Daily Fantasy Sports Betting

You can gamble on sports in two distinct ways, sports betting or daily fantasy sports (DFS). Sports gambling has been around for centuries in some form or another. It’s been available in modern-day sportsbooks for decades.

Daily fantasy is a modern entry into the gambling world that came about in the early 2010s. This industry exploded in the mid-2010s amid a barrage of advertisements aimed at sports fans.

• Feb 02, 2021 It remains to be seen how daily fantasy sports operators will choose to respond to the IRS memorandum that opines DFS companies must pay the wagering tax as games of chance when filing their 2020.
• Daily fantasy sports contests, however, take place over a single round of games, and are played online at specialist sites. Anyone can join these sites, known as daily fantasy sports sites, and pay money to enter any contests they wish to take part in.
• Sports betting is currently only available in Colorado, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, West Virginia. New users get their first bet risk free up to $1,000. If you're in another state, you can still sign up today to check out FanDuel Sportsbook and get updates about sports betting in your area.

The interesting thing about both types of gambling is that they each offer an opportunity to make long-term profits. But which is the better path with regard to winning money?

Feb 01, 2021 New York now has legal sports betting, although it’s not online yet. Just under a dozen upstate casinos can operate brick-and-mortar sportsbooks at the moment. Daily fantasy sports and horse racing are also legal — and regulated — in New York. Read on for more information about all of the sports gaming options in the state.

I’m going to discuss this matter by looking at the pros and cons of DFS and sports betting. I’ll also cover how each works in case you’re new to either type of gambling.

How Does Daily Fantasy Sports Work?

DFS involves drafting a set number of athletes while staying under a given salary cap. You can choose any players as long as their collective salaries are under the cap.

You might have to draft 10 NFL players without exceeding a $50,000 cap. Under such constraints, you can only pick so many stars.

The goal is to choose a team that scores more points than your opponent(s). Points are determined based on the given DFS site’s scoring system. Using the NFL again, a passing touchdown and rushing touchdown can each be worth different points depending upon the site.

You definitely want to understand the scoring rules before you start betting real money on DFS. That said, I highly recommend that you check out the rules at whatever site you choose.

What Are the Pros of DFS?

DFS may be fairly new to the gambling world when compared to sports wagering. But its benefits are well-established at this point. Here are the main advantages to choosing DFS over sports gambling.

You’re Competing Against Human Opponents

Sportsbooks are difficult to beat, because oddsmakers are good at their jobs. They have the knowledge and experience to create sharp lines that offer little value on one side or the other.

DFS, on the other hand, is played against fellow gamblers. You merely need to beat your opponents rather than a skilled bookie.

Of course, you also have to make enough money to overcome the fees. For example, many DFS sites tack on 10% to each buy-in as a fee.

Here’s an example.

• A DFS game costs $10 + $1 to enter.
• $10 goes into the prize pool.
• The remaining $1 goes to the site.

This dollar may not seem like much in the moment. However, it has a definite bearing on your long-term chances of winning.

But you can still win in the long run if you’re skilled enough. After all, you’re competing against regular opponents rather than oddsmakers.

Daily Fantasy Is Legal in More States

DFS has always been treated more favorably than other types of gambling. In fact, some states act as if daily fantasy isn’t gambling at all.

Daily fantasy includes plenty of pure luck elements. However, it has enough skill to where it gets a pass in many cases.

Another reason why DFS is looked at favorably is because it’s associated with season-long fantasy leagues. The latter has been around since 1983 and is perfectly acceptable in the law’s eyes.

DFS adds more of a gambling element to the mix, especially when factoring in the operators’ fees. But it’s still viewed favorably thanks to its similarities to season-long fantasy.

You Can Use the Same Lineup in Many Contests

If you want to make multiple informed bets, then you need to handicap each specific matchup. You can’t, for example, just use the same information to wager on Clemson vs. South Carolina and Michigan vs. Ohio State.

DFS differs in this regard, because you can create a single lineup and enter it in as many contests as you like. You may have a particular roster that you absolutely love and put it in a $1, $10, and $100 head-to-head contest.

Aside from this, you can also tweak lineups to create more chances to win a given competition. For instance, you might enter multiple lineups that are slightly different from each other in a $100,000 guaranteed prize pool (GPP) tournament.

In short, DFS allows you to capitalize on your skills with less time involved. You don’t have to learn new information every time you want to enter a new contest.

You Won’t Be Banned for Winning

One more major daily fantasy benefit is that you won’t get banned just for being successful. This, unfortunately, isn’t always the case at sportsbooks, which are often accused of banning or limiting winners’ accounts.

In fact, professional players are encouraged at DFS sites. They accomplish two benefits for the industry.

1. More volume and liquidity for the sites.
2. Keep the dream alive for aspiring DFS pros.

The latter is especially important, because many daily fantasy players dream of making money through the sports they love. These dreams are tougher than perceived, but they can come true under the right circumstances.

What Are the Cons of DFS?

DFS is certainly one of the more popular forms of gambling. But it has some definite drawbacks, including the following aspects.

Commissions Are Higher

Earlier, I mentioned how DFS sites often require a 10% fee based on your buy-in amount. If you enter a $100 contest, for example, then you’ll have to pay an extra $10 ($100 + $10).

These fees can be lower, especially as you get to the larger buy-ins. But generally speaking, you pay higher commissions to DFS sites than to sportsbooks.

The latter takes 10% “juice” from the losing side of a bet. Given that only one side is paying this amount, the sports betting commission works out to around an average of 5% per bet.

Pros Can Enter Unlimited High and Low Stakes Games

The fact that one can enter numerous contests with a single lineup is both a blessing and a curse. The curse comes from the fact that professional players can easily play as many games as they wish at any stakes.

You may enter a $1 buy-in contest under the assumption that you’ll face easy competition. However, you could be up against a far more skilled player.

DFS allows anybody to create a lineup and put it in countless games with little effort. They simply need to make a few clicks/taps to enter their roster in a contest.

Contrast this situation to online poker, where a player actually has to take action in every game they play. A professional player won’t bother with $0.01/$0.02 No-Limit Hold’em, because it’s not worth their time to play the hands.

Daily fantasy is very different. Good players don’t have to worry about doing anything once their lineup is entered. They just need to take a few seconds to place their roster in a given game.

Odds of Winning Are Deceptive

The daily fantasy industry is built upon the idea that any average sports fan can win. But as John Oliver once poked fun at, this idea is more illusion than fact.

Average fans aren’t the most skilled players. They don’t put enough work into researching players and creating lineups to win on a consistent basis.

Instead, only a small percentage of DFS gamblers actually earn long-term profits. The rest are merely dreamers who, at best, have fun drafting players from their favorite sports.

How Does Sports Betting Work?

Sports gambling involves wagering on outcomes rather than player performances. You need to read the odds and choose the outcome that you think has the best chance of winning.

One common type of bet is a moneyline, where you choose which team will win a given match. Here’s an example line.

The disparity in the line creates more betting parity on both sides. This setup makes both the favorite and underdog valid wagers.

One fun thing about sports gambling is that it offers a wide variety of bets. You can wager on propositions (a.k.a. prop bets), live action (in-game), point spreads, and totals (over/under). In essence, it features a lot more variety than DFS.

What Are the Pros of Sports Betting?

Sports wagering is highly popular, because it creates a link between fans and gambling. One can bet on a sporting contest and watch the action afterward. Here are some other benefits of sports gambling that go beyond just the entertainment value.

More Markets

The average DFS site only covers a handful of sports, such as baseball, basketball, football, and hockey. Even if a site goes beyond this selection, they don’t normally offer too much variety for less popular games.

Sports betting, in contrast, features dozens of markets. Not only can you wager on the popular sports, but also more obscure games like darts, badminton, and water polo.

Not every bookmaker goes this deep in terms of markets. But the largest sites will cover almost anything that can draw some betting action.

Lower Commissions

As mentioned before, bookmakers take 10% juice from the losing side of a wager. Assuming one splits their wins and losses equally, they’ll pay around 5% juice total.

Daily fantasy sports are different, because most sites typically charge an extra 10% with each buy-in. In the end, you must win at a higher rate than with sports betting to overcome these substantial fees.

Far More Sportsbooks Than DFS Sites

You don’t have to look very hard to find an online sportsbook. Countless sports betting sites are available to gamblers.

With many countries adopting regulated sports betting markets, gamblers can now wager at safer bookmakers. Even the US, which has always been served by offshore bookmakers, is seeing regulation, with New Jersey recently legalizing online sports betting.

DFS may be more widely available across America, but it has very few prominent players. DraftKings and FanDuel absolutely dominate the market, with Yahoo! being a distant third.

What Are the Cons of Sports Betting?

Sports gambling doesn’t appear to be slowing down in terms of popularity. Instead, it only continues to grow each year as regulation spreads. But despite its popularity, sports betting still has some disadvantages to consider.

Oddsmakers Are Very Difficult to Beat

Oddsmakers are highly trained at analyzing matchups and crafting sharp lines. Therefore, you’ll have difficulty finding value in most sports wagers.

You can become an expert handicapper with enough experience and practice. However, you may become frustrated and give up before ever reaching this point.

“Sharps” are a rare breed of bettors that can beat bookies and win long-term profits. I emphasize the word “rare,” because sharps make up such a small percentage of sports gamblers.

Low Betting Limits Are Common

Many online sportsbooks limit bet sizes so they don’t take on too much risk. For example, smaller bookmakers might only allow NFL bets worth up to $2,000.

Some industry giants, such as William Hill and Bet365, accept massive six-figure wagers. However, these sites are exceptions to the norm.

DFS, in contrast, has no limit to how many lineups can be entered. You could theoretically wager hundreds of thousands of dollars per day.

You May Be Banned for Winning

Even if you become a successful sports bettor, you could be banned or have your account limited. Bookmakers especially hate when you use a technique called “arbitrage betting.”

This practice refers to looking for different lines on the same match that offer a guaranteed profit. You simply need to find two bookmakers that differ enough on a specific match to where you’re guaranteed money.

You can also be banned or limited for regularly winning, especially with huge bets. Sportsbooks don’t like facing too much sharp action on one side. If you’re making big wagers, winning, and creating unbalanced action, then your bet sizes will assuredly be limited.

Conclusion

It’s hard to make a definitive statement on whether sports betting or DFS is the more worthwhile pursuit. After all, both have their advantages and disadvantages.

DFS is great from the perspective that it gives you the chance to compete against other opponents. You can sometimes find really good value in these contests as a result.

Assuming you become good enough, you can also look forward to entering the same lineup in a number of contests. This ability helps you gain more value out of your efforts with each lineup.

DFS is also legal in the majority of states. Therefore, you don’t have to deal with seedy offshore betting sites.

Sports gambling offers its own set of advantages as well. First off, you’ll have more markets and bet types to choose from.

Another benefit is the lower commissions. You’ll only pay an average of 5% per bet to sportsbooks, versus 10% to DFS sites.

You also won’t be at a loss for options regarding sportsbooks. Any relevant Google search will turn up countless online bookmakers.

Until a site earns it, they will not be listed here. Play at the DFS sites below in confidence, they are the best in the business. We’ve been tracking them since 2013 and helping thousands of new DFS players find the right site for them.

Top 10 Daily Fantasy Sports Web Sites List

Updated 12/17/2020

There are not 10 viable daily fantasy sports sites to choose from, even now in 2020. We do not have a top 10 list complete, and do be honest it is doubtful that we ever will.

I can not recommend most of the new, untested and unproven DFS sites.

I personally play myself at the sites I list here. These daily fantasy sites are the best in the business in 2020. These are the sites that I play at and where I recommend you play at as well.

I will review new fantasy sites every once in a while when a quality site emerges. As time moves on some new sites will be added to our list as their reputation grows and the market changes. If you know of a fantasy sports site that you feel deserves to be on our list, please let us know by filling out this quick google form.

Does Biggest = The Best When It Comes To Fantasy Sites

Yes and no. In general, we like playing at the larger fantasy sites for many reasons. First they always have big tournaments. I am talking the $1 to $5 buy-in tournaments with $x,xxx in prize money for top finishes. Win and you’ll be a thousandaire. Come on! Second they are proven to be reputable. They got large for a reason. Third, they offer the safest and easiest fantasy sports experience online.

The Top 2 Largest Daily Fantasy Sites

• #1. DraftKings
• #2. FanDuel

These are the two market leaders, with valuations at over $1 billion (with a “b”) dollars. Each (at least during NFL this past season, this could change w/ the new legal landscape shaping up with more regulation (good!).

I’ve recently updated my reviews featuring new screenshots of the lobby’s and features at both of these sites. If you have yet to play, now is the time.

FanDuel was bought out by the gambling conglomerate, Paddy Power / Betfair in 2018. It looks that federal legal sports betting is coming to the USA and FanDuel (and Draftkings) want a huge piece of it. FD and DK have been rivals for the overall market lead since 2013. In terms of number of players overall Fanduel appears to have the edge.

DraftKings is in a very healthy second place. These two fantasy sports giants control the vast majority of the daily fantasy sports action. The smaller sites are considerably smaller in terms of size of players, guarantees and contests. To be fair, FantasyDraft is one of the few smaller to medium sized sites that has been able to stick around and compete.

They have both recently updated their lobby to be responsive and mobile friendly.

Check out reviews linked above for latest screen shots.

Current Trends and Updates 2020

6/9/2020 – Draftkings has gone public, ticker symbol DKNG on the NASDAQ

1/10/2020 – Draftkings and Fanduel are expanding their sports betting side of the business in the states where there is regulated and legal sports betting in the US.

9/1/2019- Monkey Knife Fight is added to DFS101 after their first year of successful operation. We felt comfortable enough to recommend them to our DFS sites if you are looking for something a little different than the typical build your DFS team and score points. MKF has the prop bet/games you want at the place you can’t help but like Monkey Knife Fight (MKF review).

3/14/2019 – Innovation continues in this market. While the sharks have eaten up most of the fish, the sites have responded with newer ‘rookie friendly’ procedures and employed some limits on multi-entry and mass-entry events. Not limited them so much but have created a variety of contests that are not mass entry.

3/14/2019 – Golf is in full swing and I broke down the Draftkings Golf contest formats here.

8/6/2018 – New DK NFL formats explained and compared here.

7/24/2018 – Draftkings continues to try and help the newbies and recreational players avoid the professionals. They have introduced filters that do not allow the high volume grinders to play in their lower buy-in events. They have also lowered the maximize number of contests that the pro’s can multi-enter.

5/24/2018 – Fanduel bought by Betfair / Paddy Power sports betting site.

4/17/2018 – Published article on Draftkings new golf formats. You can now play one day fantasy golf (showdown mode) and weekend fantasy golf where you just compete for rounds 3 and 4. No more trying to pick players who make the cut in this format.

3/21/2018 – Draftkings offers a new golf scoring format for the match play contests.

11/30/2017 – DK tries to target the casual sports players more, with gif’s.

8/7/2017 – Readying for DraftKings Fanduel NFL 2017. Both sites will remain competitors as the companies abruptly called off merger talks back in July.

7/13/2017 – NYtimes reports that the FD/DK merger is called off. Also hints that Draftkings is in a strong position than FanDuel. We shall see.

4/4/2017 – Fanduel revises Baseball scoring for 2017

3/14/2017 – Fanduel adds golf to all areas except New York for legality reasons – PGA contests are now live at FanDuel.

2/23/2017 – FantasyDraft (we like FD!) has pledged to work with FantasyAces player base to help get players made whole.

2/1/2017 – Mid/small sized site, FantasyAces (never promoted here) has gone bankrupt. Players funds are unlikely to be recovered.

Strong rumors circulating of a merger between DraftKings and FanDuel – They are trying to make this happen.

The NFL 2017/2018 season has shown a much subdued and much matured DFS industry.

There have been a few minor issues up to this point but they learned from 2015 and 2016 I believe. There has been way less advertising, less drama (although there was some) and to be honest, more difficult games to win.

They calmed down on the advertising and they are trying to make sure the industry operates as a real living ecosystem. Both major sites and a few smaller ones have now added player identification tags (letting you know if the player is a strong player in general or not) as well as limiting the number of H2H matches any one person can scoop up against you.

2016 proved to be pivotal for daily fantasy sports. Either the two big sites will get their collective acts together and build a sustainable long term business or it will crash and burn (positive news update). That’s my prediction anyway. Today it looks like they are getting their acts together.

Back in 2015 we saw the first emergence of a couple of other players with big backing. Notably Yahoo! daily fantasy sports and recently Sportsline. While many argue they are too late to get in on the action, they feel otherwise. The short answer is there are a growing number of DFS sites available but I highly recommend you stick to the sites that have built a reputation already that you can trust. There are thousands thousands of different leagues and contests up for grabs every day. Especially every weekend during football season you will find tens of thousands of unique players take part in contests every weekend.

The traditional fantasy sites like Yahoo! (now with a daily product as well), NFL, CBS, ESPN and the like are still offering the season long style fantasy games and are by far larger than all of these in volume.

Plus with the large player pools, a huge portion of the field is made up of recreational fantasy players. Not to mention that the largest sites are US based companies meaning someone you can really reach out to if you must. To learn more about these sites click through to our reviews below to find the right fit for you.

Middle Sized & Smaller

Let’s look at the middle and small fantasy sites. I’m only going to recommend two smaller sites right now because I am extremely selective on who I am willing to recommend to you.

• FantasyDraft – I am starting to play here for the NFL 2016 season. I am looking for a site that has smaller sized tournament in terms of numbers of entries and FantasyDraft fits the bill. Until now, I haven’t played much ere but some friends do and say they enjoy the site.
• StarsDraft *formerly Victiv (review) – Now owned by the same company that owns PokerStars. They bought out site Victiv and re-branded to ‘StarsDraft’. I have somewhat of a less than great fondness for the new owner, however they seem to have kept most of the product the same. They only accept players from Kansas, Maryland, Massacusetts, and New Jersey.
• FantasyAces
• StarStreet
• FanThrowdown
• DraftOps
• FantasyFeud

The middle and small sized sites sometimes offer value you will not find at the larger sites. You can sometimes find overlay (extra money) in some of their tournaments or special bonuses or freerolls you can take advantage of for joining the site. In addition you can find tournaments with solid prizes with less overall competition. Read through the fantasy site review by clicking the site above to see learn more and get details on the signup bonuses. If you are ready to play, check out our latest site news and promos section for up to date promotions.

Okay, maybe not that wild of a fantasy, but pretty close!

Fantasy Betting Sites Compared By Sport – Find The Best Site For Each Sport

You can play the ‘big 3 sports’ (football, baseball, basketball) at all of the fantasy sports sites we list as they are the ‘bread and butter’ of the fantasy industry. The less popular sports are only available at select sites.

• Football – (all sites) See our football comparison chart.
• Baseball (compare fantasy MLB)
• Basketball (all sites, compare FanDuel vs Draftkings NBA)
• Hockey (all sites)
• Golf (DraftKings, FanDuel (new 2017) DraftDay and FantasyDraft)
• NASCAR (DraftKings)
• Tennis (Draftkings just added July 23, 2018)
• MMA (DraftKings)
• Soccer (DraftKings, FanDuel)
• eSports – League of legends (LoL) DraftKings, eSports are huge, fantasy is trying to get on board.

These are the current sports you can play. We have new player guides based on the different sports here. As our content is ready in these lists we will link them accordingly above.

About The Top 10 Daily Fantasy Sites and DailyFantasySports101.com

Only the absolute best fantasy sports website hosts make it on my Top 10 list. Part of being the best is being big. You will quickly see that my the “Official Daily Fantasy Sports 101 Top 10 List” is incomplete. Why? Because we only select the top rated fantasy betting sites in the industry. We are extremely careful on who we are willing to list and recommend to our visitors. We work hard to create a list of sites that you can trust and offer the best bang for your fantasy buck in the industry. People use this list every day when choosing where to deposit their hard earned money and play, so we have a commitment to list only list the best in class fantasy sports sites.

Daily Fantasy Sports Gambling Bill

• • 1. FanDuel
  • 2. DraftKings
  • 3. MonkeyKnifeFight – (different style of DFS)

We work very closely with these sites. Since they know that new players are coming from this website they want your business. New players joining is a major goal of their marketing. That means they offer our visitors the absolute best promotions, signup incentives and bonuses on the internet.

You can sign up with these sites in confidence knowing that you are maximizing your account when you use DailyFantasySports101.com’s links.

Are The Fantasy Sites Legal? (Yes – But Laws Vary By State!)

See All Results For This Question

The legality and regulation of daily fantasy sports sites is a fluid one. Especially since October of 2015 when an employee from DraftKings won a major prize on FanDuel and leaked internal sensitive DraftKings data early. Anyway the short answer is that yes it is legal but it depends on where you live. Check out our ‘is it legal?‘ page for a list of references and links to confirmations but yes it is legal in most states. There are a few exceptions where states have laws against playing but unless you happen to live in a very few number of states it is 100% completely legal. You can deposit and withdraw with Paypal, Visa and Mastercard. It is quick, seamless and easy to get in the game right now.

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