Best Daily Fantasy Sports Sites
Daily fantasy sports (DFS) are a subset of the traditional fantasy sports model. Instead of having a fantasy team for a full season, in DFS a player is able to select a team for a short-term period like a week or single day of competition. Just like traditional fantasy sports games, in DFS players compete against others by building a team of professional athletes from a particular league (football, basketball, baseball, hockey, soccer, golf, NASCAR, MMA, tennis, eSports) while remaining under a salary cap. The players will then earn points based on the real-life statistical performance of the athletes on their team. If victorious, the players will receive a portion of the predetermined pot for the contest. This pot is funded by the players’ entry fees with a portion of each entry fee going to the site provider.
FanDuel
Pros:
- Weekly tournaments with high payouts
- Easy to use interface
- Free contests available for practice
Cons:
- Hard to beat expert players
- Complex and sometimes confusing rewards system
DraftKings
Pros:
- Wide variety of game formats
- Full contests and guaranteed payouts
- Beginner level tournaments for new players
Cons:
- Hard to beat expert players
- Complex and sometimes confusing rewards system
FantasyDraft
Pros:
- Only site on the market that does not take a rake
- Excellent interface that is simple and user-friendly
- Great referral system
Cons:
- Only offers contests in five different sports
- Cap on amount of lineups that can be entered
- Tight restrictions on bonuses
Yahoo Sports
Pros:
- Straightforward and simple user interface
- Rookie contests for beginners
- Technology used to keep out bots
Cons:
- Limited number of sports offered
- PayPal is the only deposit/withdrawal method
Monkey Knife Fight
Pros:
- Great graphics and funny jokes throughout the site
- Contests cancelled if one or more players in the prop don’t play
- Quick withdrawal system
Cons:
- No mobile app
- Limited amount of sports offered
- Does not accept PayPal
Where is Online Daily Fantasy Legal?
Currently, residents and visitors of every US state except Alabama Arizona Hawaii Idaho Iowa Louisiana Montana Utah Washington can create online daily fantasy accounts.
- Alaska
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington DC
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
- Legal
- Pending
- Not Legal
FAQs
Residents of all states except Alabama Arizona Hawaii Idaho Iowa Louisiana Montana Utah Washington can play daily fantasy sports.
Almost all sports, including eSports, have some form of daily fantasy available in the United States.
Yes, all online winnings must be reported to the IRS when you complete your annual federal tax return. This is done on Form 1044. You will tally up your total winnings and report them under the “other income” section. The winnings must also be added to your state tax return and are taxed according to your tax bracket. Residents in states with no income tax are exempt from this second tax.