DraftKings Predictions Review: Bonus Credits, Fees and Legal States

DraftKings spent a decade teaching Americans to bet on sports through state-licensed sportsbooks. DraftKings Predictions is the company’s answer to a different question: what do you offer the tens of millions of fans who live in states where sports betting still isn’t legal? The answer is a CFTC-regulated prediction market, where you buy Yes or No contracts on games, prices and pop-culture events instead of placing a wager against the house.

The product lives in a standalone DraftKings Predictions app and inside the main DraftKings app, and it reaches far more states than the sportsbook ever has. Sports contracts are concentrated in big non-sportsbook markets such as California, Texas, Florida and Georgia, while financial contracts reach a wider group of states. Maine and New Hampshire are the two states where no markets are offered.

Trading involves real financial risk, and an event contract can lose its full purchase price. You must be 18 or older to open an account. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.

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Our review process: DailyStoke has not funded a DraftKings Predictions account for this review. Our assessment is based on DraftKings’ own app listings and availability page, CFTC records, the DraftKings Predictions fee disclosure and independent reporting.

DraftKings Predictions Promo Code and Welcome Offer

Offer detail	What you get
Promo Code	No promo code needed
Welcome offer	New-customer bonus rewards paid as DraftKings Predictions site credits after a first qualifying trade; the current amount is shown on the Promotions page in the app
Who qualifies (states, age)	18+, new DraftKings customers physically located in an eligible U.S. state, D.C. or territory; not available in Maine, New Hampshire or on tribal land
Key terms (playthrough, expiry, minimum deposit or stake)	Bonus credits carry trading and expiration restrictions and cannot be withdrawn as cash; $5 minimum deposit; one offer per new customer
How to claim	Sign up through the official DraftKings Predictions link, verify your identity, deposit and place a first qualifying trade; claim each credit under Rewards

The headline thing to understand about any DraftKings Predictions bonus is that it arrives as site credit, not cash. DraftKings says so plainly on both its App Store and Google Play listings: “Bonus rewards are issued in site credits and are subject to trading and expiration restrictions.” That means you have to trade the credit on a market before it can turn into anything you can withdraw, and you have to do it before the credit expires.

There is no promo code to type. The offer attaches to your account when you sign up through an official DraftKings link, which is why DraftKings directs new users to its Promotions page rather than to a code box. Existing DraftKings Sportsbook or DFS customers can log in with the same account, but the new-customer reward is aimed at people who have never held a DraftKings account.

How the bonus works: a worked example

Say your welcome credit includes a $25 site credit, and you spend it on a market where Yes is trading at 50 cents. That buys you 50 contracts, less the small per-contract fee.

• If Yes wins, each contract settles at $1, so the position is worth $50. The $25 you staked was credit, so what lands in your withdrawable balance is the $25 profit.
• If No wins, the contracts settle at $0 and the credit is gone. You haven’t lost any of your own deposit.

That is the practical value of a credit-based welcome offer: a free swing at the market, where only the winnings count. Using credits on high-priced contracts (say, 85 or 90 cents) makes a small profit more likely, but the profit is small. Using them on long shots makes a bigger profit possible, but most of those contracts settle at zero.

DraftKings also runs a Refer a Friend program through the Predictions app. The reward for each referral is shown in the app before you send an invite.

How DraftKings Predictions Works

DraftKings Predictions is a marketplace for event contracts. Each contract asks a yes-or-no question, such as “Will the Dallas Cowboys beat the Philadelphia Eagles?” or “Will Bitcoin close above a set price on Friday?” Prices run from one cent to 99 cents, and a winning contract pays $1. A losing contract pays nothing.

The price works as a rough probability. A Yes contract at 62 cents means traders, collectively, think there is about a 62% chance it happens.

Here is how a real trade adds up. Imagine you’re in Austin on a Sunday morning and buy 20 Yes contracts on the Cowboys at 55 cents:

• Contract cost: 20 × $0.55 = $11.00
• Trading fee: 20 × $0.02 = $0.40
• Total outlay: $11.40
• If the Cowboys win: 20 × $1 = $20.00, a profit of $8.60
• If they lose: $0, a loss of $11.40

You don’t have to hold until the final whistle. If the Cowboys go up by two touchdowns at halftime and the price jumps to 85 cents, you can sell your 20 contracts for about $17 (less fees) and lock in a gain. That ability to exit early is the biggest difference between a prediction market and a traditional bet.

Contracts are not bets, at least officially

DraftKings is careful with language. In the Predictions app you “trade” and take “positions.” That isn’t just branding. Event contracts are regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission as derivatives, and you are trading against other market participants through an exchange rather than betting against DraftKings at odds it sets. In practice, a Yes contract on a game winner behaves a lot like a moneyline bet, which is exactly why several states argue it should be regulated as one (more on that below).

Combos

DraftKings added parlay-style combos, which bundle several outcomes into one contract that only pays if every leg hits. DraftKings said more than 30% of Predictions customers used combos within weeks of their launch. As with a sportsbook parlay, each extra leg lowers the price and raises the payout, and also raises the chance of losing the lot.

Markets: What You Can Trade

DraftKings Predictions covers four broad areas. Availability depends on where you are standing when you open the app.

• Sports: NFL, college football, NBA, college basketball, NHL and MLB, with game winners, player props, futures and a Live tab for in-game trading. International sports have been added too.
• Finance: Stock market contracts tied to the S&P 500, plus commodities.
• Crypto: Bitcoin and Ethereum price contracts.
• Culture: Pop culture and other news events.

Politics and elections are not a core part of the DraftKings menu in the way they are at Kalshi or Polymarket. If you want to trade on Fed decisions, inflation prints or the midterms, Kalshi has a deeper catalog.

Fees

DraftKings publishes its fee schedule in a Fee Disclosure document linked in the app footer. The structure is a flat per-contract charge rather than the percentage-style formula Kalshi and Polymarket use: one cent per contract at the extremes of the price range (1 to 19 cents and 97 to 99 cents) and two cents per contract in the middle (20 to 96 cents). DraftKings does not charge a settlement fee, and deposits and withdrawals are free.

For comparison, 100 contracts at 50 cents would cost $2.00 in fees at DraftKings, against $1.75 at Kalshi’s standard taker rate and roughly the same at Polymarket US. At 10 cents, DraftKings is cheaper: $1.00 versus $0.63 at Kalshi. So the gap is small, and depends on where in the price range you trade.

Is DraftKings Predictions Regulated?

Yes, by the CFTC rather than by state gaming commissions. The structure has three layers:

• The broker: Event contract trading is offered by GUS III LLC, doing business as DraftKings Predictions, which is registered with the CFTC and is a member of the National Futures Association (NFA). DraftKings has described it as both an introducing broker and a futures commission merchant as it moved more of the plumbing in-house.
• The exchange: DraftKings bought Railbird Exchange, LLC, which the CFTC designated as a contract market (DCM) on June 13, 2025. DraftKings now runs it under the name DKeX and lists its own contracts there.
• Other exchanges: DraftKings Predictions also lists contracts from CME Group and Crypto.com’s exchange.

Customer funds are held in segregated accounts. They are not FDIC insured or SIPC protected.

Legal States

DraftKings sorts the country into four groups on its availability page: all markets available, financial markets only, sports markets unavailable, and no markets available. What you can see depends on your physical location, verified by geolocation, not your home address.

• All markets, including sports: 18 states, among them Alabama, Alaska, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas and Utah.
• No markets: Maine and New Hampshire.
• Everywhere else: Financial and other non-sports markets, with sports switched off.

The logic is simple: DraftKings keeps sports contracts out of states where it already holds a sportsbook license, so it isn’t competing with itself or provoking the regulators who license it. Trading is also unavailable on tribal land.

The state disputes

Whether sports event contracts are federally regulated derivatives or state-regulated gambling is the biggest unresolved question in US prediction markets. Kalshi, Polymarket and the CFTC argue that the Commodity Exchange Act gives the CFTC exclusive jurisdiction. A growing list of states disagrees.

Federal appeals courts have split. The Third Circuit sided with Kalshi in its fight with New Jersey. The Ninth Circuit ruled that Nevada can apply its gambling laws to Kalshi’s contracts, and the Sixth Circuit reached the same conclusion for Ohio and Tennessee. A split of that kind often ends up at the Supreme Court.

DraftKings has its own stake. It and FanDuel withdrew from Nevada’s licensing process after moving into prediction markets, after Nevada regulators made clear that licensees could not offer event contracts. Because DraftKings limits its sports contracts to states without a DraftKings Sportsbook, it has largely avoided direct confrontation with its own state regulators. But any ruling that lets states treat sports contracts as gambling could change what is available where.

How to Sign Up

1. Download the app. Get DraftKings Predictions from the App Store or Google Play, or open the Predictions tab in the main DraftKings app.
2. Create or link an account. Existing DraftKings customers can log in with their current username. New users enter name, email, mailing address, date of birth and the last four digits of their Social Security number.
3. Verify your identity. KYC is mandatory before you can deposit or withdraw. You may be asked for a government-issued photo ID and proof of address. Checks usually take anywhere from a minute to two days.
4. Allow location services. Geolocation confirms you’re in an eligible state and decides which markets you see.
5. Deposit. The minimum is $5.
6. Claim the welcome offer under Rewards, then pick a market, read its settlement rules and place your trade.

Claim offer

Payment Methods

Method	Deposit speed	Withdrawal speed
Debit card (Visa, Mastercard)	Instant	Up to 24 hours
Apple Pay	Instant	Up to 1 business day
PayPal	Instant	Up to 2 business days
Venmo	Instant	Up to 2 business days
Online banking (ACH)	Up to 3 business days	Up to 5 business days

The minimum deposit is $5 and there are no deposit or withdrawal fees. Credit cards are not accepted. You have to deposit with a method before you can withdraw to it, and a hold of up to four business days can apply if you try to withdraw right after depositing or before KYC is complete.

App Ratings

• Apple App Store: 4.9 out of 5, from about 17,000 ratings
• Google Play: 4.8 out of 5, from about 3,200 reviews

Both listings are rated 18+. The app is fast and familiar if you have used the DraftKings Sportsbook, with the same account, wallet and look.

Customer Service

Support runs through the DraftKings help center, email (support@draftkings.com) and the @DK_Assist account on X. There is no dedicated phone line for Predictions. Responsible trading tools include deposit limits, cooling-off periods, self-exclusion and self-imposed limits.

What Users Say

App Store reviewers in states like California tend to praise how easy the app is to pick up, especially for anyone coming from DraftKings fantasy sports. The complaints cluster around three things: a trade confirmation slider that resets when the price moves slightly, withdrawals that took longer than expected, and difficulty reaching a human in support.

The wider DraftKings brand scores poorly on Trustpilot (around 1.2 out of 5 across all DraftKings products), where most complaints concern the sportsbook: disputed bet settlements, bonuses that didn’t credit and automated support. Few of those reviews mention Predictions specifically.

Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Sports contracts in big non-sportsbook states like California, Texas and Florida	Sports switched off in states where DraftKings runs a sportsbook
One account and wallet with DraftKings Sportsbook and DFS	Welcome rewards are site credits with expiry, not cash
Simple flat per-contract fees, free deposits and withdrawals	Thinner politics and economics catalog than Kalshi
Combos, player props and live in-game trading	No phone support
PayPal, Venmo and Apple Pay, $5 minimum deposit	Legal status of sports contracts still contested in court

DraftKings Predictions vs Kalshi vs Polymarket vs FanDuel Predicts

Feature	DraftKings Predictions	Kalshi	Polymarket US	FanDuel Predicts
Regulator	CFTC (via NFA-member broker and DKeX exchange)	CFTC (designated contract market)	CFTC (designated contract market)	CFTC (via NFA-member FCM, CME Group joint venture)
Minimum age	18+	18+	18+	18+
Sports states	18	Most states, contested in several	Most states, not Nevada	18
Politics and economics	Limited	Extensive	Yes	Limited
Fee model	1 to 2 cents per contract	Price-based formula	Price-based formula	Shown on the trade slip
Minimum deposit	$5	$10	Varies by method	$5
Promo code	No promo code needed	Referral code	Optional campaign code	No promo code needed

For the full picture of the rivals, read our Kalshi review, Polymarket review and FanDuel Predicts review. Our prediction markets hub compares every major US platform side by side.

Responsible Trading

A prediction market contract can lose 100% of its value, and a high price is not a guarantee. A contract at 90 cents still fails about one time in ten. Size positions to what you can afford to lose, set a deposit limit before you start, and treat bonus credits as a trial, not a reason to deposit more. If you’re thinking about how prediction markets fit with the rest of your money, our money section covers budgeting and saving. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.

DraftKings Predictions FAQs

Is there a DraftKings Predictions promo code?

No promo code is needed. The new-customer offer attaches to your account when you sign up through an official DraftKings Predictions link, and you claim it under Rewards in the app.

Does DraftKings Predictions have a no deposit bonus?

No. The welcome rewards require a first qualifying trade, and you’ll need to deposit at least $5 to place one.

Is DraftKings Predictions legal in California?

Yes. California is one of the 18 states where DraftKings offers all markets, including sports. California has no legal online sportsbooks, which is why prediction markets have grown fast there.

Is DraftKings Predictions legal in Texas?

Yes. Texas is in the all-markets group, so you can trade sports, finance, crypto and culture contracts while physically located there.

Which states can’t use DraftKings Predictions?

Maine and New Hampshire have no markets at all. In states where DraftKings runs a licensed sportsbook, such as New Jersey or Pennsylvania, sports contracts are switched off and you’ll see financial markets instead.

How old do you have to be?

18 or older.

How does DraftKings Predictions make money?

Through a per-contract trading fee of one or two cents, depending on the contract price. It also earns from the exchange it owns, DKeX.

Can I use my DraftKings Sportsbook account?

Yes. Existing DraftKings customers can log in to Predictions with the same username and wallet. You’ll still need to complete any extra identity checks the Predictions product requires.

Can I sell a contract before the game ends?

Yes, if another trader is willing to buy at the current price. Selling early lets you lock in a profit or cut a loss.

Is DraftKings Predictions the same as a sportsbook?

No. Contracts are CFTC-regulated derivatives traded on an exchange, not wagers against DraftKings. A sports contract can look and feel like a moneyline bet, but the price is set by other traders.

Verdict

DraftKings Predictions is the most polished way for sports fans in non-sportsbook states to get something close to the DraftKings experience. The app is quick, the fees are easy to work out, PayPal and Venmo are accepted, and combos and player props give it more of a sportsbook feel than Kalshi.

The trade-offs are real. The welcome rewards are site credits, not cash. Sports vanish entirely in states where DraftKings runs a sportsbook. And if you’re more interested in elections, inflation or the Fed, Kalshi’s catalog is far deeper. But for a football fan in Houston, Miami or Los Angeles who wants a regulated, familiar app, DraftKings Predictions is one of the strongest options available.

Visit DraftKings Predictions

18+. Trading involves substantial risk of loss. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.