Kentucky sports betting now offers online sportsbooks across the state! Many options are now available for residents. The question is – which one do you choose?
FanDuel Kentucky and DraftKings Kentucky will likely be two of the most popular options in the market. Both are highly recognized from their daily fantasy platforms and you’ve likely seen them advertised on anything sports-related.
So, if you’re deciding between the two, how do the sportsbook apps compare? Both of them have their positives and negatives, and we’ll dive into each of those next.
In terms of having to pick one or the other, we’d honestly recommend both. Their mobile apps are widely optimized for various smartphones, making them easy to install and use. They are safe and secure with personal information and feature quick payout methods.
If you’d only like to pick one, we’ll crown the winner at the end of the article!
Welcome Bonus Comparison
Thousands of dollars are available in bonuses with both DraftKings Kentucky and FanDuel Kentucky.
First, we’ll start with DraftKings. They offer up to $1,250 in bonuses. $250 of that is available with a single deposit and a minimum wager of $5. That’s pretty simple to accomplish for most users.
They also provide a 20% deposit match of up to $1,000. You’ll need $5,000 to take full advantage of this offer and it requires a 25x playthrough before withdrawing money. So if you plan to use DraftKings for an extended period of time, this will be a good option.
Over to FanDuel, they have two welcome offers for Kentucky residents. The most accessible for all users is a Bet $5, Get $200 in Bonus Bets. This is similar to part of DraftKings’ offer, but FanDuel allows users to customize their wager instead of use bonus bet tokens.
The other option is for those with higher income. With a minimum deposit of $2,000, FanDuel offers a No Sweat Bet of up to $5,000. That means if a wager of up to $5,000 loses, that money is given back in the form of bonus bets.
Best Welcome Offer: DraftKings Sportsbook – In general, DraftKings provides the more accessible offer. They add $50 more to the bonus bets with a $5 minimum wager. Getting a 20% deposit match is also more definite than a “No Sweat” bet.
Betting Market Variety
It’s popular to bet on moneylines, spreads, and totals for single games. But when you finally jump into online sportsbooks, there’s plenty more to choose from. Sometimes it’s more fun to place a wager on quarterback passing yards, basketball player points, or pitcher strikeouts.
Want to get a quicker result? Consider selecting odds for touchdown or field goal being scored first, or no runs in the first inning of a baseball game. Popularity of live odds has given way to more options for people to place bets on current drives in a football contest.
Both DraftKings and FanDuel feature a lot of options here. In addition to the wide variety of sports, there’s plenty of different props to consider. Naturally, more options will exist for the more popular leagues and games. But whenever you’re in the mood to bet, they’ll have you covered.
Best Market Variety: Tie – Honestly, it’s tough to differentiate between the two here. There are loads of game odds, player props, and futures to consider. Both sportsbooks feature live markets, same-game parlays, and odds boosts. You won’t be disappointed in the options either way.
The only thing that may tilt you one way over the other is if you like more niche markets. College hockey and college baseball have previously had more options available on DraftKings, but this could change in the future.
Mobile App Comparison
Both DraftKings and FanDuel have mobile apps on iOS and Android devices. They are obviously accessible on desktop browsers, but apps are the most convenient way to access and place wagers when away from your computer. Regardless of if you’re in Kentucky or in another legal state, the same app will be used.
Looking at the Android app specifically, both options have their pros and cons. In terms of ease of use, DraftKings has a slight edge. Bonuses are easily viewable at the top, two rows of sports markets tailored to your habits, quick access to popular parlay bets, and then an easy view of available promos and popular sports that people are betting on.
Various prop markets are also easy to access. If you want to parlay player hits or anytime TDs, there’s a complete screen for that. In FanDuel, you’ll have to open up a player props section manually to access the odds.
For stability and speed, FanDuel has the edge here. It loads up slightly quicker on average and it’s very easy to move around different sections.
The DraftKings app has a tendency to hang when switching to different sports and bonus toggles may not load properly. This requires a reload or complete restart of the app, which can be annoying.
For signing in, both apps offer quick access with a fingerprint if selected and the device is compatible.
Best Mobile App: FanDuel Sportsbook – We slightly prefer the layout more on DraftKings, but the stability and speed of FanDuel puts this one ahead in our book.
Promotions and Loyalty Rewards
Obviously, sports bettors love to take advantage of sportsbook promotions. It’s part of the reason why you’re here! Beyond the welcome bonus, both DraftKings and FanDuel offer similar retention promos for all users.
As the sports betting market matures, there are less promos that are essentially for users to build up bankroll or to add site credit. But, profit boosts are certainly increasing on single bets, parlays, and same-game parlays. DraftKings tends to offer new options daily, and we’ve even seen profit boosts specific to live bets.
Frequently, profit boosts are based on a specific sport or event. In many cases, same-game parlays will include the option of combining same-game parlays together. While parlays lose more than win, using the profit boosts with lower betting amounts could be a lucrative proposition.
Best Promotions: DraftKings Sportsbook – This one is heavy on DraftKings. They offer a tremendous amount of retention offers daily. There are plenty of profit boosts that can be used on the bet of your choice for top sports leagues. A loyalty program features getting bonus crowns to redeem as DK Dollars and raises based on tiers.
FanDuel does not have a loyalty program and other promotions are more limited. However, FanDuel does tend to offer larger amounts to wager on profit boosts than DraftKings over time.
Customer Service
Do you have a question on promotions? Why is something not working correctly on the sportsbook? Most importantly, is there an outcome that was graded incorrectly?
Customer service is imperative to a sportsbook’s success. Luckily, both DraftKings and FanDuel offer some of the best in the entire legal industry. There are multiple methods of contact for both operators, and it’s timely regardless of where you live.
DraftKings has an added benefit of alerting customers when outages occur. These will appear in a yellow area at the top portion of the sportsbook. To its credit, FanDuel doesn’t seem to have as many outages by comparison, but will alert customers of maintenance when needed.
Best Customer Service: Tie – Both DraftKings and FanDuel offer quick and stellar service. They’re available almost instantly at any time and provide different methods to contact them. There have been no recent issues when it comes to giving customers quick payouts.
DraftKings Kentucky vs. FanDuel Kentucky: Which is Better?
Winner: DraftKings Sportsbook – Again, we’ll emphasize that using both is recommended. We like them both and they’re very secure. But all around, DraftKings comes in as the winner. It features a better app layout, more promotions, and easier flexibility to view betting markets.
The black background is also more of a natural fit than FanDuel’s version. While that can be toggled as light or dark, the black background doesn’t come off as smooth or easy on the eyes as DraftKings.
Other aspects of the platform are also better. When it comes to retention bonuses, it’s nice to toggle them in and out of the bet slip to ensure the bonus will happen.
The amount of stats and information available for placing bets is also a nice touch. It does make recommendations within the stats, but it doesn’t come off as obnoxious as it can at other sportsbooks.
When it comes to mobile app stability, and if that’s what you prefer, then FanDuel is the option we’d recommend. Bonuses tend to be a little more accessible as well, even if there are fewer.
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