Best DFS Sites in Texas

Major operators like DraftKings, FanDuel, and more provide DFS contests to Texans year-round. Thanks to DFS’ position as a legally-gray gaming activity, daily fantasy sports is still very much up and running. You can find some of the best DFS sites in Texas.

Let’s break down everything you need to know about the best DFS apps in Texas and explore how the industry may evolve in the future. 

Top DFS Apps In Texas

Although the legality of daily fantasy sports apps is still up in the air in the Lone Star State, plenty of top DFS operators continue to provide quality contests for fans. Here are some of the top DFS apps in Texas today.

• DraftKings DFS
• FanDuel DFS
• Fliff Sports Betting
• Monkey Knife Fight DFS
• Jock MKT
• Outlast DFS
• Yahoo! DFS
• Thrive Fantasy DFS
• WinView DFS

DraftKings Texas

DraftKings operates perhaps the most popular DFS app in Texas overall. That’s partly because DraftKings never stopped offering DFS to its players, even after the Texas government said DFS contests were illegal.

As the largest daily fantasy sports operator, DraftKings’ software is second to none, and it offers a fun and responsive gaming experience. There are lots of sports to enjoy DFS contests for, ranging from college football to NBA games to MLB games to eSports and more. DraftKings is a great choice if you want an app that always has a population to play with.

Get $20 bonus with deposit and a deposit match up to $500

FanDuel Texas

FanDuel is easily the number two competitor in the DFS scene for Texas. It also has a major population and pays out over $1 billion in prizes every year. Guaranteed prize pool tournaments, head-to-head matches, 50-50 contests, and various other contest types are available for fans of daily fantasy sports.

More importantly, FanDuel’s app is notable since it was the first to introduce single-game contests, experienced player indicators, and other now-standards in the industry. FanDuel might be a particularly good choice for new players since it includes things like contest entry limits to prevent you from losing too much money on a contest you don’t fully understand.

Get one free sports entry upon sign up + $10 bonus with a $10 deposit

Fliff Sports Betting Texas

Fliff is an innovative take on sports betting.  In some ways, it is a cross between a traditional sportsbook and a social or sweepstakes casino.  You can make all kinds of bets, such as moneyline, spreads, and points totals.  Of course, you also have the traditional player props bets, the backbone of fantasy sports. You have the option to redeem winnings for cash prizes.

However, Fliff is considered legal in Texas, a state that is notoriously opposed to online sports betting.  Fliff is considered legal because you can play for free and because you don’t play with real money.  Instead, you play with fake currency, called Fliff Coins and Fliff Cash.  Fliff Coins are just for fun. If you play with Fliff Cash, your winnings are redeemable for cash prizes.

Get $25 in Fliff Cash + 250,000 Fliff Coins free upon signup with Fliff promo code SHARP

Monkey Knife Fight Texas

Monkey Knife Fight is a relatively new DFS app in Texas and beyond. It’s a popular choice because its interface is very clean and intuitive, and it emphasizes easy-to-understand DFS contests for both new and experienced players alike.

Creating an account is super easy, and entering a contest is very fast. It only offers a few types of DFS contests, like prop contests, rather than many different types, which does limit its value to more experienced DFS fans. Still, if you just want to jump into a bit of action and enjoy a contest or two for an upcoming game, MKF could be right up your alley.

Get $5 bonus on signup and a $100 deposit match

Jock MKT

Jock MKT is another app that runs a little differently than a traditional DFS. In essence, you can buy and sell stock in a certain player. You can bid on IPOs at the start of a contest. If a player is underperforming throughout, you can buy low.  If you think a player has reached his or her peak, you can sell high.

There are different variations, but all of Jock MKT’s games work off of this basic structure.

Get a $100 deposit match with Jock MKT promo code SHARP

Other DFS Choices In Texas

Outlast DFS Texas

Outlast DFS is another pretty new DFS contest app that offers three types of contests: over/under player props, survivor pools, and Outlast Purse contests. The last contest is especially innovative, though they are only available for PGA Tour events.

Regardless, Outlast provide a good opening bonus, regular incentives to play, and sweet bonus credit for enjoying the app over several weeks and months. The app also runs very smoothly, even on days when it may receive a lot of traffic from other players.

Yahoo! DFS

Yahoo! DFS comes from a very large and reputable fantasy brand. It’s a good app if you appreciate season-long fantasy contests, though it’s also a great choice for less experienced players. The opening bonus is generous and the app is available on both iOS and Android devices.

With a simplistic and intuitive interface, Yahoo! offers quick matches for head-to-head contests or season-long fantasy competitions where you can draft a customized team and see how they perform over the course of your chosen sport’s season. Players can join the $8 per year Yahoo Fantasy Plus program, which gives you advanced statistics and tools to make wiser contest decisions. 

DFS Apps Welcome Bonuses And Promotions In Texas

The best daily fantasy sports apps in Texas often include enticing opening bonuses and ongoing promotions. These bring new players to the apps and incentivize you to try out new platforms even if you already have a favorite platform you check out each day.

Here are the welcome bonuses and promotions available at the top DFS apps in Texas.

As you can see, there are many different opening bonuses you might benefit from depending on which app you try.

Free Play Bonuses

Free play bonuses are perhaps the most common opening bonus available on DFS apps in Texas. In a nutshell, they let new account holders play one or more DFS contests for free up to a certain monetary value.

For example, Monkey Knife Fight’s $5 bonus game opening bonus lets new players try out a DFS contest for free so long as it only requires a $5 buy-in. These free play bonuses are excellent since they give new players an opportunity to try out a fresh app without having to put much or any money down.

In this way, new DFS fans can check out multiple apps over a few weeks or months before settling on a “main” or favorite app that they wish to use regularly.

Deposit Match Bonuses

Alternatively, DFS apps in Texas may provide deposit match bonuses. Deposit match bonuses are high risk and high reward; they give you more site credit based on how much money you put in with your initial deposit. The more money you deposit, the more extra credit you receive.

For instance, DraftKings has a $500 deposit match bonus. This deposit match bonus only applies to your initial deposit – if you only deposit $100, for example, you’ll get $100 of site credit and will not be able to reach the $500 bonus site credit maximum any longer.

Deposit match bonuses are excellent if you know that you’ll love a DFS app from the get-go (such as from reading a detailed review about a specific app). With deposit match bonuses, you can potentially double your gaming cash right off the bat, allowing you to make big plays and enjoy tons of contests without having to wait until payday.

App-Specific Points

Still other DFS apps in Texas may provide app-specific bonuses or points when you make an initial deposit. Yahoo!’s DFS app is a great example, as it provides you with 1000 app-specific points when you sign up and make an initial deposit of $10 or more.

These points can be used and are paid contests for free. It’s a roundabout way of allowing players to try out the app without having to deposit too much of their own cash. However, the points often tie into long-term promotions.

As in the above example, Yahoo lets players collect more points for entering paid contests when they refer their friends or when and are paid contests with their own cash. It’s essentially a type of ongoing loyalty program that incentivizes people to stick with the same app over the long term.

Ongoing Promotions

In addition to the above opening bonuses, DFS apps may provide ongoing promotions. These keep the gameplay exciting and draw long time players back to specific platforms and away from new competitors.

For example, Outlast DFS gives each player the option to get $25 in site credit when they refer a friend. This ongoing promotion actively incentivizes players to bring new people into the DFS fold.

As you can see, there are many different opening bonuses to check out. These opening bonuses could impact whether a given app is the best choice for your time and money or your gaming preferences.

If you don’t know where to start, consider signing up for multiple DFS apps and making a small deposit with each. Then you can try out each app in turn and determine which is your favorite.

How To Sign Up For DFS Apps In Texas

Speaking of signing up for DFS apps, getting started with any chosen app should be relatively quick and simple. Given daily fantasy sports’ gray legality, you don’t have to visit a casino or any other in-person location to sign up and complete the registration process.

To sign up for a DFS app in Texas:

• Choose the DFS app you wish to play
• Download the DFS app you wish to use from the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store
• Installation should begin automatically once you download your chosen app
• Once installation is finished, open the app and click on “register” or a similar button depending on the app’s layout
• To register for the app, you’ll need to provide some pieces of personal information to prove your identity and your age. These include your Social Security number, date of birth, and potentially photo ID like a driver’s license
• The DFS app’s employees will verify your identity. Once this is done, you’ll be free to make an initial deposit
• You can set up deposit methods like credit or debit cards, bank accounts, and more to fund your account
• Simply choose how much you wish to deposit into your DFS account, then navigate to the contest of your choice and have fun!

How To Use A Sports Betting Account For DFS

Many DFS operators are also sports betting operators in states where sports wagering is legal. Should sports betting ever come to Texas in a legal format, you may be able to use a single app to enjoy both DFS and sports betting from the same operator.

That’s because many sports betting and DFS operators combine both gaming activities on the same mobile platform. You can use a sports betting account for DFS by:

• Downloading the combined sports betting and DFS app
• Clicking “DFS” or “sports betting” on the app’s interface when you wish to switch from one gaming activity to the other

Note that not all operators provide this flexibility. It may be worthwhile to double-check that an operator offers sports betting and DFS before making any app your primary platform.

Payments And Withdrawals At DFS Texas Apps

Texas DFS apps allow you to make deposits using methods like:

• Credit or debit card transactions
• Bank transfers
• Electronic wallet transactions using a platform like PayPal or Skrill

You can also withdraw using many of the same methods. However, note that the payment and withdrawal methods available for each Texas DFS app vary. Not every app will allow you to either deposit or withdraw funds in the exact same ways. 

Daily Fantasy Sports: The Basics

Still not sure what exactly daily fantasy sports is or why it is technically legal (or technically illegal depending on your perspective)? In a nutshell, daily fantasy sports involves building up teams of athletes in fantasy sports contests. Players then compete against each other by seeing how athletes perform in real-world sports events compared to their predictions.

There are many different DFS contests to enjoy, ranging from single match DFS contests to season-long contests that challenge players to predict the outcome and performance of players and teams over many months.

DFS is not technically a type of gambling because it ostensibly relies on a certain amount of skill. With the right insight into sports statistics and player performance metrics, it’s quite possible to regularly win daily fantasy sports contests and take home a tidy profit.

Therefore, it’s not entirely dependent on luck. This legal loophole is why daily fantasy sports is widely regarded as a form of sports gaming rather than sports gambling, though there is some disagreement on this point.

Daily Fantasy Sports Contests In Texas

There are many different daily fantasy sports contests you can enjoy in Texas. Here are some of the most common contest types you’ll find that Texas’s most popular DFS apps.

Head-to-Head Contests

Head-to-head contests involve two different gaming contestants pitted against each other. Whichever player has the highest-scoring team lineup gets the prize pool. 

50/50 Contests

5050 contests are an offshoot of head-to-head contests. With these contests, the top half of the field gets paid an equal amount. In this way, more than one person can win some money in a 50-50 contest compared to regular head-to-head contests.

Beat the Score Contests

A contest type native to FanDuel, Beat the Score contests challenges players to construct a lineup that surpasses a predetermined scoring total. 

Tiers Contests

With tiers contests, contests never have a salary cap. Players are instead grouped using predetermined tiers of players, limiting contestants’ team composition choices.

Single Game Contests

Single-game contests require a player to use a team made up of athletes that play in the same real-world match. Some apps, like FanDuel, allow you to designate certain players who earn points for your DFS contests at higher rates compared to others. 

Prop/Prediction Contests

Proposition or prediction contests are very similar to prop betting at a sportsbook. With these contests, you determine whether a specific player will do a specific action or whether a match will result in a specific outcome.

DraftKings Vs. FanDuel DFS

In Texas, both DraftKings and FanDuel are indisputably the biggest DFS operators and the most popular platforms in the state. If you’re not sure which you should choose for your DFS gaming, read on.

DraftKings DFS

DraftKings offers an exciting and well-developed DFS app experience. With both a mobile app and a web-based client, this intuitive and robust DFS platform provides tons of game formats and contest types, including but not limited to guaranteed prize pools, massive and season-long contests, head-to-head contests, and even 50-50 tournaments.

DraftKings also provides certain multipliers that incentivize players to take one side or the other during contests and keep the action fresh. DraftKings is particularly notable since it has perhaps the largest selection of sports leagues and events for DFS contests on the market. 

FanDuel DFS

FanDuel is also a stellar choice for DFS fans. It has an excellent user interface that is very responsive and easy to navigate through. In terms of contests, FanDuel offers guaranteed prize pool tournaments, head-to-head matches, multipliers, 50-50 tournaments, and much more. On top of that, single-game contests and beginner-specific contests make FanDuel a great DFS app to check out if you are new to daily fantasy sports in general.

Advanced controls and features such as third-party software blockers, advanced entry controls, late swap bonuses, and more make FanDuel’s DFS gaming experience more developed and complex than the experiences you’ll find at many other competitors.

What To Look For In The Best DFS Apps In Texas

The best DFS apps in Texas will have several major features or factors.

An Intuitive Interface

Don’t settle for a DFS app that is hard to navigate through or clunky to use. A good mobile app will have reasonably sized buttons, easy-to-access menus, and simple controls so you can enter a contest in an instant.

Good Contest Types

You’ll also want to choose a DFS app that includes plenty of variety in terms of contest types. You may not always want to enjoy head-to-head DFS contests, for example, so the more variety, the more enjoyment you’ll get out of an app without having to switch to a competitor.

Good Sports Selection

Lastly, the best DFS apps will include an excellent selection of different sports leagues or types for you to enjoy contests on. For example, DraftKings offers DFS sports contests for practically all major American sports as well as niche sporting leagues and events like darts, NASCAR, eSports gaming, and more.

Where You Can Use Texas DFS Apps

At the time of this writing, you can use Texas DFS apps anywhere in state lines. Furthermore, you can also use DFS apps in any other state where daily fantasy sports is legal or not explicitly illegal. These states include California, Florida, South Dakota, Oklahoma, North Dakota, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Kentucky, Minnesota, and more.

Texas may be a state that defends many individual rights, but it’s somewhat draconian when it comes to gambling legality. Indeed, ever since daily fantasy sports launched in the late 2000s, the Texas state government has tried to prove that DFS is illegal and prevent operators from providing DFS games to state residents.

For example, Atty. Gen. Ken Paxton has been very open about how he considers daily fantasy sports to be a form of gambling and that it should be illegal under state law. Given Texas’s hostility toward other forms of gambling, like horse race wagering, the state government could opt to illegalize DFS in the future.

Alternatively, Texas could fully legalize daily fantasy sports if it eventually legalizes sports betting. If this occurs, DFS will likely be regulated by a Lottery Commission or a similar organization to ensure fair play and digital security for the personal data of participants.

For now, players can continue to enjoy DFS apps in Texas. Just be sure to keep abreast of new legal development so you don’t accidentally break newly implemented laws in the future.

FAQ – Best DFS Apps In Texas