Overall Grade: A-
The American-owned DraftKings venture offers customers a sportsbook along with a casino and
fantasy sports contests. The sportsbook was launched in August, 2018 in New Jersey, making it the first
legal online sports wagering business in the state. The company also has mobile sports operations in
West Virginia, Indiana, Iowa, Mississippi, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania. Also DraftKings retail
sports wagering can be found in the states of New Jersey, Iowa, New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania and
Mississippi.
Ease of Use: A–
When you arrive at the DraftKings website you’re asked to log in or continue with Facebook. If you
don’t have an account you can create one at this point. There’s not much else on the home page other
than a site map at the bottom. From here you can link to the sportsbook, the online casino, and the
mobile apps as well as things such as fantasy sports and how-to-play guides. Some of these links don’t
take you to where you expect, but if you keep clicking on the pages that do show up you can eventually
get to where you’re looking for.
If you can eventually find a link to the customer support department you’ll find a live chat option in the
bottom right corner and the support team is available 24 hours, seven days a week. The sportsbook
offers live in-play betting while the bottom of the page links to individual sports odds, betting guides,
sports news, videos and podcasts etc. The sportsbook and casino both offer promotions with the sports
available for betting being listed on the left side of the page. These are mostly mainstream sports but
there are options for handball, cricket, cycling, darts snooker and table tennis. There’s also a section for
betting on the Academy Awards.
The odds are listed in the American style and the only language available on the site is English. In
addition, it’s hard to access some areas of the website unless you’re logged in with an account. This
seems to be specially true for the fantasy sports options. Also, banking options are hard to find and I
didn’t come across any live streaming or audio choices for sports events. The areas of the website that
you can access work well enough and are easy to figure out but to get the full scope of choices at
DraftKings you really need to have an account.
Reputation: A
DraftKings was founded in 2012 and became a publicly traded company in April, 2020. It’s
headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts with offices also located in London, England and Malta.
Basketball legend Michael Jordan became a board advisor and investor in 2020 and the company is
financially secure. In March, 2021 DraftKings acquired the Vegas Stats & Information Network which
is a broadcasting outlet that focuses n sports-wagering programming. Several major sports leagues in
America have partnered with the company including the NFL and MLB and DraftKings also has a
partnership with Dish Network.
Sign up Process: A
If you’d like to join the DraftKings site as a customer you’ll need to create an account online. You’ll be
asked to create a user name and password while supplying an email address. Depending on the state
you’re in, you’ll need to confirm that you’re at least 18, 19 or 21 years of age and agree to the
company’s terms of use and privacy policy. The next page asks for your full name and address, date of
birth, phone number and the last four digits of your social security number to verify your identity.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Live in-play wagering
- Casino and sportsbook promotions
- Quick, safe and secure payouts
- FAQ page
- Live chat
- Financially secure
- Mobile apps
- Betting guides
- Sports articles
Cons
- American odds only
- Slightly confusing website with some broken links
- English language only
- Hard to find banking information
Overall Observation
DraftKings is one of the most popular online wagering companies in America as it provides everything
needed such as a sportsbook, casino, fantasy sports, betting guides, sports articles and news but I didn’t
see any horse racing. There are some promotions available but it’s more of a meat and potatoes site
without all of the extras to bog things down. Still, the website could be improved upon to make it easier
and quicker to navigate and some of the links lead to nowhere.
The best way to access the areas you’re looking for is via the site map unless you’re logged on as a
customer. DraftKings can be followed on several social media sites which are: Facebook, Twitter,
YouTube and Instagram.
Overall, there’s enough wagering and gaming options at DraftKings to keep most people happy,
especially considering online betting is relatively new in America. Their website could be a little easier
to use but if you keep trying you’ll get to your destination sooner or later.