HOW TO PLAY

DAILY FANTASY SPORTS

Experience the daily fantasy sweat and live the vibe of victory.

Daily Fantasy Sports iOS App IconDaily Fantasy Sports Google App Icon

HOW TO PLAY

DAILY FANTASY SPORTS

Experience the daily fantasy sweat and live the vibe of victory.

Daily Fantasy Sports iOS App IconDaily Fantasy Sports Google App Icon

What is Daily Fantasy Sports?

Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) mirrors season-long fantasy sports but condenses it into a shorter, more sweat-inducing format. Heart-throttling contests range from a day to a week depending on the sport. Competitors draft a player roster and those athletes earn points based on their in-game performance. Sweat the sweat each and every play. Test your skills with friends or with other fans nationally and let victory chase you for a change.


DraftKings DFS is legal in most US states. Check out where DraftKings DFS is legal.

How to Play

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Pick a Contest

Browse the lobby to choose from a wide range of contests across all different sports. A contest is the specific competition you and your lineup will be competing in against other players for prizes. Generally a contest is for a specific real life game or set of games. You can sort by total prizes, contest type, sport, and more to find the perfect contest for you.

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Draft a Lineup

Once decided on a contest, next you’ll want to draft a lineup of real players competing in the chosen games. In our salary cap contests, you’re given a fictional $50,000 as a salary cap to spend on your team. Each eligible player is assigned a salary. Create your lineup by selecting players listed in the Player Pool. Once you’ve filled all positions in your lineup (unique to each sport) while staying under your $50,000 salary cap, you can submit your lineup into the contest.

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Sweat the Sweat

Watch your players accumulate points based on their performance in actual games. Track your team online or on your mobile device in our app and see your players earn points in real time.

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Check Results

Check the standings when the last game is over and bask in your drafting genius. If you’ve won or placed into a paying position in a contest, the amount you’ve won, as determined by the prize structure of that contest, will be credited to your DraftKings account as soon as the contest ends. You can use your winnings to play even more contests or you can withdraw.

How to Play

Magnifying_Glass.svg
Pick a Contest

Browse the lobby to choose from a wide range of contests across all different sports. A contest is the specific competition you and your lineup will be competing in against other players for prizes. Generally a contest is for a specific real life game or set of games. You can sort by total prizes, contest type, sport, and more to find the perfect contest for you.

Lineup.svg
Draft a Lineup

Once decided on a contest, next you’ll want to draft a lineup of real players competing in the chosen games. In our salary cap contests, you’re given a fictional $50,000 as a salary cap to spend on your team. Each eligible player is assigned a salary. Create your lineup by selecting players listed in the Player Pool. Once you’ve filled all positions in your lineup (unique to each sport) while staying under your $50,000 salary cap, you can submit your lineup into the contest.

Phone.svg
Sweat the Sweat

Watch your players accumulate points based on their performance in actual games. Track your team online or on your mobile device in our app and see your players earn points in real time.

Trophy.svg
Check Results

Check the standings when the last game is over and bask in your drafting genius. If you’ve won or placed into a paying position in a contest, the amount you’ve won, as determined by the prize structure of that contest, will be credited to your DraftKings account as soon as the contest ends. You can use your winnings to play even more contests or you can withdraw.

Contest Types

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CASUAL

Open to players who have played over 50 contests, but have not yet earned an experience badge.

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HEAD-TO-HEAD

Face-off against one opponent. Just score higher than your adversary and winner takes all.

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IN-GAME-SHOWDOWNS

These contests are all about the second half and overtime. Draft after the first half. Pick the players you think will crush in the clutch.

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TOURNAMENT

Join small and large field contests with huge prizes. Mix it up in private or with the public.

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BEST BALL

These contests span the season. Teams are drafted in a Snake Draft, and that roster is used for the entire duration of the contest. Learn more about Draftkings Best Ball.

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FLASH DRAFT

Compete while watching a live game with Flash Draft. Learn more about DraftKings Flash Draft.

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SINGLE-GAME-SHOWDOWN

Draft performance players from the two teams competing in a single game. Mind the salary cap.

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LEAGUES

Create private contests to play with your friends. Compete in any sport at any time and track your results on your league’s exclusive leaderboard.

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TIERS

Draft a team from sets of smaller pools of players. Sans salary cap. This mode jolts you into the action quickly and easily.

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SNAKE DRAFT

Teams take turns drafting players live and the pick order is reversed each round. Once the draft is complete, no roster management is needed. Learn more about DraftKings Snake Drafts.

FREE TO PLAY POOLS

Play in free contests against other players who have joined the same pool. Each winner’s prize depends on the number of players in the pool, the prize amount, and the number of winners.

50/50s

Players whose teams finish in the top half of the field win cash, regardless of the number of entries.

SATELLITES AND QUALIFIERS

Players win tickets that can be used for entry in higher-stake contests.

BEGINNER CONTESTS

Beginner contests are a great way for those new to DFS to experience the fun and excitement of our contests. We recommend new players start with beginner contests or low-cost private contests.

INVITE YOUR FRIENDS

Try a private, friends-only league, or Head-to-Head contest of $1, $5, $10, or more. It’s a great way to get going.

Contest Types

DFS_Casual.png

CASUAL

Open to players who have played over 50 contests, but have not yet earned an experience badge.

DFS_H2H.png

HEAD-TO-HEAD

Face-off against one opponent. Just score higher than your adversary and winner takes all.

DFS_In_Game_Showdown.png

IN-GAME-SHOWDOWNS

These contests are all about the second half and overtime. Draft after the first half. Pick the players you think will crush in the clutch.

DFS_Tournament.png

TOURNAMENT

Join small and large field contests with huge prizes. Mix it up in private or with the public.

DFS_Best_Ball.png

BEST BALL

These contests span the season. Teams are drafted in a Snake Draft, and that roster is used for the entire duration of the contest. Learn more about Draftkings Best Ball.

DFS_Flash_Draft.png

FLASH DRAFT

Compete while watching a live game with Flash Draft. Learn more about DraftKings Flash Draft.

DFS_Single_Game_Showdown.png

SINGLE-GAME-SHOWDOWN

Draft performance players from the two teams competing in a single game. Mind the salary cap.

DFS_Leagues.png

LEAGUES

Create private contests to play with your friends. Compete in any sport at any time and track your results on your league’s exclusive leaderboard.

DFS_Tiers.png

TIERS

Draft a team from sets of smaller pools of players. Sans salary cap. This mode jolts you into the action quickly and easily.

DFS_Snake_Draft.png

SNAKE DRAFT

Teams take turns drafting players live and the pick order is reversed each round. Once the draft is complete, no roster management is needed. Learn more about DraftKings Snake Drafts.

FREE TO PLAY POOLS

Play in free contests against other players who have joined the same pool. Each winner’s prize depends on the number of players in the pool, the prize amount, and the number of winners.

50/50s

Players whose teams finish in the top half of the field win cash, regardless of the number of entries.

SATELLITES AND QUALIFIERS

Players win tickets that can be used for entry in higher-stake contests.

BEGINNER CONTESTS

Beginner contests are a great way for those new to DFS to experience the fun and excitement of our contests. We recommend new players start with beginner contests or low-cost private contests.

INVITE YOUR FRIENDS

Try a private, friends-only league, or Head-to-Head contest of $1, $5, $10, or more. It’s a great way to get going.

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Experience Badges

Know exactly who you’re playing. Players will have different badges throughout the site that signify experience level. These badges signify contest entry milestones for highly-experienced players. Anyone with an Experience Badge is ineligible for Beginner or Casual contests. However, if a player earns a badge after contest entry, they will remain in the contest. For more information, click below to check out our badges page.

LEARN MORE

How to Play Glossary

PMR

PMR or Player Minutes Remaining is simply the total amount of game time left between all the players in your lineup. Track your PMR relative to other contestants to see how you stack up.

OPRK

OPRK or Opponent Rank tells you how many fantasy points per game the opposing team allows to players of a specific position. It can help you judge the matchup that a certain fantasy player faces.

50/50

A contest type where lineups finishing in the top half of the field win cash no matter the number of entries. All winning entries receive the same prize money.

Bankroll

This is how much money you have available in your DraftKings account to enter contests.

GPP

GPP or Guaranteed Prize Pool is a tournament-style contest in which there is a set amount of money in the prize pool up for grabs, regardless of the number of entries.

Chalk

A term used to describe a player that is projected to have a high ownership percentage. A “chalk” player is an obvious, conventional pick because they are widely expected to perform well.

Multi-entry

A contest type in which multiple entries are allowed. Each participant can submit as many lineups as they'd like, up to the maximum amount of entries as stated in the specific contest details.

FPPG

FPPG or Fantasy Points Per Game is the average amount of fantasy points a given player scores during one game. It’s a great way to quickly get a feel for a player when building your lineup.

Salary

In our salary cap contests, you have $50,000 to compile your roster. Each player listed in the Player Pool has an assigned fictional salary, which will fluctuate based on their recent performance.