
The first thing to note is that you can’t bet on eSports in the way you may have become accustomed to, as eSports betting isn’t generally allowed at US-based betting sites. Therefore DraftKings only allows fantasy eSports betting.
Some of the fantasy eSports options include Call of Duty, Counter Strike: Global Offensive, League of Legends, Rocket Legends and eNASCAR.
You’ll find all of the major leagues for these eSports, though due to the fantasy betting element it’s unlikely that any of the smaller events will be covered.
DraftKings offers a great range of fantasy eSports tournaments. There are freerolls, qualifiers, head-to-heads, multi-entry, sit & gos, double ups, guaranteed prize pools and winner takes all events, among others.
Here are two examples of the available tournaments:
- DraftKings Tournament: You pay an entry fee into a tournament that has a set amount of price money. The prize pool is awarded in decreasing increments – the winner receives the most, and so on.
- DraftKings 50/50: Again, you pay an entry fee. The difference is that half of the entrants win and half of them lose.
Fantasy betting doesn’t use standard odds formats. Instead, you pay to enter into a tournament with the hopes of winning a share of the prize pool when it ends.
Therefore standard sports betting factors like odds and betting limits also don’t apply in the same way. Tournaments differ in the number of players that enter and how high the buy-in is, both of which affect your chances of winning, as well as how much you can win.
Not including the freeroll tournaments, entry fees range from as little as $0.10 to around $300-500.
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Fantasy eSports isn’t exactly compatible with in-play betting and live streaming. If you’re used to traditional sports betting, you are probably used to checking real time odds and stats, as well as being able to place bets and cash-out mid-game.
For example, betting in-play on League of Legends gives you options to place wagers on in-game events like the team that scores first blood, first tower, first dragon and much more – all while being able to watch a live stream of the game being played.
Well, that’s not how fantasy betting works. You choose your fantasy team by predicting outcomes in advance. So although your fantasy team earns points for how the players perform, there’s no reason for you to make any decisions or changes during the actual match-ups.
So don’t expect live streaming either. Instead you’ll have to find a live stream elsewhere. Hopefully DraftKings can expand its live streaming feature to eSports in the future!
As we’ve discussed, DraftKings is one of the industry leaders when it comes to fantasy eSports betting. If that’s your thing, or if it’s of interest to you, then this operator is worth checking out. But if you prefer traditional eSports betting, including the smaller events and in-play betting, then you will need to look elsewhere.
DraftKings Casino
Our ratings in this DraftKings review will show you that the operator is an above average betting site overall. There aren’t many payment options or ways to contact customer support, but every other aspect is reasonably impressive. Most of all, this is an ideal site for anyone who enjoys or is looking to attempt fantasy sports betting.
If for whatever reason, you are interested in fantasy betting yet you don’t think DraftKings is the one for you, check our FanDuel reviews for another possibility.
DraftKings Review FAQ
🏅Is DraftKings one of the top operators on the market?
There are countless operators worldwide, with more and more every year. Some will be better than others when it comes to what you’re looking for, so you need to learn all you can about an operator before you commit. Read our dedicated review on DraftKings to find out if this is the operator for you.
💸What bonus offers does DraftKings currently offer?
Most if not all betting sites offer one or more bonus offers. And they are constantly changing their offers to get ahead of the competition. Take a look at our review of DraftKings to see the promotions they currently offer.
🌟Is DraftKings legit?
With the recent rise in betting sites that try to scam unwitting customers, it is now more essential than ever to find a trusted operator. Therefore, you should check our dedicated review to find the answer to the question ‘is DraftKings legal?
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