DraftKings Sportsbook NJ Review
You don’t have to be sports betting aficionado to know about DraftKings Sportsbook NJ and the DraftKings brand in general. Jason Robins, Paul Liberman, and Matt Kalish launched the daily fantasy sports platform in 2012 from a spare bedroom, and their business quickly took off.
Fast-forward eight years and DraftKings got so big that they started trading on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange. This tells you all you need to know about the size and importance of the DraftKings sportsbook.
As you can expect from a sportsbook of DraftKings’ magnitude, they are a completely legitimate business. DraftKings NJ is licensed and regulated by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement. They are registered as an Internet gaming operator, and that means that you can legally bet the DraftKings sportsbook. My only suggestion regarding this is to make sure that you are located in New Jersey and are 21 years or older, and you’re all set.
Another thing that the people at DraftKings take very seriously is responsible gaming. DraftKings team members receive special education to recognize people with a gambling problem. They also provide assistance directly or give information regarding programs and initiatives that increase problem gambling awareness. So please bear in mind that help is there if you need it.
People laud the DraftKings sportsbook as one of the best ones out there. Its betting options and mobile app receive lots of praise in particular. Let’s see if that’s really the case as we take a closer look at what DraftKings NJ has to offer.
DraftKings Sports Betting Offer
There are over 100 sports competitions to choose from when placing your bet at DraftKings. The DraftKings sportsbook has pretty much all the sports bets available including college and professional games. This means that online sports betting enthusiasts can place bets on NCAA games as well as on professional NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL duels.
In addition to these, New Jersey bettors can also place wagers on other sports such as:
- Soccer,
- Tennis,
- MMA,
- Golf,
- Cricket,
- etc.
All of these sports are available for both pregame and in-play wagers. In fact, DraftKings was one of the first NJ sportsbooks to give its players the chance to place live bets. Therefore, it is only natural that they now have one of the best in-play betting offers out there.
DraftKings Types of Bets
DraftKings sports betting enthusiasts can also choose from a variety of bet types when placing their wagers. They can opt for more ‘mainstream’ markets such as 2-way moneyline and point spread betting lines. However, they can also go for more exotic bets and wager on individual players, correct results, first to score, and so on.
All these types of bets are available in the pregame and live betting market. Players have an option to go with a pregame betting slip, a live one, or can combine pregame and in-play bets.
When combining those selections, players can place doubles, trebles, as well as much bigger parlay wagers. What is more exciting, New Jersey bettors can also bet on various system wagers and combination bets such as Trixie, Yankee, Goliath, and so on. Plenty of options available in my opinion, to just let it pass.
DraftKings NJ Bonuses
High-stakes bettors speak in glowing terms of DraftKings NJ bonuses and especially of the sportsbook’s sign up combo package. After inspecting this new client bonus closely, I can verify that it is indeed a high-quality promo, but only if you are a high-roller. To get the most of DraftKings welcome bonus double-package, you have to be ready to bet large sums of money.
Other DraftKings promotions that you should give a closer look include:
- Refer-a-friend free bet;
- Free to play pools;
- Profit boosts;
- Specific even free bets (e.g., NBA playoffs);
- etc.
These are all decent promotions if you are a budget bettor as you can activate them easily. You can get lots of bonus funds courtesy of DraftKings only by opting in for these smaller but decent sideshow promotions.
Lastly, I’m not going to go into detail about DraftKings fantasy promos and competitions as there are way too many of them, and I’m only reviewing the sportsbook here anyway. However, if you want to really experience the heart and soul of DraftKings, you have to try their daily fantasy offers and the Tournament of Champions in particular. The top prize is $1 million, and don’t get me started on the bragging rights if you win the tournament. Your friends will never hear the end of it.
DraftKings NJ Free Bet
New players can get a 100% up to $500 risk-free wager with DraftKings NJ Free Bet promo. This happens when new DraftKings bettors place their first wager. If they bet $100, they will get $100 in the form of a risk-free bet. Basically, their first wager is free.
However, you need to be careful here. The DraftKings sportsbook awards this bonus on the first bet, not on the first deposit. This means that even though this offer is quite lucrative, it is gone after only one bet.
Even worse, you only get bonus funds if your bet loses and not if it wins. For instance, let’s say that you place a $20 first bet. If the bet loses, you get $20 that you can only use as another bet later on (you cannot withdraw them). However, if the bet wins, you only get the profit from the $20 wager and not the bonus funds.
DraftKings First Deposit Bonus
To compensate for Free Bet, the people at DraftKings added a standard first deposit bonus to complement the $500 risk-free bet. This deposit bonus looks very enticing on the surface as it also promises bonus funds of up to $500.
However, on closer inspection, you see that this promo is actually only a 20% matched deposit bonus. This means that to get $500 in bonus funds, you have to deposit $2,500, and that’s a lot. In addition, to qualify for the bonus, you have to make all play-thru bets at odds of -300 or greater.
On balance, DraftKings’ risk-free bet, together with the first deposit bonus, make for a decent promo package. However, I still stand on my initial claim that it favors high-stakes players as they can get the most of the new customer bonus.
DraftKings NJ Promo Code
All bonuses and promotions currently available at the sportsbook don’t require that you enter a DrafKings NJ promo code. I am not a huge fan of promo codes as they make the bonus activation process longer, so it’s alright with me that there are no DraftKings promo codes.
Payments & Withdrawals
DraftKings NewJersey players have the standard payments & withdrawals options at their disposal. Bettors can fund their sportsbook account and can make deposits by using banking methods such as:
- Visa and MasterCard credit and debit cards,
- American Express,
- Discover,
- PayPal.
Most of these deposit options are instant, and you will have your funds on your account in a matter of minutes after you make them.
When it comes to withdrawals, players can withdraw funds to their PayPal accounts via ACH, check, or can go to the DraftKings cage and pick their winnings from there. The DraftKings sportsbook processes withdrawal requests within 48 hours. This means that in most situations, you will receive your winnings between 2 and 5 days after making the request.
Lastly, to bet at the DraftKings sportsbook in New Jersey, you have to be present physically in the State of New Jersey. If you are outside NJ and the state you are in doesn’t allow sports betting, you will only be able to make deposits or to withdraw your funds there. This rule applies to all New Jersey sports betting sites.
DraftKings NJ Mobile App
If you are someone who doesn’t want to make compromises when betting on the go, you will like the award-winning DraftKings NJ mobile app. The app won the Fantasy Sports & Gaming Association award for the Best Sports Betting app of 2019 and the competition was tough.
You can use the DraftKings sportsbook app on both iOS and Android devices, and links to download the app are available directly on the DraftKings site. This is something that experienced bettors appreciate as finding apps, especially their Android versions, can be quite a tedious experience.
Easy to Navigate
One of the greatest strengths of the DraftKings app is how easy it is to access everything. For instance, when you open the sports betting app, you first see the quick links to popular events. Immediately under them, you can find live sports games. And you can access the list of sports by clicking on the Home menu. Basically, that’s the three main parts of a sportsbook being only one touch and a swipe away from each other. That’s all you can ask from a mobile app.
This level of functionality is not surprising, to be honest. DraftKings are quite adept at creating quality apps and, in fact, have several of them. In addition to the app for their online sportsbook, they also boast a daily fantasy sports app, a casino app, and a DraftKings Live app.
Mobile Live Streaming
Another excellent feature available through the app is the recently added live streaming service. DraftKings app users can now watch live streams of popular events such as games from the Korean baseball championship and from the German Bundesliga.
This is quite impressive as most online sports betting sites opt for lesser-known sports to start off their streaming service. The fact that DraftKings’ award-winning app launched operations by streaming one of the most popular soccer leagues in the world should tell you all you need to know about their future streaming plans.
Mobile Banking Options
All banking options that you can use on the desktop site are there when you use the DraftKings sportsbook app too. This means that you can deposit funds into your account and ask for withdrawals via the app. An excellent touch in my opinion.
This is a feature that any app must have because let’s admit when the last time you deposited money into a betting account via a desktop computer was? You can’t remember, right? Neither, can I.
A very useful feature that the DraftKings app and site offer to their bettors is the ability to connect their different accounts. This means that you can use your daily fantasy funds to place sportsbook bets and to play casino games, which is quite nice.
Mobile Bonuses and Promotions
You should also know that you can activate any bonus offer via the DraftKings mobile app quite easily. What is more impressive, since the app is streamlined and offers greater functionality, opting in for a bonus is much easier than through the desktop site.
This is especially true for bonuses such as the Refer-A-Friend promo, where you have to send a link to a friend to get the bonus. Needless to say, this is much simpler if you do it through the app.
DraftKings Sportsbook Customer Service
The DraftKings sportsbook customer service is pretty good. For starters, they operate 24/7. That’s something you want to see in most New Jersey betting sites, but, surprisingly, only a few have it.
Another thing that makes the DraftKings customer service better than competition help-desks is the communication channels it comes with. You can get in touch with customer support staff via:
- Online contact form;
- Live chat,
- Email (sportsbook@draftkings.com);
- Mail;
- Social Media.
Before you try to get in touch with customer service, though, I recommend you try their Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section. There, you are likely to find the answers to all your questions as the section is quite comprehensive.
DraftKings Sports Live Streams
The DraftKings Sports live streams feature is a very recent addition to the online sportsbook. And if I’m honest, even when the DraftKings sportsbook didn’t have live streams of games, it was still better than the majority of online sports betting sites. Now that they do, they are head and shoulders above some of them.
The best thing about the live streaming feature is that it’s very easy to use. To be able to watch a live game, you only need to have a balance higher than $0.00 on your online sportsbook account. To have at least $0.01 in your account is literally the only condition you have to meet to watch games.
One aspect that can and probably will be improved is where you can watch these live games. At the moment, you can only watch live streams using the DraftKings mobile app. However, since these are still early days for the streaming service, it is to be expected that this feature will also be available from a desktop computer soon.
Conclusion
The DraftKings sportsbook is a top-quality sports betting provider. It is easily one of the best sportsbooks in New Jersey, and you will have to look hard to find one that comes close to it.
Some key aspects that make the DraftKings sportsbook better than the competition include the excellent sports betting offer, award-winning app, 24/7 customer service, and a quality live streaming feature.
As with other sportsbooks, there is always room for improvement in some segments. The DraftKings sportsbook Achilles’ heel is the 20% matched deposit bonus offer. Most sportsbooks match players’ bonuses by 50% or 100%, and DraftKings’ decision to go with only 20% is puzzling.
However, the sportsbook does manage to slightly offset this with its up to $500, no risk first bet. When the two welcome bonuses are combined, they make for a decent new customer offer. To make the most of it, though, you have to be a high-stakes player.
Overall I think that Draftkings sportsbook has a lot of great options available for betting including the mobile app option which comes in handy. In my opinion, Draftkings sportsbook speaks great of itself and I would suggest you check it out, and please gamble responsibly.
FAQ
Is DraftKings legal in NJ?
Yes, DraftKings is legal in NJ. It is licensed and regulated by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement.
Is DraftKings sportsbook legal in NC?
Daily Fantasy sports betting is legal in NC. However, NC lawmakers are also considering legalizing statewide sports betting in the future.
Is DraftKings sportsbook available on Android?
Yes, it is. The DraftKings sportsbook app is available on both Android and iOS devices.
In which states DraftKings sportsbook is legal?
The DraftKings sportsbook is currently legal in 20 states. These include states such as New Jersey, West Virginia, Indiana, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, etc.