Welcome to the world of legal online sports betting, Massachusetts.
Six online sportsbooks launched in the state on Friday morning, giving Bay State bettors a handful of options just as March Madness ramps up.
Here is what you have to choose from:
- DraftKings Sportsbook
- BetMGM
- Caesars Sportsbook
- WynnBET
- FanDuel
- Barstool Sportsbook
All six of these are available in my home state, Michigan, which has had legal online sports betting since January of 2021.
I’ve played around with a lot of the apps in Michigan, but I’ve spent as much time at DraftKings as I have with any other. Here’s a look at what to expect from DraftKings Sportsbook MA based on my experiences.
Pros and cons of the DraftKings Sportsbook app
No sports betting app is perfect, and each has its strengths and weaknesses. There is plenty to like about DraftKings Sportsbook, though.
Pros
- If you’ve used DraftKings for daily fantasy sports, you can easily connect that account to the sportsbook. That means any money or rewards you have earned are available to you, and you can still take advantage of sign-up offers.
- DraftKings has a huge selection of sports betting markets, and is typically quick to get up odds for games and futures.
- Profit boosts and promos are prominently displayed with banners at the top of your homepage. This saves you the time of having to click into the promos section to see what’s available.
READ MORE: Massachusetts Sports Betting Is LIVE With Up To $4,050 In Bonus Offers
Cons
- The missions. They’ve slowed down on pushing them to my email and phone, but they’re rarely worth it.
- This is 100% a personal preference, but the color scheme. Reading white font on a black background is rough on my eyes, and I haven’t been able to find a way to change it.
DraftKings Sportsbook stats hub provides great information for bettors
Providing stats and betting trends to customers isn’t exclusive to DraftKings, but they may do it better than anyone in Michigan. It’s safe to assume that will be the same among Massachusetts sports betting apps.
When you click into any game, you’ll see three staggered bars at the top of your screen. That’s the stats hub, which provides a ton of information you can use before placing your bet.
Everything from the basics, like recent results, records against the spread and line movement, to deeper dives such as “clutch win” percentage to “choke” percentage, are available.
I don’t recommend betting on a game without having any knowledge of the teams playing. But, if you have a hunch, the stats offered by DraftKings can go a long way toward further informing your bet.
Free to play and paid pick’em pools at DraftKings
DraftKings offers more than sports betting on its app, as its Pools section is always stocked with options.
As you would imagine, it currently features plenty of pools for NCAA Tournament betting, both free to play and with paid entries. Prize pools vary wildly, from hundreds to the rare $1 million-plus.
Some will be for picking multiple games on a day or in a weekend, while others will focus on the happenings in a single game.
They even have pools for non-sporting events, like WWE and AEW events, and segments from the Dan Le Batard Show, which has a DraftKings partnership.
You can create your own pools, as well, so you can compete solely against family and friends.
They’re fun to explore, and something you may be more comfortable with as you start as a sports bettor.
DraftKings Casino is on the same app as the sportsbook
While you don’t have online casinos in Massachusetts, yet, we got them in Michigan at the same time legal sports betting launched. And if you do end up with them, DraftKings makes it very easy to swap back and forth between the casino and sportsbook.
Not only is there a button right at the top of the app to switch to the casino, but a quick trip to a virtual blackjack table can be made by clicking a button mixed in with the available sports markets.
DraftKings online casino doesn’t have the library of a BetMGM Casino, but it’s still pretty extensive and offers plenty of exclusive games like DraftKings Rocket and DraftKings Blackjack Bingo.
If you or a loved one is experiencing problems with gambling, call 1-800-327-5050 or visit www.mahelpline.org/problemgambling to speak with a trained specialist for free, 24/7