Playing fantasy sports in a league can be time-consuming and managing your roster on a weekly basis takes dedication and a good deal of research to stay competitive. Not everyone has the time necessary to manage a season-long fantasy sports team. That’s where daily fantasy sports come into play – no pun intended. Daily fantasy sports allow average, everyday fans to build a one-time roster using a set amount of currency to construct the perfect fantasy roster which is then entered into contests for real money. There are a lot of daily fantasy sites out there, and it seems like new platforms are popping up every year. To help you decide which platforms are right for you, we’re breaking down the best daily fantasy wagering sites.
For some people, playing daily fantasy sports is a way to further enjoy the thrill of game days. However, gamedays aren’t a joyous celebration for every sports fan. Some sports fans are nervous and on edge come game day. In fact, a recent study suggests that over half of sports fans are superstitious. A survey of 2,400 American sports fans found that 62 percent of fans have blamed themselves for their team’s loss. Furthermore, nearly 40 percent of those fans feel like a family member is bad luck and have even asked that person to leave on game days. Let’s just hope that bad luck doesn’t spill over into your wagers.
Daily fantasy is exploding in popularity and fans love the ability to build a one-time roster to win big money. It has revolutionized the way fans engage with the sport. This fast-paced and highly strategic form of gaming allows participants to draft their own teams and compete against others for cash prizes based on the real-life performance of NFL players. With the ability to create new lineups every day, it adds an exhilarating layer of excitement and strategy to the traditional football viewing experience, making it a popular choice among sports enthusiasts seeking to test their football acumen.
So, which wagering sites are the most lucrative for fans? StudyFinds did the research, consulting 10 expert websites in an effort to bring you a consensus list of the best daily fantasy wagering sites. Our list comprises the five most frequently listed platforms from across our expert reviews. Think we missed your favorite site? Feel free to share your thoughts with us in the comments section below!
The List: Best Daily Fantasy Wagering Sites, According to Fans
1. DraftKings
The top spot on the list of the best sites for daily fantasy wagering belongs to DraftKings. DraftKings was one of the first daily fantasy sports (DFS) sites and continues to be one of the leading platforms for wagering. “If you’re looking for the ‘royal’ treatment, the search is over. Boston-based DraftKings is the leader in daily fantasy sports in 2023. DraftKings has built a reputation for offering a fantastic selection of freerolls, lucrative bonuses, and enormous guaranteed prize pools. In addition, DraftKings has one of the best mobile apps out there for DFS. DraftKings offers great variety when it comes to contest selection. It has traditional tournaments, head to heads, 50/50s, multipliers, and satellite qualifiers to major events like its Fantasy World Championships,” writes RotoGrinders.
DraftKings offers a range of contests with a variety of entry fees to suit your DFS wagering preferences. Players can go head-to-head with another player, enter a large tournament with thousands of lineups, or join a 50/50 contest that pays out the top half of the winning entries. “If you are looking for the best in daily fantasy, it is hard to argue with DraftKings. DraftKings is one of the longest-standing sites, has the largest prize pools, the most generous loyalty program, the most sports offered, the best customer service and more. You’ll find million-dollar-up-top prize pools every NFL Sunday with reasonable buy-ins,” adds Lines.
The site offers a range of sports contests for daily fantasy enthusiasts including NFL games, NBA games, and even combat sports. “They may be the biggest name in the industry, but that’s for a reason. They just seem to be a little more polished and a lot bigger than some of their main competitors. What we like about DraftKings is the range of contests that are on offer. They cover tons of sports and of course, if you’re looking for DFS NBA, then they are tough to beat here as well. The scale of the site is phenomenal. They have contests that include over 60,000 entrants and with it have prize pools that hit hundreds of thousands of dollars regularly. Payouts, if you’re lucky enough to win, can be life-changing,” furthers Basketball Insiders.
2. FanDuel
The second spot on the list of the best daily fantasy sites belongs to FanDuel. Similar to DraftKings, FanDuel is a pioneer in the realm of DFS and has millions up for grabs in a range of daily contests for all levels of players.
“FanDuel was founded in 2009 and rapidly emerged as the top DFS site in the industry. One of the master providers of salary cap DFS, FanDuel now offers a slew of different contests to satisfy all players. In addition to the variety of game types and sports markets offered, FanDuel also has the best customer service and the most banking options of all its competitors. FanDuel DFS is available in 44 states, excluding Hawaii, Idaho, Louisiana, Montana, Nevada and Washington,” writes The Gameday.
It’s a shame that DFS isn’t available in every state across the country, but hopefully that will change someday. The stigma associated with DFS is that it’s gambling. Although that’s partially true, DFS requires a thorough knowledge of the sports and athletes.
“FanDuel was the country’s first DFS leader and is still considered #1a to DraftKings’ #1 DFS site. The site pays out more than $1 billion in prizes annually. Its software, available through a browser-based client and mobile app, is clean and functional. While its contests are slightly smaller than DraftKings, many consider FanDuel as the DFS innovator. FanDuel is continuously adding new game formats. Innovations include single-game and beginner contests, contest-entry limits, advanced entry… FanDuel is the only alternative to DraftKings in terms of contest size. Its commitment to innovation keeps FanDuel a DFS fan favorite,” adds PlayPicks.
FanDuel offers contests for DFS players of all skill levels and experience. Again, FanDuel was one of the first DFS sites available, and their experience in this industry shows. “FanDuel was founded in 2009 by Nigel Eccles, who believed that he found a great alternative to the traditional season-long fantasy sports leagues. With FanDuel, Eccles figured out a way to cut season-long leagues into just one day, and it changed the world of daily fantasy sports forever… FanDuel offers up a variety of fantasy sports betting contests in a number of different sports. At FanDuel, you are given a salary cap and then you have to fit in a number of athletes into the salary cap. Games offered include both cash games and guaranteed prize pools. FanDuel offers some of the biggest money games out there and is one of the more popular daily fantasy sports sites,” notes Bookies.
3. Underdog
Creeping into the third spot on the list of the best sites for DFS is none other than Underdog. Underdog offers a comprehensive fantasy sports experience, and the site isn’t limited to DFS.
“Underdog enters 2023 as our top-rated daily fantasy sports app. They offer an industry-leading selection of game formats, including our #1 rated best ball product and our #1 stat-based pick’em option. Additionally, Underdog offers daily snake drafts for every NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB slate. A large player pool guarantees that these drafts will fill quickly, allowing you to find the contest you want, draft your team, and get on with your day. Snake drafts are available with anywhere from 2-12 owners and with entry fees ranging from $1 to $3,000. The app itself is arguably the best-looking app in the DFS industry, offering a user-friendly layout and the ability to move between light and dark modes,” explains Eat Watch Bet.
Underdog users can enjoy DFS along with traditional season-long fantasy leagues, so there’s truly something for everyone at Underdog. One of the best parts of Underdog DFS is the ability to create your own contests and play with a select group of friends. Play for fun or create a highly competitive, risky contest, the choice is all yours.
“Underdog Fantasy hosts both seasonal and daily fantasy football leagues, although their primary focus is slate-based contests. Entry fees range from a few to thousands of dollars, and you can create your own contests. They also have the distinction of hosting the seasonal contest with the largest payout (two million dollars to the grand prize winner). It’s their Best Ball Mania III contest, requiring a $25 entry fee and over ten million dollars in cash prizes,” adds Cheat Sheet War Room.
At Underdog, players can join large contests against thousands of other players or small contests playing against the ‘house.’ Underdog combines DFS with traditional season-long fantasy leagues to meet the needs of all players of all skill levels.
“Underdog Fantasy is our top-rated DFS site because of its variety of game types, smooth user experience, and valuable sign-up bonus. The platform offers games both against others and against the house. With Underdog, you can play season-long best ball, Higher/Lower contests, head-to-head contests, and single-week drafts against other users ranging from 2 to 6 players. Games against the house offer great payouts compared to other DFS sites offering these games and Underdog only takes a small cut of drafts including multiple users,” notes Odds Assist.
4. PrizePicks
The fourth spot on the list of the best daily fantasy wagering sites is none other than PrizePicks. This platform takes the traditional DFS format to a new level by offering a plethora of player props and other fun contests to fit players of all levels.
“PrizePicks is more like betting props than DFS. The difference is PrizePicks asks players to pick the over/under on fantasy points rather than the stat line. It’s sort of a combination of prop betting and DFS using DFS stats. PrizePicks ask contest entrants to choose between two to four players and the over/under on their projected fantasy score. Payouts are up to 10 times the entry fee, depending on the number of picks. PrizePicks offers contests for a variety of sports, including the four major US leagues,” writes PlayPicks.
PrizePicks uses the same format as Super Bowl prop bets but takes it to an entirely different level. “PrizePicks was arguably the fastest-growing app in the daily fantasy sports industry in 2022 and enters 2023 with a ton of momentum. The company added a handful of big-name investors in February, including Tracy McGrady, Matt Ryan, and Gabby Douglas. The PrizePicks app is extremely well executed and by far the top contender to Underdog in terms of design and overall user experience. Players really seem to enjoy the variety of sports and contests on the app. At the moment, PrizePicks offers more sports than any other DFS product, including eSports and college sports. They are also the only prop-style DFS app that offers contests for the first and second halves of games,” furthers Eat Watch Bet.
Prop bets, big-name investors, and a user-friendly site all help make PrizePicks one of the most popular wagering sites. PrizePicks is simple, and it’s that simplicity that attracts players looking to place a quick wager and move on with their lives. Players also won’t have to worry about DFS experts, or sharks, invading their DFS contests and walking away with all the prize money – something that’s common with some of the other DFS wagering sites.
“PrizePicks run the simplest fantasy game on the market, which is excellent for those who are new to daily fantasy sports. Essentially, players predict whether a player will go over or under their fantasy points line. For example, Patrick Mahomes’ fantasy points projection is 22.8. Players can select Mahomes to go over his projected fantasy total or under it. As a result, PrizePicks has no sharks, no optimizers, or mass-multi entry players that take advantage of inexperienced players, because it is just you vs the projection,” explains US Odds.
5. Thrive Fantasy
Rounding out the list of the best daily fantasy wagering sites is Thrive Fantasy. Similar to PrizePicks, Thrive features a range of prop fantasy contests to make playing daily fantasy fun, quick, and easy.
“Thrive Fantasy is another prop fantasy product with a solid website and mobile app. Thrive offers 9 different sports and the widest eSport selection available on a DFS app. At the moment, this includes 4 different eSports: CSGO, Dota, LoL, and Valorant. The app is easy to navigate, looks great, and offers some interesting in-game features. Payouts for prop contests are on-par or better than what you will find at competing apps in this space. The one feature that sets Thrive apart is its prop contests. With these, you will place several over/under prop bets, and the most accurate user will win the contest. These contests can have top prizes of $10,000 or more and are a fun twist to traditional prop fantasy offerings,” explains Eat Watch Bet.
The difference between Thrive and similar DFS wagering sites is that players can play against the house or other players in a range of fun contests and tournaments. “Thrive Fantasy is a daily fantasy sports site that melds prop sports betting with traditional DFS formats. Similar to standard DFS sites, you compete in tournament-style contests or go head-to-head against other DFS players. But unlike typical DFS contests where you build optimized lineups, at Thrive you predict player performances (based on stat lines in various categories) and earn fantasy points based on the probability of outcomes. The player with the most fantasy points based on these projections is the contest winner,” furthers Cheat Sheet War Room.
Thrive Fantasy opens up a world of different game modes and tournaments for players of all skill levels. Finding the right contests to meet your needs is simple and easy with Thrive.
“Thrive Fantasy is another great option for those who want to be able to play both against other users and against the house. In the Contest Lobby, you choose Higher/Lower on player stats or who will win between a matchup of players and compete against other players’ selections. This is a unique spin on Higher/Lower and Head-to-Head games because you play against others instead of against the house. This is nice because you don’t have to hit all your selections to win like you do when playing against the house,” adds Odds Assist.
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Sources:
- RotoGrinders
- US Odds
- PlayPicks
- Eat Watch Bet
- Bookies
- Cheat Sheet War Room
- Lines
- Odds Assist
- Basketball Insiders
- The Gameday
Note: This article was not paid for nor sponsored. StudyFinds is not connected to nor partnered with any of the brands mentioned and receives no compensation for its recommendations. This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.