FanDuel Daily Fantasy Review

FanDuel slowly made a name for itself over the years before exploding in popularity and visibility in the last few years. Offering an enticing mix of low-commitment one-day fantasy sports played for real money, prompt payouts, and legal for play in the United States and Canada, it’s not surprising that the site took off the way it has!

What's it Like Using Fanduel?

FanDuel can be played anywhere someone has access to the internet. The desktop version of the website is crisp and clean while still giving players a sense of the many game options available to them. Inputting a team is a quick and easy point-and-click process that can see a player enter a contest, select a team, and be ready for games to begin in a matter of minutes. Mobile users can access a slightly scaled down version of the site through their mobile browsers, or use the dedicated FanDuel application that is currently available on iOS and Android devices.

Daily Fantasy Screenshot
Daily Fantasy Screenshot

Game Types Offered at FanDuel

FanDuel ‘s business model is daily fantasy sports, which entails users entering a contest, selecting a team that fits under the competition’s salary cap from a pool of players in action that day, and competing against other users to accumulate the most points. Currently, FanDuel offers this type of play for NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, college football, and college basketball competitions with NFL Daily Fantasy dominating in terms of overall players. Once users select the sport they wish to compete in, there is also a variety of game types to choose from:

  • 50/50 | This one is very simple, in that players pay the entry fee, select their team, and if they finish in the top 50% of all entrants they win money. Very simple.
  • Head-to-Head | Players enter their team and go head-to-head with every other user entered in the contest, with their overall winnings based on how they perform against the other entrants.
  • Leagues | A set number of players enter their lineups and compete against one another. Unlike 50/50 games where finishing in the top half is enough to come away a winner, a much smaller number of players can win, but the payouts are larger.
  • Tournaments | The big draw of tournaments is the ones with guaranteed prize pools, where FanDuel guarantees a set number of prize money will be awarded even if the money collected from entry fees is less than the listed amount. Guaranteed prize money can regularly reach in to the millions for a single tournament. Some tournaments also allow multiple entries, making it tempting to try a number of different strategies.

FanDuel also runs special survivor tournaments throughout the year, where 75% of the entrant pool is eliminated each round until only a very small number of players remain, with the lucky winners being flown to Las Vegas to compete for major prizes. Users can find a competition type that suits them at almost any entry level as well, as the most common entry costs are between $1-$50, but can range all the way into the thousands on special occasions.

Payment Options and Banking with FanDuel

Users can deposit money into their FanDuel accounts using Visa, Mastercard, Discover, or PayPal. FanDuel doesn’t charge a percentage of any deposit amount either, so all charges made to a credit card or PayPal account go directly to the player’s FanDuel wallet. The site also keeps all user funds in a ring-fenced bank account separate from the company’s operational account to ensure increased security. As for payouts, FanDuel aims to be very quick. Winnings are deposited back to a user’s FanDuel account within minutes of a game’s completion, and players can typically withdraw funds from the site via PayPal within 24 hours.

FanDuel Sign Up Bonuses & Promotions

All new players receive a welcome bonus of 4% on all money wagered, so if a user enters a $25 contest their account is credited with $1 for free, regardless of how they perform in that contest. FanDuel is also well known for offering generous deposit matching bonuses, matching 100% of a player’s deposit up to $200 simply by entering a promo code, which are plentiful and easy to find through some cursory online searching. Regular players will also find themselves the beneficiary of monthly and even weekly free rolls, requiring them to put none of their own money on-the-line.

Our Verdict

For those looking for the thrill of fantasy sports competition without the season-long commitment that entails as well as the thrill of winning real money in those competitions, FanDuel is the top name in that burgeoning market for a reason!