Daily fantasy sports has been around for a long time, garnering ardent fans from across the globe over the years. One of the most popular daily fantasy games is football, and players have plenty of options.
In recent years, thanks to the increasing popularity of daily fantasy football, exciting sites that have adopted unique, striking approaches have come up. The general rule is that a group of players, known as a league, create a roster, choosing real-life professional football players from a league to create their team. They then earn points based on the actual real-life performance of the footballers they have chosen. Each player has to pay an entry fee to join the league, and the player with the most points at the end of the day is the winner. He/she gets the money collected from the entry fees.
Whether you are a novice fantasy sports player or an expert who has been playing and winning for years, there is always a site that is suitable for your needs and goals. All you have to do is be careful about the sites that you choose to play in and consider all the pros and cons they offer.
How the top daily fantasy football games compare
Below, we take a look at some of the top daily fantasy football games and how they compare to each other. These are some of the most popular daily fantasy football games in the UK.
- Sportito
Launched in 2016, Sportito is quickly growing to be one of the biggest names in the sports betting world. Soon after its launch, it was even nominated for the Best Daily Fantasy Sports product in the SBC awards. As is the case with all Daily Fantasy sports (DFS) platforms, your tournament may last only for a match, a day or a weekend at the longest, compared to Fantasy Premier League (FPL) where players have to wait an entire season until their results.
What makes Sportito stand out from other DFS platforms is that there is no salary cap. This may not be ideal for every kind of player, especially if you are used to the functioning and operation of other DFs sites. However, the absence of a salary cap makes you think twice about how you play.
Another reason why Sportito is so unique is that of the impressive number of games and/or contests that you can choose professional football players from. English Premier League, UEFA Champions, La Liga and other huge, as well as minor tournaments, are available on the list. Both daily and weekly competitions are offered.
You can earn points depending on the points per game (PPG) and the average minutes played by the footballers you have chosen. These stats are also available when you are examining players, and the numbers are based on reliable and accurate statistics from Sportradar.
There is no cost or fee for Sportito; you can sign up for free and start betting. Apart from a 100% bonus on your first deposit, you earn a free £5 every time you refer a friend. Since Sportito is fairly new and is yet to grow its user base, it's a great choice for newbies in the Daily Fantasy Football world.
- FantasyBet
One of the most popular DFS platforms in Europe, FantasyBet was launched in 2014 in Norway. At the time of its launch, it was one of the first DFS platforms available in Europe. FantasyBet is free of charge, meaning that you don't have to pay any registration or monthly fee to play on the site. What makes it even more appealing is that every week, freerolls are available, meaning that no buy-ins are required and you may be able to get a starting bankroll for absolutely free, which is great news for newcomers.
You are directly taken to the lobby after you set up your account. Just like poker, the buy-ins, prize pools and rules are different for each tournament. If a user wants to play for real cash, a deposit must be made. FantasyBet has an offer of a 100% bonus on your first deposit (up to £200), just like in Sportito. To avail this offer, you will have to use the bonus code “WELCOME.”
Just like any other site, you will have a limited budget with which you have to pick 11 starters and 4 substitutions. The player list can be filtered using price, total points, positions and club, apart from the option of searching for individual football players.
FantasyBet has fixed player prices just like in Fantasy Premier League. So, each football player will be priced the same regardless of whether they play in their home turf or not, or who they play against.
It is to be noted that tournaments will be closed eight minutes before the start of the first match. But if you have entered a team, you can still make changes three minutes until kickoff. What makes the platform exciting is that there are tons of prizes to win apart from the tournament such as Manager of the Month.
- Fan Team
Europe's leading Daily Fantasy site, Fan Team is part of the Scout Gaming Group network. Originally started as WooFBet in 2013, it has come a long way to climb the DFS ladder. Today, players have plenty of football leagues to choose from. But it's not only the sheer number of leagues available that makes this platform so enticing; it's also that it has a huge prize pool too. What makes Fan Team unique is that it allows you to enter your team multiple times in the same event.
Depending on the tab you choose, your lobby content can change. There are four different tabs available:
- Fanteam, the default view where tournaments created by Fanteam can be seen. All tournaments follow a standard set of rules, and guaranteed prize pools are available.
- User-created, which is created by users of the site. Any user can create a tournament and challenge other players. Rules may vary.
- Draft'n'go, which includes H2H as well tournaments with capped entries, usually at six players.
- Prediction game, where users can predict football matches scores, just like traditional sports betting.
- Starting 11
Launched in 2016, Starting 11 is a DFS app that allows users to do what any DFL site does � earn real money by setting up their roster and playing fantasy footballs. Here, you pick a player for the day, and the amount of money you earn is determined by the real-life performance of the player in the game that day.
What makes Starting 11 truly stand out from other DFS platforms is that you can make substitutions real-time, just like a real manager can. This means that even after you have chosen your players, you can substitute them with other players while the game is going on. The app is available for download on both iOS and Android platforms.
Which one should I play and why?
All four DFS platforms have their own pros and cons. For instance, if you are a novice player and are only getting started, Sportito and Starting 11 may be better options for you as these are fairly new and are friendly to newbies. Since these don't have as many players as the other two, your chances of winning are higher.
However, if you want the thrill of competition and have plenty of experience in fantasy football, then established and popular sites like Fan Team and FantasyBet may be more ideal for you. Not only do you have plenty of features and prizes, but there are more players to compete against as well.
