If sportsbooks like DraftKings and FanDuel aren't in your state now, they aren't arriving this football season. Or maybe ever, depending on where you live.
In their place, sports fans in states like California, Texas, Georgia have two main real-money gaming options:
- Sweepstakes sportsbooks like Fliff and Thrillzz, which function very similar to sportsbooks but with a different payout model.
- DFS pick'em apps like Underdog Fantasy and PrizePicks, which allow you to pick player statistics and tie them together for bigger payouts, depending on how many you add.
Where DFS & Sweepstakes Platforms Operate for NFL
Most sweepstakes sportsbooks operate under more solid legal footing than you might think — they're usually in 40+ states and face almost no barrier to entry. Pretty much every new operator is choosing this route while legal, regulated books keep shutting down. Two operators — ProphetX and NoVig — even dropped their regulated books to relaunch as sweepstakes platforms.
They can operate in 40+ states because you never actually make deposits — you purchase a free currency, and then are gifted another currency, which you use to bet. That currency is then exchanged for cash.
There is some ambiguity around its legality in certain states, and a few states have outright said these platforms can't operate there. But most of the sweepstakes books are available in 40+ states.
DFS pick'em is a bit more established, but most platforms don't operate in quite that many states. However, PrizePicks and Underdog are still available in 30+ states, including California, Texas and Georgia.
Using Sweepstakes Sportsbook for NFL Betting
Fliff is the most popular sweepstakes platform, and it offers a ton of markets — anytime touchdowns, other player props, game props, etc. A lot of what you'd see at most regulated sportsbooks.
The big difference is in the "currencies" you use. There's the free one, Fliff Coins, and the other, Fliff Cash.
- You purchase Coins, and then you're given Fliff Cash.
- Betting with Coins doesn't earn any money. It's just a free-to-play currency.
- When you bet with Fliff Cash, you're "awarded" cash.
You toggle your currencies in the top right corner of the app (most platforms function very similar in this regard).
Then just place your bet like you would at any other sportsbook. Again, the market options are pretty deep at Fliff, and sometimes even better than legal sportsbooks (in New Jersey for example, they don't have the same restrictions on betting in-state college teams). Newer platforms are a bit more limited in what they offer.
Available Sweepstakes Sportsbooks
More and more of these platforms are popping up every month. Here are the five most well-known entering the 2024 NFL season:
- Fliff
- Rebet
- Thrillzz
- NoVig
- ProphetX
DFS Pick'em for NFL
With DFS pick'em platforms, you're picking player statistics, and tying them together for bigger payouts. You must choose at least two players, and depending on the site, can choose up to eight for a 100x payout.
Here, I've chosen Jets QB Aaron Rodgers to have less than 235.5 passing yards and Jets WR Mike Williams to have less than 4.5 targets.
The payouts will vary depending on the stat, how correlated they are, and how many players you add to the entry.
Available DFS Platforms
There are a handful of DFS apps available in key states without sports betting, including:
- Sleeper
- PrizePicks
- Underdog
- Vivid Picks
- OwnersBox
- StatHero
- Dabble Fantasy
PrizePicks and Underdog have the most-extensive menus of player stats, but sites like Dabble allow you to win 100x your entry.
