FantasyDraft was founded with a simple mission: to provide a players first user experience, giving users the option for lower rake contents than FanDuel and DraftKings. Their site motto is “we built our site and create our contests with #PlayersFirst as our guiding principle,” stating that PlayersFirst means that they “make decisions that are in the best interest of our players.”
Here are some of the ways FantasyDraft hopes to achieve that goal:
Less top-heavy contents: Paying out a minimum of 25% of players in paid contests. Less top-heavy structures means less variance for GPP players and more chances to get a return on your investment.
Lower Contest Fees: Lower contest fees means more money in your pocket.
Flexible Lineup Structure: More freedom to build, done using extra FLEX positions, and less specific positions.
Multi-Entry Capping: leveling the playing field by limiting the number of lineups players can enter in contests.
Six Degrees of Pay: A referral program that rewards users when their friends of friends refer.
What’s different about FantasyDraft?
Tiered rake-free payout options
In July 2019, FantasyDraft introduced their subscription-based, 100 percent rake-free platform. This gives users the option of paying a monthly fee to use the site, rake free. A starter can pay $5.99 per month to enter $1,000 worth of entry fees per month, without paying the rake. Assuming a 15% rake on other sites, that’s a savings of $144.
Here is the list of the FantasyDraft packages
PlayersFirst: free plan that allows up to $100 in entry fees per month;
Starter: $5.99 per month, $1,000 rake free entries;
All-American: $14.99 per month, $3,000 rake free entries;
Professional: $49.99 per month, $10,000 in rake free entries;
All-Star: $99.99 per month, $25,000 in rake free entries;
MVP: $499.99 per month, $100,000 in rake free entries; and
Hall of Fame: $999.99 per month: Unlimited rake free entries.
More FLEX positions
Added roster flexibility is a good thing. You can gain and edge by creating unique rosters and stacks, while putting in more of you highly projected players.
MLB for example, has two FLEX spots and three INF spots, instead of forcing users to put in lineups that don’t work because their positions aren’t listed correctly in the player pool.
Higher Salary Cap
Unlike FanDuel and DraftKings, FantasyDraft offers a $100,000 salary cap, making it easy to identify the percentage of a player’s cap hit.
Is FantasyDraft Legal?
Yes, FantasyDraft is legal. Unlike traditional betting sites, daily fantasy sports have been classified as a skill game and legalized by the federal government.
They’ve earned a reputation throughout the industry as a safe place to deposit and withdraw, keeping personal accounts and clients separated, which ensures your funds will always be available. No ongoing issues have been reported, so DFSers can feel safe withdrawing and depositing their hard-earned fantasy dollars.
FantasyDraft is headquartered in the Charlotte, NC area and is a member of the Fantasy Sports Trade Association. They adhere to their Paid Entry Contest Operator Charter.
Who can play on FantasyDraft?
FantasyDraft is perfectly legal on a federal level and you don’t need worry about your deposits.
Unfortunately, each state makes its own laws for Fantasy Sports legality, and FantasyDraft adheres to them. The following states currently aren’t able to deposit money on FantasyDraft:
- Alabama
- Arizona
- Delaware
- Hawaii
- Iowa
- Louisiana
- Montana
- Nevada
- Washington
Make sure to check back in, because states are passing new laws every month, making it easier for Fantasy Drafters to play. As you’ve probably heard, there is an ongoing effort to legalize DFS and sports betting across all 50 states, so it’s likely this list will change, shortly.
FantasyDraft Look and Usage
FantasyDraft has a clean, uncomplicated, easy to use look, that sets the industry standard for simple, effective design. There are few advertisements, fillers and promotions. Each contest has a simple “enter” button beside it.
The top banner has tabs for their contest lobby, Upcoming Contests, Live Contests, Completed Contests and a viewable lineups page. To the to right you’ll find a place to deposit money and to access specifics about your account. All very easy and straightforward.
Withdrawing and depositing
FantasyDraft currently provides two common depositing methods:
PayPal and Credit Card
PayPal is the most widely trusted and used brand for transferring cash on the internet, so any time they are involved with a site, that’s a good sign. You can also use major credit cards to add funds.
Withdrawal Methods
There are two methods you can use to take your winnings out of your account:
PayPal
For obvious reasons, PayPal is the most popular withdrawal method. It’s trusted, quick and easy. To ensure the safety of players’ funds, all withdrawal requests will be reviewed by their fraud team and are usually processed within two business days.
Checks
Checks are available usually take between 7-10 days to arrive
Current Sports Offered
- NFL
- MLB
- NBA
- PGA
- NHL
Because FantasyDraft is a relatively new site, their offerings are smaller than other, bigger DFS sites, but fortunately they have all the biggest DFS sports. It’s safe to say that they are planning on growing and expanding their catalogue in the coming months and years and we can expect more sports shortly.
Contest Types
FantasyDraft offers a variety of contest types, and these are listed along with ongoing promotions. The regular contest types are:
- GPPs
- 50/50 and Double Ups
- Multipliers
- H2Hs
- Qualifiers
If you’re new to DFS, the vast majority of contests fill into one of two categories: Cash and GPP.
Cash games are smaller contests that have less players and a higher chance of cashing out and are often called 50/50s, or double ups. They also include multipliers and head-to-head games
GPPs are large tournaments with thousands of participants. These contests vary by size and entry fees, but guarantee the money offered.
Lineup Building
Once you have your money deposited and your contest selected, it’s time to build your lineups. Let’s use NFL roster construction as an example. All FantasyDraft rosters are done virtually the same way with a $100,000 salary cap, but the value of players and actual pricing (as well as the amount of players required) can vary per sport.
For NFL contests, you’ll be creating a lineup with the following positions:
- QB
- RB
- RB
- WR
- WR
- TE
- FLEX
- FLEX
- DEF
One of the great FantasyDraft options is their increased flexibly for roster construction. You don’t have to worry about only being able to roster one highly projected first baseman, because you have multiple INF spots in baseball. You can make more accurate stacks in football with the added FLEX spot.
Once you’re ready to build your NFL DFS roster, you base your process on the $100,000 salary cap and fill out your roster with a mixture of highly projected players and lower-owned sleepers you don’t think other people will think to use. Try to form the the best team possible while staying under the $100k FantasyDraft cap.
FantasyDraft Referral Program
FantasyDraft offers an easy way to get your friends and family involved and also earn some easy cash. The referrals tab opens the door to a number of methods to gain referrals (social media, email, etc) and also lets you track your progress.
The real bonus is their Six Degrees of Pay add-on, which allows you to rack up cash. If a friend that you referred, refers someone else, you get some cash. The more you refer, the more you earn.
Device Compatibility
FantasyDraft runs well on all major web browsers and is also mobile-friendly. Users can sign up, manage their account and compete in contests from their laptop, desk computer, phone or tablet.
FantasyDraft doesn’t have a mobile app as of writing, although with the site constantly catering to its users and aiming high, one is likely coming soon.
Customer Support
FantasyDraft offers four easy ways to get your questions answered:
- Envelope
- FAQ Page
- Live Chat
The site is equipped with a long list of Frequently Asked Questions, as well as a customer support page.
If you’re unable to answer a question via the site’s FAQ page, you can email customer support for help and expect a quick response time.
For Emails, give the support team a topic that describes your question or concern and provide your FantasyDraft username, name and phone number, along with your message. Or you can just chat with someone live.