Betting on Fantasy Sports – UK
Imagine the perfect fusion of betting and fantasy gaming… and you get daily fantasy sports (DFS).
Pick your team of players from the latest round of fixtures. Place a bet to enter the contest and if your team performs well, you might just land a cash prize.
The good news is that you can legally play DFS in the UK. The two main providers are bet365 and FanTeam, with alternative options provided by Sportito and Plucky.
- Bet365 – Play freeroll or paid contests which feature cash prizes, across football, basketball, American football and golf.
- FanTeam – Provides daily, weekly and even season-long fantasy games with cash prizes across many different sports.
- Plucky – Access Fantasy Premier League (FPL) cash games, or set up monetised leagues with your mates.
- Sportito – Play free and real money fantasy football contests, with guaranteed payouts across many of their Premier League games.
Each of these brands is licensed by the UK Gambling Commission, which helps to ensure the highest standards of service and user experience.
Bet365 Fantasy Sports
Load up the bet365 website/ app and you will see ‘fantasy’ listed on the carousel of sports.
They offer a number of different contest types across multiple sports, including weekly leaderboards and full season competitions.
The object is simple: you pick your team of players while staying within the salary cap. These players then score points based upon how well they fare in their next game/tournament… naturally, the team that scores the most points in that gameweek is declared the winner.
The same process applies to their season-long games, with players picking a fresh team each week based upon the fixtures – the individual with the most points at the end of the campaign is the champion.
Although bet365 doesn’t quite have the same repertoire of sports as some of its fantasy rivals, it is a highly reputable company – and you can use your sports betting bankroll to pay for your fantasy entries, and vice versa.
Unlike in traditional football betting, where you have just one chance to win, fantasy sports offers a chance to spread your risk – even if one of your picked players doesn’t live up to expectations, for example, you can still win a cash prize if the others deliver as hoped.
FanTeam Fantasy Sports
In some respects, FanTeam is the leading fantasy sports platform in the UK.
That’s because they offer an extensive range of sports; far more than bet365 and their other competitors.
- Football
- Basketball
- American football
- Ice hockey
- Tennis
- Baseball
- Motorsport
- UFC
With daily, weekly and season-long contests, you can play how you want to – do you want a shot at cash prizes every Saturday, or are you in it for the long game?
Despite not having a customer base the size of bet365’s, FanTeam nevertheless don’t scrimp on the prize pools – there’s guaranteed payouts in some cases, even if the contest doesn’t fill before the closing time.
In addition to fantasy contests, FanTeam also offers a match-ups game: pick which of the players you think will win the most fantasy points out of the two. You can place doubles, trebles and more for the potential for enhanced payouts.
FanTeam also has a connected sports betting platform, so you can place all of your normal bets across the most popular markets from a single account balance.
With a welcome bonus available that combines free bets and free fantasy tickets, FanTeam holds plenty of appeal.
Sportito Fantasy Sports
One of the interesting things about Sportito’s contests is that, in some cases, there is no salary cap – so you can draft any player you want, without having to worry about staying within the budget.
That helps to make Sportito’s offerings more fun that those of bet365 or FanTeam, which require an element of strategy when picking a well-balanced line-up.
Football is a particular strength of Sportito, with contests covering the Premier League, Serie A and other key European leagues. There’s paid-for action and free to play games, which come with the perk of cash prizes without any investment required.
Plucky Fantasy Sports
Plucky is a bit different.
They are associated specifically with the Premier League’s official fantasy game, which you may know better as FPL.
All you have to do is create an account, invite your friends and create your own league – Plucky takes care of handling the fees and then the paying out of prizes at the end of the gameweek or season.
An official partner of The Telegraph Fantasy Football League, Plucky is a new way to play FPL and challenge your mates for bragging rights and/or cold, hard cash!
How to Play Daily Fantasy Sports In the UK
So there you have it: four different ways to play DFS in the UK.
Bet365 comes highly recommended as they also deliver one of the best sports betting experiences as well; why not have the best of both worlds?
Because bet365 is so popular, their fantasy contests tend to have more players than some of the other sites – remember, the most players there are, the higher the prize pool is likely to be.
FanTeam is also an excellent hybrid platform, combining daily fantasy sports and traditional betting. They cover a wide range of sports, with multiple price points and some very handsome prize pools – not to mention a handy welcome bonus.
Our advice is to only seek out daily fantasy sites in the UK that have been licensed and approved by the Gambling Commission. That will give you the peace of mind that your money and your personal details are safe and secure, with these providers having to comply with tough operating rules.
Betting on Fantasy Sports FAQs
Top 20 Betting Offers
18+ | New players only. Opt-in. Min deposit is £20. Offer: Place a £20 sports cash bet at minimum odds of 3/4 (1.75) or higher and receive a £20 Free Bet. Free bet credited upon settlement of all qualifying bets. Free Bet can be redeemed on selected sports & markets and used on single or accumulator bets (min. 3 selections). Free Bet must be used at minimum odds of 4/5 (1.80). Free Bet stake is not returned with winnings. Winnings are credited as withdrawable cash. Maximum odds of 10.00 may apply. Free Bet must be used within 7 days of being credited. Affordability checks may apply. Full terms apply. | BeGambleAware.org. | |||||
18+. New customers only. Place a minimum £40 bet on any selection with minimum odds of Evens (2.00) and receive a 4x£5 Free Bets. Free bets expire after 24 hours. BeGambleAware.org. T&Cs & Maximum Pay-Outs Apply. #ad | |||||
New customers. Bet £40+ at odds 2.0 (evens) or greater, with code BET40GET20, get 2×£10 Free Bets. Free Bets must be placed at min odds 4/1 (5.0) or greater, paid after settlement and 24h later, expire in 24h. Full T&Cs apply. GambleAware.org | |||||
18+ | New UK customers only. Place a £20+ bet with minimum 3 legs, min 2/1 and receive a £10 Free Bet. The Free Bet will be credited once your qualifying bet settles. Free Bet expires 7 days after being awarded. BeGambleAware.org | T&Cs & Maximum Payouts apply. | |||||
New customers only. Register, deposit with Debit Card, and place first bet £10+ at Evens (2.0)+ on Sports within 7 days to get 3 x £10 in Sports Free Bets & 2 x £10 in Acca Free Bets within 10 hours of settlement. 7-day expiry. Eligibility exclusions & T&Cs Apply. | |||||
18+ New UK+ROI Customers only. Certain deposit methods & bet types excl. Min first £5 bet within 14 days of account reg at min odds 1/2 to get 6 x £5 free bets (selected sportsbook markets only, valid 7 days, stake not returned). Restrictions + T&Cs apply. | |||||
18+ New UK + ROI customers only. Certain deposit methods & bet types excl. Min first £/€5 bet within 14 days of account reg at min odds 1/2 to get 6 x £/€5 free bets (selected sportsbook markets only, valid 7 days, stakes not returned). Restrictions + T&Cs apply. | |||||
New customers online only. Register and bet a min £/€5 at odds of 1/1 (2.0) or greater across sports or racing within 7 days of registration to qualify. Receive £/€10 Tote Credit, £/€10 Free Sports Bet within 48 hours of qualifying bet settlement. Qualifying bet is the first racing pool or sports bet added to bet slip. Voided/non-runner bets will not qualify; subsequent bet will be qualifying bet. 7-day expiry. 18+. One per customer. Selected customers only. Full T&Cs apply. Gambleaware.org.Full T&Cs apply. | |||||
New customers only. Min £20 bet at odds 2.00+. Max reward: One £10 Free Bet and two £5 Combo Free Bets. £10 Free Bet min odds 1/1 (2.00). £5 Combo Free Bets min odds 2/1 (3.0). Free Bets expire 7 days after credit. 18+. Full T&Cs apply. | |||||
Min deposit requirement. Free Bets are paid as Bet Credits and are available for use upon settlement of bets to value of qualifying deposit. Min odds, bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. Time limits and T&Cs apply. Registration required. | |||||
*New members only. £10+ bet on sports (ex. Virtuals) 1.5 min odds, settled within 14 days. Free Bets: accept in 7 days, valid 7 days; £20 use on sportsbook, £10 on Bet Builder. Stake not returned. T&Cs + deposit exclusions apply. Bet Responsibly. GambleAware.org. 18+ | |||||
18+ New customers only. Opt in, deposit and bet £10 on any sports market at 1/1+ odds within 7 days of sign up. Get 3x£10 in Free Bets for set sports markets. Free Bets expire in 7 days. Scroll for T&Cs. GambleAware.org | Please gamble responsibly | |||||
New members only. £10+ bet on sports (ex. virtuals) at 1.5 min odds, settled within 14 days. Free Bets: accepted in 7 days, valid 7 days; £20 use on sportsbook, £10 on Bet Builder. Stake not returned. T&Cs + deposit exclusions apply. Bet Responsibly. GambleAware.org. 18+ | |||||
Place a £10 fixed odds single or £10 each-way bet at minimum odds of 1/2 and get 3 x £10 free fixed odds bets, 3 x £5 Total Goals football spread bets and 3 x £5 Winning Favourites spread bets and a £1 racing Race Index spread bet. 18+ www.gambleaware.org. | |||||
*New customers only. Place a min £10 pre-event bet at min odds of 2.0. £40 worth of Free Bet Tokens awarded on bet settlement. 4 x £10 each with betting restrictions. 7 day expiry. Debit Card deposits only (exclusions apply). 18+ GambleAware.org. Bet The Responsible Way Full Terms apply | |||||
New sportsbook customers only. Place £10 first bet at min odds 1/2 to get £20 Free Bet. Stake not returned. Free Bet valid 7 days, min odds 1/2. Settled bets only. One welcome offer per customer (not with 50% Net Loss Refund). 18+. Full T&Cs apply. | |||||
New cust. Deposit £10+ in 7 days & bet on sports. Min odds apply. Reward = 4 x £10 Free Bets (2 x £10 Bet Builders & 2 x £10 Sports bet). Valid 7 days. Free bets not valid on e-sports & non UK/IE horse racing. 18+. T&Cs apply. GambleAware.org. | |||||
Offer valid for new Betgoodwin customers aged 18 years and over. Min qualifying stake £10 at odds of 6/4+. Excludes horse & greyhound racing. Min 4 legs at odds of 2/5+ for £10 free acca. Full Terms apply. begambleaware | |||||
18+| GambleAware.org. New GB customers only. Opt in. Deposit and Bet £10+ on sports at min odds of 2.0+ (1/1) for £30 in Free Bets within 7 days. Debit cards or instant bank transfers only. Free bets expire within 7 days of issue. Geographical restrictions and T&C’s apply.#AD | |||||
New customers only. Min £20 bet at odds 2.00+. Max reward: One £10 Free Bet and two £5 Combo Free Bets. £10 Free Bet min odds 1/1 (2.00). £5 Combo Free Bets min odds 2/1 (3.0). Free Bets expire 7 days after credit. 18+. Full T&Cs apply. |
