Sportsbook Review: Draft Kings

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DraftKings(DK) will be my litmus test for reviews. One of the more prominent and available in most legal states.

Why would you use a sportsbook?
Simple answer is ease. this is the most “legal” way to gamble (barring you are using a licensed book in your state). There is extreme convience to using a mobile app as opposed to going to a cash counter, anywhere anytime.

What is the advantage to DraftKings?
If you are looking for a line and DK doesn’t offer it, you will likely never find that line. To me this is by far their biggest advantage just the sheer volume of bets you can place.

DK is available in 21 states. (26 states have legal mobile gambling) Unlike some of the the competition, Draft Kings does not require a state specific book app. Some books force you to have a different version of their app by each state it is in. That is incredibly annoying, if you are like me and already have limited space on your phone.

I don’t have stats to back this up, but I feel like DK is constantly getting some of the better lines.

The interface, search functions and just ease of use is top tier books.

What is the disadvantage to DraftKings?
As most books, it’s the fee. It does suck to pay a fee every time I place a wager. If you are in one of the 5 states that draft kings is not available, I’m sorry.

Because they are such a large company, they don’t give out great sign up bonuses anymore.

Some books gave out huge sign up bonuses, or promos like a free jersey.

Because DK already has such a good base of users, bonuses are just meh now.

If you are quality “bettor” they will limit your stakes quick. But most books will.

Why use a mobile sportsbook?
You don’t have to be at a physical sportsbook to place bets. You can live bet. It is more than anything the ease.

Also some physical books will limit your payouts. So if you like betting lotto ticket parlays, the mobile books usually allow a larger maximum payout. (I was in Vegas for the weekend with some friends. Bet MGM in the Mirage limited our total payout to $24,999. I usually don’t see DK limiting bettors on lotto parlays until the odds reach +20,000 range.

What lines do they offer?
Every line you could possibly want is likely listed on DK.

What makes DraftKings different from other exchanges?
Volume of bets that can be placed. I can’t say for certain, but I tend to think i see better lines when shopping at DK. Only taking a mental note of that and not actually tracking which one does.

Is there an App?
Yes, and it’s arguably my favorite interface. But that is all a personal preference.

Is it safe?
Yes, they have all the same safety regulations that any book will offer. They also have the dual verification logins.

Rating –
1= This book should fold immediately and never attempt to offer lines again
10= nothing needs changed, this is the only book anyone needs
8.5

DraftKings in my opinion is the top book/app. In terms of simplicity, volume of bets, ease of use, and availability, its right there with the best of them if not the benchmark book.

Because it is not in every state(that it is legal) and the bonuses are mediocre, it gets a small 0.25 knock. I’ll give it another point knock for lines being cheesy sometimes and they push incredibly ridiculous Same Game Parlays or bets onto the user. I’ll knock it another 0.25 for it not always having the best lines.

You can’t do everything right. DK however does a lot right. These are based off my experience, if you have other opinions about them let me know at @freecheekid over on twitter.

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