DraftKings DFS

Overview

DraftKings is the most widely available daily fantasy sports operator in the United States. Paid contests are open to residents of 42 states plus Washington DC. The six states excluded are Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Washington and, for specific contest formats, Louisiana (tribal-gaming restrictions apply in a handful of parishes). The exclusion list is published on the DraftKings support page and tracked by Legal Sports Report.

DraftKings DFS is legally distinct from DraftKings Sportsbook. DFS contests are treated as games of skill under state law, which is why they remain legal in Texas, California and Florida, where sports betting is not.

Welcome Offer

The current new-user offer is a deposit match up to $500 released as site credit at a 4% rate on entry fees. Minimum deposit is $5. Unlike sportsbook bonuses, the DFS welcome credit does not expire after 30 days; it releases gradually as you play. DraftKings also runs a no-sweat first contest ticket for new users that refunds your first entry up to $20 as site credit if you lose.

Contest Variety

Contest depth is the main reason to use DraftKings. The weekly NFL Millionaire Maker is the biggest DFS tournament in the world, with a $20 entry and a $1,000,000 guaranteed top prize. Beyond that flagship, the site offers:

• GPPs (guaranteed prize pool tournaments) from $0.25 qualifiers up to $10,600 high rollers
• Cash games including 50/50s, double-ups and head-to-head matches where roughly half the field cashes
• Single-entry and 3-max contests for beginners who do not want to face mass multi-entry sharks
• Showdown single-game slates for primetime NFL, NBA and MLB games
• Tiers contests that simplify lineup building by grouping players into tiers instead of salaries
• Best Ball season-long drafts that grade automatically with no in-season management

Sports coverage spans NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, PGA, MMA, NASCAR, tennis, soccer, LOL and CS2. Beginner-friendly filters and a dedicated beginner contest lobby (capped to new accounts for their first 50 contests) reduce early-stage shark exposure.

Prize Pool Size

DraftKings runs the largest single-contest guarantees in US DFS. The NFL Millionaire Maker has paid out over $1 billion in prizes since launch according to DraftKings investor materials. Sunday NFL slates routinely host $10M+ in combined guarantees across GPPs. NBA slates peak around $1M–$2M in guarantees on primetime nights. MLB and NHL guarantees are smaller but consistent. Showdown contests for Monday Night Football often hit $500K top prizes.

Scoring & Rules

Salary cap is $50,000 for most major sports. NFL scoring uses full-PPR (1 point per reception) with 0.1 per rushing yard, 0.04 per passing yard, 6 points per rushing/receiving TD and 4 per passing TD. NBA awards 1 point per point scored, 1.25 per rebound, 1.5 per assist, 2 per steal/block and -0.5 per turnover, with double-double and triple-double bonuses. MLB uses standard sabermetric-weighted scoring with stolen bases at 5 points. Late swap is enabled, letting you edit lineups up until the start of each player's actual game (within the same slate).

Software & UX

The iOS and Android apps are the primary way most users play. Lineup builder supports salary remaining tracking, stack suggestions (QB + WR correlations), and projection imports via CSV on desktop. The DraftKings Playbook feature surfaces expert picks and ownership projections inside the app. The desktop site handles bulk entry better, with CSV upload supporting up to 500 entries per contest. Load times are the fastest of any DFS operator we benchmarked, averaging under 1.2 seconds to contest entry.

The Bottom Line

DraftKings DFS is the default choice for serious daily fantasy players. Contest variety, prize pool size and multi-sport coverage are unmatched. The 42-state footprint makes it accessible to nearly any US resident. Beginner tools have improved but the site still favors experienced MME players in GPPs, so start in beginner and single-entry contests. Must be 18+ (19+ in AL and NE, 21+ in MA). Not available in HI, ID, MT, NV or WA. Responsible play support at 1-800-GAMBLER.