Daily fantasy sports, which is better known around the Internet as DFS, has recently taken the fantasy sports game by storm. Much like traditional fantasy sports games, players draft a team of real world athletes in popular sports leagues like the NFL, NBA, MLB, PGA, and in college football and basketball. The players drafted will then score the user fantasy points. Yet, what’s great about taking part in DFS contests is the fact that you won’t be stuck with the same team for the whole season. Each DFS contest typically only lasts one day, or weekend, which creates a lot more playability for a player.
Why playing DFS has become so popular? Daily fantasy sports contests have become so popular online because of the fact that most fantasy players hate waiting around for a whole sports season to be completed before a prize is rewarded. This is especially the case when a fantasy player’s hope of winning anything is crushed when their star player picks up a season-ending injury. Another reason why playing DFS has become so popular within the fantasy sports realm is because users can play when they want, and as much as they want. Popular DFS sites like Draft Kings and FanDuel have plenty of contests running daily for users to take part in. These sites also take all the dirty work out of the equation of having to organize a draft at a time that works for everyone. With tons of contests to join, players have the freedom to play as much as they want.
Addictive The availability of so many DFS contests, along with the freedom to take part in as many of them as you’re willing to pay for, makes playing DFS quite addictive for many. The other piece that adds to the addictive nature of playing DFS games is the possibility of winning some big time money. One contest that Draft Kings is heavily promoting at the moment is their NFL Kickoff Bash, which takes place during the opening weekend of the NFL’s regular season. With first place taking home $100,000, this could be a huge payout for members. Yet, Draft Kings is also offering three satellite contests that will cost users less money to play in, but still a chance to win a nice chunk of cash. Thus, the possibility of winning a fat paycheck by just playing a game that is already fun and addictive in nature, makes playing DFS even more appealing to most.
Why It’s Better than Traditional Fantasy Sports One of the reasons why many turn to daily fantasy sports contests, as opposed to traditional ones is because of the large variety of different pools that are offered on most DFS sites. For each fantasy sport, sites like Draft Kings have hundreds of pools to play in at any given time. What’s even better is the fact that most DFS sites also offer beginner pools for players who are just starting out. Designed to help new players become accustomed to the different types of pools out there, this is where beginners should start. Aside from the possibility of winning a huge prize in a pool, you will also no longer have to sit through long and tiring drafts ever again! This is a huge difference as compared to participating in a traditional fantasy sport contest. It should only take you a few minutes to draft your team. Gone are the days of a draft taking hours to complete. Finally, with daily fantasy sports, you get to pick whoever you want to be on your team. You will no longer have to worry about someone picking up your favorite player, or fantasy secret. DFS allows its users to pick whoever they want on their team, as long as you’re not participating in a Snake Draft. Think of all the possibilities, and pick combinations that this creates. With DFS, you are in complete control of each of your teams. You have the freedom to pick who you think are the best players for each given contest, or, if you want, you can just pick your favorite players. 
Makes Fans More Engaged in the World of Sports When you have picked a season-enduring fantasy football team, it is almost impossible to not run into some problems. Inevitably, your team will become plagued with key player injuries, suspensions, or some other form of bad luck that you could not have predicted when you actually drafted your team way-back-when. The engagement and fun that you were having in Week 1 will, for most subside by the middle of the season. Yet, DFS contests will always keep you engaged, because you are able to draft a whole new team at your convenience. Inherently, this makes you much more focused on actually watching each game from week to week to see how you did. Thus, this will also make you want to watch and follow sports that you normally wouldn’t even care about. Because of the popularity of playing DFS, and the abundance of different contests to take part in each and every day, more and more fans are now watching sports they used to never care about. I never used to care about watching regular season NBA games. They play such a long season, and I used to not even bother watching the NBA until in the playoffs, which is when the players actually took games seriously. With DFS, fans are now tuning in to watch teams, leagues, sports, and players that they never knew beforehand, or had any reason to. Due to DFS, I now have heightened my sports awareness, and am more engaged with sporting events that I used to never care for. Thus, I am much more likely now to watch Lebron play against the abysmal Milwaukee Bucks, just to see how many fantasy points he will accumulate for my team. I’m sure that I am not the only one who has now gained a more rounded sports knowledge because of playing DFS contests.
You Will Have To Invest Time Once you have signed up on a site after being enticed by winning a lot of cash, you should realize that actually making money playing in DFS contests takes work and research. Of course, there’s the very slight chance of winning without putting any thought into who are drafting and the team you create. But, this luck isn’t going to be on your side forever. In order to actually have a chance in winning the big bucks, you are going to have to invest the time to do your research and look at who’s worth picking up based on their price, and if they have a favorable matchup. For most, DFS is a fun fantasy outlet where you can spend some money every once and a while in hopes of making a little money. Yet, for diehard DFS players, it is their livelihood. Some dedicated players have made playing DFS games into a full blown career. No matter what your dedication or investment into daily fantasy sports is going to be, just remember that you are going to have to put in the time to complete some research if you ever hope of being somewhat successful. Finally, you will want to realize that a player’s actual statistics and cold hard numbers are much more important than who you believe to be the best player in a respective league. Being able to understand and read player data is going to make up a vital component of your success when you participate in daily fantasy sports contests. Yet, you aren’t completely alone. There are tons of sites out there that will help you take the tedious guesswork out of making your picks. One of these is RotoGrinders, an industry leader and a valuable site to look into, as most of its services are free once you register. The “Daily Research” tab has a number of beneficial tools to utilize before making your picks. If you are looking for a reliable paid service, RotoExperts’ premium service is worth the small investment.
Legality The legality of daily fantasy sports falls under the notion that it is considered a game of skill, like that of season-long fantasy sports. Since DFS are considered a game of skill, when you play it is not considered gambling. This game of skill tag gives DFS a special exemption from the 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). This reassuring piece of legislation is what’s keeping daily fantasy sports players going. Since it is legal, players will continue to put money into the popular daily fantasy sports sites like Draft Kings and FanDuel, because they know that they are legal, safe and secure. Finally, players also don’t have to worry about DFS sites getting shut down, or the chances of losing their winnings, like when the U.S. government shut down online pokers sites like PokerStars and Full Tilt. However, not every state allows its residents to participate in daily fantasy sports contests. Those who live in Arizona, Montana, Louisiana, Iowa, North Dakota, Tennessee, and Vermont are not allowed to participate at the moment. This is because these states use a more restrictive test, and see participating in daily fantasy sports contests as gambling.
A Final Note In all reality, when it comes to actually gambling or participating in daily fantasy sports contests, be responsible. You should know when to quit or back out. Playing in a DFS game is supposed to be fun. Thus, when this activity starts becoming too stressful or consumes your everyday life, it may be time to seek help. Hit me up for H2H matchup on FanDual or DraftKings my username is “headlinetn“. Keep it fun!
