FanDuel Vs. DraftKings Sportsbook: Which Is Better?

FanDuel vs DraftKings

DraftKings Sportsbook and FanDuel Sportsbook. They’re like FedEx and UPS. Sony and Microsoft. Apple and Samsung. Two brands atop the mountain in their respective industries, battling for supremacy. But which is the best when it comes to FanDuel vs. DraftKings? Is there a clear winner, or do both have attractive qualities that contribute to their market leadership?

Here, we’ll explore FanDuel vs. DraftKings and whether there’s a right answer for you, the average bettor, when looking for the best betting app in the country.

Promos Offered At FanDuel And DraftKings

The first place to look when comparing FanDuel vs. DraftKings is at the betting sites’ respective welcome promos. Betting promo codes enable you to maximize your value at any sports betting site.

The best ones are always available to new customers. So, you’ll want to know about them ahead of time before registering a new account.

Later on, you can take advantage of further promos available to all users, such as reload bonuses, odds boosts, bet insurance, and the like.

But the welcome bonuses are an important factor in comparing DraftKings vs. FanDuel. Keep in mind the sheer size of the bonus isn’t the only consideration. You’ll also want to take into account ease of use and whether your bankroll can help you get the maximum value.

Promo value may vary by customer. Read all promotional terms and conditions before opting in and wagering.

FanDuel Welcome Bonus

New Players Get up to $150 in Bonus Bets at FanDuel Sportsbook
1
Bet $5
Get $150
In Bonus Bets
Bet $5 Get $150 in Bonus Bets if Your Bet Wins
PLUS Get 3 Free Months of NBA League Pass
Available on Desktop, Android & iOS
To Claim: Click Play Now

FanDuel currently offers a bet $5, get $150 welcome bonus. It’s a “click to claim” bonus, meaning no promo code is needed. Simply sign up via the link above and you’ll be on your way to valuetown.

All you have to do to take advantage of the FanDuel welcome bonus is make your first cash deposit of at least $10, then make a qualifying cash wager of $5 or more. If that bet wins, FanDuel will award your account with $150 in site credit.

Unfortunately, if the bet loses, you won’t get the welcome bonus. So, choose your first bet carefully.

The bonus bets don’t work the same as cash. You bet them like cash, but only the winnings will be returned to your account, not the stake. For example, let’s say you bet $100 in bonus funds on a +150 underdog on the moneyline. You’ll get $150 back. If you had used cash, you’d get $250 — the $150 in winnings plus the original stake of $100.

The bonus funds expire in seven days, so be sure you have a plan for using them.

DraftKings Welcome Bonus

Claim Your $1,250 Bonus at DraftKings Sportsbook
1
Up to $1,250 BONUS
New User Bonus. T&Cs Apply
Bet $5, Get $200 in Bonus Bets Instantly!
PLUS up to $1,000 Deposit Bonus
PLUS $50 Bonus Bet on Deposit
PLUS Daily King of the Court NBA Profit Boost
Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER 

DraftKings offers a very similar bonus with bet $5, get $200. Additionally, DraftKings will add another $50 in bonus bets just for signing up. This one is also a “click to claim” bonus so you don’t need a DraftKings promo code.

While the welcome bonuses currently offered by DraftKings and FanDuel are quite similar, the DraftKings one differs in a few key ways.

For one thing, you don’t have to win your first $5 bet to trigger the bonus. That’s obviously a key differentiator as that can mean the difference between stacking up $200 in bonuses and getting nothing. Some bets can seem like a sure thing, but the bottom line is there’s always a chance they lose. Therefore, locking in the bonus regardless of the bet’s result boosts DraftKings’ value.

DraftKings also gives users 30 days to use their bonus funds rather than seven. That decreases the pressure to find more bets. You can wait for the ones you like best.

Further Promos Available At DraftKings And FanDuel

Both FanDuel and DraftKings will offer their fair shares of ongoing promo offers to their existing customers. The exact promos you find may depend on your area. In regions with higher taxation on gaming revenue, the betting operators typically cut their promo offerings to ensure they’re able to scoop up plenty of profits.

Currently, DraftKings has a greater breadth of promo offerings in my area. They’re offering five ongoing promos, compared to just three from FanDuel.

DraftKings has also sent me several redeposit bonuses over the years, whereas FanDuel has not. Different users will likely get different responses here, though, depending on how much and how frequently they bet.

Overall, DraftKings has the edge on FanDuel when it comes to promos and bonuses.

FanDuel Vs. DraftKings Legal States

One of the simplest ways to decide whether FanDuel or DraftKings is better for you is to determine whether you live in a legal state for one or both. Perhaps only one of them operates a sportsbook in your jurisdiction, in which case your decision might be made for you.

Here’s a look at FanDuel vs. DraftKings through the lens of which states each one has a presence.

FanDuel Legal States/TerritoriesDraftKings Legal States/Territories
Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Washington D.C., Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, WyomingArizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wyoming

Note that FanDuel’s Nevada, Washington, and Mississippi offerings are retail only — they don’t accept online betting.

What Sets FanDuel and DraftKings Apart?

Why do FanDuel and DraftKings occupy the top two spots in the market?

That’s a question that has a fairly involved answer, one that goes beyond the scope of this article. But a few key factors have helped these companies make the biggest mark on U.S. sports betting thus far.

Much of their edge traces back to the early 2010s. That’s when both companies hit the scene as pioneers in the daily fantasy sports (DFS) space. Each company built a large database of potential sports betting customers thanks to their DFS products.

That gave them a first-mover advantage when sports betting legalization became widespread in May 2018. Where other companies needed to acquire customers from scratch or cross-sell them from retail casino products, FanDuel and DraftKings merely had to get customers to download a different app with the same name.

Speaking of DFS apps, years of work on those also gave FanDuel and DraftKings a strong start on the product front. All they had to do was rework a few aspects of their apps, and DFS products quickly became betting ones. Easy, intuitive user experiences carry a lot of weight in a brand-new market, where basically every customer is a relative newbie.

And the early edge FanDuel and DraftKings demonstrated only helped their causes, like snowballs gaining momentum. Thanks to their initial success, each was able to raise more money, reinvest that into product growth and customer acquisition, and then rinse and repeat.

The end result? DraftKings and FanDuel have the two biggest market shares, 32% and 35%, respectively, as of June 2024.

FanDuel vs. DraftKings Payment Methods

Typically, most online betting sites offer a pretty similar selection of payment and withdrawal methods. These are often dictated by market regulations. That’s true of DraftKings and FanDuel as well. Here’s a rundown of what bettors can find and use on both sites.

DraftKings Payment Methods

MethodDepositWithdrawal
Credit Card🚫
Debit Card
Online Banking
Skrill🚫🚫
PayPal
Play+
eCheck
Wire Transfer
Check by Mail🚫
Cash at Partner Casino/Retail Sportsbook

FanDuel Payment Methods

MethodDepositWithdrawal
Credit Card (Visa, Mastercard, Maestro)🚫
Debit Card
Venmo
Online Banking
PayPal
PayNearMe🚫
FanDuel prepaid Play+
Wire Transfer🚫
eCheck
Check (by mail)
Cash at a partner casino

FanDuel has a slightly more robust selection of payment methods. Most likely, though, you won’t have a tough time figuring out a deposit method that works for you on either site.

What Does DraftKings Do Better?

We already noted that DraftKings does a great job of roling out the welcome mat for players through a combination of a great sign-up promo and greater volume of ongoing bonus opportunities.

Additionally, DraftKings tends to be the first betting site to get a lot of markets up, especially futures. If you like to bet early in a market like Super Bowl odds‘ lifespan, DraftKings might be the sportsbook for you.

DraftKings also does a good job with fun contests like its season-long NFL survivor pools. It will often have several different levels of buy-ins. You may also find college basketball contests geared around March Madness. In other words, if you want more than just sports betting from your site of choice, DraftKings may fit your needs.

What Does FanDuel Do Better?

For the price-conscious customer, FanDuel may be the answer.

FanDuel Sportsbook often charges lower juice, or sportsbook vig, on many markets. For example, where DraftKings deals -110 on each side for a baseball game considered to be exactly even on both sides, you’ll often find -108 on both sides at FanDuel. That two cents of juice may seem piddling, but it will eventually add up over the course of hundreds or thousands of bets.

The same is often true of multi-way markets, although results may vary there and you’ll have to do some math or plug the numbers into a spreadsheet to be sure.

Along the same lines, the same game parlay offering is superior on FanDuel. Very often, if you build a same game parlay on both sides with the same wagers, it will pay out better on FanDuel. They also make it easier to reference the prices on each leg of the parlay, so it’s simpler to check and see whether you’re making a good bet.

The Verdict: FanDuel vs. DraftKings Sportsbook

The answer to this, as with any question regarding two top options in an industry, is going to vary based on the exact needs and wants of the customer.

The simplest answer, and one that’s surely the most correct, is that the best path for most people is going to be keeping accounts active at both FanDuel and DraftKings. That enables you to take advantage of the best offers and strengths at each betting app.

Furthermore, and perhaps most important, having a variety of betting outlets ensures you can get the best price on each bet you make. That single thing will add more to the bottom line of most bettors than almost any other strategy. You can do all the handicapping and research you can muster, but simply getting the best available price is a shortcut to maximizing profit and minimizing losses.

Beyond that, betting at both FanDuel and DraftKings will give customers a feel for both platforms. Eventually, they’ll likely develop a preference for which one they like best, and use that one the most.

But as long as your bankroll can support it, the best option will still involve having the other account as a fallback for when better prices and better promos become available. If you can only afford one, pick the one with the best promo in your area. And as soon as you can afford to keep multiple accounts active, diversify your portfolio to give yourself the best chance to succeed.