NJ Sportsbook Website Review
FanDuel Sportsbook was one of the first sports betting operations to be launched Stateside after the US Supreme Court lifted the PASPA’s 26-year-old Federal ban on sports betting earlier this year.
Already famous for being one of the two US giants of online sports fantasy games, FanDuel’s sportsbook launch followed closely on the heels of that of DraftKings, the other US sports fantasy juggernaut and FanDuel’s long-time major rival in the always legal, billion-dollar sports-fantasy industry.
Although only officially launched on September 6, 2018, FanDuel Sportsbook, with the assistance of British sportsbook heavyweight Paddy Power Betfair, who acquired it in July, just days after sportsbetting was made legal in NJ, and with its online and retail betting platforms driven by world-renowned IGT PlayShot software, FanDuel was quick to get off the mark with a highly professional sportsbook that has all the makings of becoming a major international player.
It’s not there just yet.
For one thing, its betting menu, presently aimed at the New Jersey market in the short term and at the vast American market in the mid-term by which time many more US States will have made sports betting legal, is simply not extensive enough.
Sports Betting Menu
Right now it’s list of sports on which you can bet numbers less than two-thirds of most major British and European sportsbooks and is shorter than most of its NJ rivals, but with NFL and College football, MLB baseball, NBA, WNBA and College basketball, boxing, PGA golf, NHL hockey, MMA, soccer, and tennis on its list, it does have the American sports scene pretty well covered.
And yes, it more than makes up for this by offering a huge range of betting markets within each sport. With up to 200 pre-game betting options for most of its big-league professional sports like football, baseball and basketball and dozens more for each of its other sports like golf, soccer, and tennis, it is clearly an early standout in this new US industry.
Think of any bet you like; such as who’ll get the first touchdown in a specific NFL match or who will get the final home-run of the MLB season? FanDuel will probably already have it on offer.
In-play live betting? Yes, like all leading, modern-day online bookmakers, it offers that too – although not in as many different options as it does for pre-game betting.
Better still, FanDuel is also most likely to be offering them at better odds than any other NJ rival. Highly-competitive pricing seems to be one of its major priorities, especially in so far as its pre-betting markets are concerned.
User Interface
When it comes to its user interface, FanDuel has clearly benefitted from its association with vastly experienced Paddy Power Betfair and in its selection of IGT software.
Its home page is no creative work of art and certainly not as eye-catching as some of those in Europe and Africa, but it is clean, businesslike, easy to understand and just as easy to use. Its simplicity and clarity will certainly be welcomed by first-time online punters.
When you open FanDuel Sportsbook’s blue and white-themed site, be it on your PC at the office, your laptop at home or your smart-phone when you are out and about, you are immediately presented with the nine sports it caters for and, under a slim, top-of-the-page band containing three tabs that say ‘Popular’, ‘Live’ and ‘Upcoming’ you will find long, long lists of bets currently on offer under each sport.
If you are looking for something different, you will probably find it if you then click on ‘More Wagers”.
To place your bet when you’ve found the one you want, you simply need to click on it, see it come up on the Bet Slip (traditionally placed on the upper right side of the site) fill in the amount of money you wish to wager, note the amount you will win when it automatically comes up on the screen, confirm the bet and you will then be in business – provided of course you have registered with FanDuel, paid a deposit and are logged in.
Customer Support
Registering and placing a first deposit are also relatively simple tasks if you follow instructions, but if you do need help at any time of the day or night on this or anything else connected with sports betting, you can get it from FanDuel Sportsbook’s 24/7 support system, either through live chat, e-mail, by talking to a telephone operator or via its FAQ which is adequate right now but still limited when compared with the best FAQ’s of the longer established European sportsbooks.
Bonuses and Promotions
FanDuel’s sportsbook bonuses and promotions are pretty limited at this stage when compared with the big guns offshore, but what it has been offering is very acceptable.
We particularly like its sign-up bonus for first-time depositors.
FanDuel will double your first deposit from a minimum of $10 up to a maximum of $100 and only expects you to wager the full amount (say your $100 plus their matching $100 = $200) before you can withdraw any earnings made from this $200.
Most global sites offering this kind of matching bonus won’t allow you to withdraw anything until you have wagered at least five or six times the combined first deposit and leaves you wondering if it is actually worth it.
FanDuel also had two promotional offers on the go when this review was written.
The first was headlined ‘Local Locks’ and stated: “There’s nothing like rooting for the hometown heroes — especially when they’re insured to win!
“So for NFL Week 3, we’re guaranteeing your first money line bet on NYG, NYJ, and PHI. If your team doesn’t win, we’ll refund your bet up to $100 (issued as a site credit).”
The second was a cash-out offer. Irrespective of whether your live bet is looking like a winner or not, you have the option on all eligible cash-out live bets, to cash out at any time and either cut your losses or get paid out according to the in-play odds at that moment.
FanDuel has not yet introduced any Sportsbook loyalty program, but if the one being offered by its Fantasy operation is anything to go by, it might soon have one of the best in the business.
Transactions
For its Sportsbook, FanDuel uses the same safe and secure payment methods that have helped it grow into one of the world’s most successful daily fantasy sports operations so you need have no qualms about making deposits and withdrawals with impunity.
You can also expect swift and uncomplicated payouts using a fairly wide range of tried and tested deposit and withdrawal methods.
Deposit options include using online bank transfers, your Visa or MasterCard, PayPal, a FanDuel Prepaid Card (you can apply onsite for the card and fund it by attaching your Visa or MasterCard credit card), ACH (e-checks), Sightline or with cash using PayNearMe 7-11 stores (this method has a $500 daily limit and a 30-day limit of $10,000).
PayPal, one of the world’s most used and trusted payment systems, can be used to also make withdrawals providing that its account holder has already made a deposit using PayPal.
ACH (e-check), Sightline and FanDuel Prepaid Cards can also be used to make withdrawals. Winnings made from deposits on pre-paid cards are sent back to it and after some 24-36 hours when these earnings become available to you, they can be withdrawn at an ATM.
Finally, you can also request payment via an old-world paper check in the post, but you might have to wait a week and more to get it.
Summing Up
The FanDuel Sportsbook looks set for a brilliant future, coming into existence as it has on the back of its immensely popular fantasy sports platform and with funding and the priceless bookmaking know-how of the seasoned Dublin-based betting giant Paddy Power Betfair.
After only a few weeks, it is already looking like a truly professional operation more than capable of becoming as successful as its strongly-entrenched sports fantasy arm.
From the word go, large numbers of the New Jersey punters from among the 2,729,180 American users who have, over the years, won $4,535,896,830 on its Fantasy sport operation were already enjoying the thrills and spills and the endless hours of entertainment that can be gained from this exciting new US playground.
FanDuel Fantasy is currently paying out something like $10 million a week in winnings. The mind boggles at what it and its new stable-mate might together be doing down the line when FanDuel Sportsbook has ironed out some of its minor infancy kinks and when the citizens of a good many more US States will have become legal play-mates of its New Jersey punters.