Fantasy sports or as in this case fantasy football is a game type where the players get to create virtual simulations of real professional players from a certain sport. The Fantasy players will then have to compete against other participants in varying agreed formats. As points are being scored, the winner is eventually determined based on how the fantasy players have performed in the actual live games. You are like a coach or a club manager in your own world making decision that you think can effect real change to your team in real life. It’s like building a prototype team of your design and testing it with real life condition for the enjoyment of the fantasy or like I would term it “in your live dreams”
Playing fantasy football is all about creating a virtual roster of real players and using this roster to challenge other people’s rosters. Fantasy football is played by using the stats of real players. You don’t need to worry about the real NFL team’s losses or wins, all you are concerned with is the performance of individual players you added to your fantasy team. Performances such as the individual player’s catches, touchdowns, yards etc. matters a lot.
Fantasy football lives up to its ‘fantasy’ quality, because it is just like a dream come true to draft in different top players from around the world or league into your team and competing with other persons using the players real life statistics.
Fantasy football is very simple to play, and you just have to follow these steps to take part in one of the many DFS tournaments:
- Register your account at one of our recommended DFS brands: This usually requires you to submit some basic personal information and you will get to pick your team name.
- Join a league: This is where you join a league with upwards of a dozen different teams and varying prize pools.
- Draft your team squad: Here is where you participate in a draft where you have to assemble your football squad while staying under the salary cap.
- Pick your starting line-up: Now you get to choose which of your players gets to start in the week's games. Be sure to take a note of any injured players and fill in the key positions with in-form players.
- Compete in the fantasy football tournaments: Now you can watch your line-up getting points for how their real-life counterparts perform in the NFL. The team with the highest points total will win the tournament and get a larger share of the prize pool.
The basic principle of fantasy sports betting is that you put together a team of NFL players based on certain selection criteria and those players then earn points for your team according to how they perform in games. Here's how it works:
- You might be asked to pay your way into the league which has other opponents with fixed league duration.
- This fixed duration may be for one round of games or for the entire season.
- The owner of the team with the highest points over the fixed duration wins the greatest share of the prize pool.
However, another way to bet on your fantasy sports team is to go up against a single opponent. You would both place wagers of an equal amount, and the one whose team scores the highest amount of points wins their opponent’s stake.
You can take part in two major competitions while playing the daily fantasy football. They are the Tournaments and Cash Games and they work as follows:
| DFS Competition type | How it works |
| Tournaments
| - Features a guaranteed prize pool
- Involves competing against other team owners
- Usually have to be among top 15 owners to get a share of prize pool
|
| Cash games | - Also known as head-to-heads or 50-50s
- Must be in top half of tournament winners to get prize
- Prize gives you double your tournament entry fee
- Must play directly against another player
|
Just like our
sports betting comparison page
gives you a handy overview of the best online sportsbooks in general, we’ve created this quick shortlist that highlights the best fantasy football betting platforms. Perfect for getting a great start to your DFS experience:
Underdog
- 100% up to $100 welcome offer
- User-friendly DFS app
- Top fantasy tournaments for the NFL
Parlay Play
- 100% up to $100 sign up bonus
- Unique DFS football package
- Good for fantasy rookies
OwnersBox
- 100% up $500 welcome bonus
- Huge range of tournaments
- Top coverage of the NFL
FanDuel Fantasy
- Established DFS brand
- 100% up to $100 welcome offer
- Free NFL entries each week
DraftKings Fantasy
- 20% up to $500 sign up promo
- Excellent daily fantasy tournaments
- Huge prize pools
ThriveFantasy
- 100% up to $100 offer for new customers
- Well designed DFS platform
- Fast fantasy football betting
Dabble
- $10 no deposit welcome offer
- Top coverage of the NFL
- Impressive prize pools
Boom Fantasy
- No sweat bet promo up to $100
- Intuitive DFS app
- No salary caps involved
Editor’s Recommendation - Underdog
Pros and cons of Underdog
- Excellent Best Ball contests
- Handy matched deposit bonus
- Available in 41 states
- Prop pick’em contests
- May not suit pro fantasy betting fans
While each of the above DFS platforms will give you a great way to enjoy fantasy football betting, there is something about Underdog that is a step beyond its rivals.
The focus here is on those Best Ball tournaments where you get to select your line-up and then just see how it performs over the whole of the season without the need to tinker around with substitutions. Elsewhere you’ll find plenty of daily draft contests and prop pick’em competitions that’ll give you a great alternative to regular
American football betting.
New customers at Underdog get a great start in the form of a 100% up to $100 matched deposit bonus, and you’ll even be able to pick up a money back guarantee if you don’t like what you find here. Plus with top customer support, plenty of trusted payment methods and availability in 41 out of 50 states, you’ll understand why so many football fans want to play at Underdog.
100% First Deposit Match up to $100 in Promo Funds
Must be 18+ (19+ in NE, AL) (21+ in MA). Must be physically located in the United States, excluding HI, ID, LA , MT, NV, OR, or WA. Eligibility restrictions apply. Void where prohibited. First-time deposit. get a 100% match in Promo Funds, up to $100. Promo Funds are used before cash. Promo Funds are non-withdawable. Winnings from Promo Funds are credited to your account subject to meeting the play-through requirement of 1x deposited funds. Promo Funds expire 7 days after receipt. Terms: https://help.parlayplay.io/promotional-terms. Concerned with you play? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit www.ncpgambling.org.
What to look out for when choosing a DFS site
There are dozens of DFS platforms out there and each one will give you a different way of enjoying fantasy football betting. So here is a quick rundown of key factors to look for in any DFS provider before you sign up to its platform:
- DFS product: Here you’ll get to see whether you’ll be building your own team line-ups, making predictions on player statistics, or something completely different. All of which should add an extra dimension to your football experience.
- Prize pools: You’ll want to make sure that you are being rewarded for your fantasy football knowhow and there can be quite a big range in terms of the sizes of the prize pools on offer.
- Social features: Fantasy football is so much more fun when you do it with friends. So you’ll want a DFS platform with lots of community features so that you can share bragging rights, commiserate staggering losses and more.
- Bonus offers: All good DFS platforms will have a welcome offer that will match your deposits or simply give you free credit to play with.
- Usability: You will want to make sure that the fantasy football provider’s platform is easy to use from your computer or mobile. Most DFS brands now have well-designed fantasy sports apps.
- Payment options: Most decent DFS platforms will let you make your deposits and withdrawals with a variety of trusted payment providers such as Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, ACH bank transfer and so on.
- Customer support: It should be quick and easy to get in touch with the DFS brand’s customer support team via live chat, email or phone. Plus these brands should feature a decent FAQ and be reachable via social media.
- Reward programs: It’s always interesting to see what different DFS platforms offer existing customers in the way of promo offers and loyalty schemes.
- Licensing and security: Last but not least, you will want to check that the DFS provider is legally allowed to operate in your state, and that it has adequate encryption technology to safeguard your deposits and data.
We’ve shown you that there are plenty of excellent DFS brands who will give you a great way to enjoy fantasy football. Whether you are playing against random players in a big season-long league or just taking on a friend in a quick cash game, there is no doubt that DFS offers a great way of adding some extra spice to the NFL season.
Our guide has highlighted those DFS providers who have everything from the best fantasy football tournaments to the most generous offers, but it’s important to remember that these brands will be constantly updating their services. So make sure that you check back to this guide to see which fantasy football sites you should be playing at.
Just sign up to one of our featured DFS brands, make a deposit and then use that to enter one of the tournaments. Here you’ll either build your own line-up or make predictions about some player statistics, and if you outperform the other players, you could win a share of a prize pool.
It depends on who you are talking to. For most people, fantasy football doesn’t involve any gambling as it is skill-based. This makes DFS sites available in more states compared to regular real money online sportsbooks.
Our guide has found that brands like Underdog, OwnersBox, DraftKings Fantasy and FanDuel Fantasy will give you a superior fantasy football experience. But check out our guide to see which DFS brands fit your fantasy football betting needs best.
It depends which state you are playing from as all DFS brands are available in some states and not others. But on the whole, there is a strong chance that you will be able to download a fantasy football app in your state.
Many DFS providers feature free contests that you can enter without having to pay any entry fees. Plus it’s worth noting that some fantasy football sites like Dabble have no deposit bonuses for new customers that let you play for free
