Best Daily Fantasy Sports sites in Australia
FANTASY Sports is a popular pastime in Australia, with both real money and free fantasy sports prevalent right across the country. While Aussies have some interest in US Fantasy Sports, without a doubt the local AFL, NRL and horse racing provide the most interest. On this page we’ll give you a rundown of Fantasy Sports including what it is, how it works and the different types of DFS available in Australia. The top DFS sites in Australia for 2021 are:
What is Fantasy Sports
Fantasy sport is an online game, where players choose line-ups out of a pool of players, using either virtual or real players from professional sports. Players are split into leagues and there is a fixture, with players competing weekly against someone else from their league. The results are then calculated using real statistics from the players in the professional sports.
In Australia the two most popular sports for Fantasy Sports are AFL and NRL, which are both professional sports down under. The Herald Sun and various News Limited newspapers run two huge Fantasy Competitions called AFL Supercoach and NRL Supercoach. With different formats available for players, including draft and the more traditional format, where you can choose any players from the competition, even if other teams have them, but you must remain under a salary cap.
While you can win prizes playing Fantasy Sports in Australia, including huge cash prizes, it’s more the Daily Fantasy Sports providers such as DraftKings, which recently entered Australia, MoneyBall and DraftStars, which are both Australian owned. These differ slightly to regular Fantasy sports, because they cost real money to enter and generally will be over within a day or two.
The Australian Gambling List only promotes DFS sites that are legal to play at, so rest assured if you find an operator on here you like, you are able to become a member and take advantage of their operation.
How to play real money Fantasy Sports in Australia
Time needed: 5 minutes
Australians have got several quality Fantasy Sports sites available to them in 2020, with these sites roughly offering similar services. In this section we’ll break down how you would go about begginning your real money fantasy sports in Austraia.
- Choose a Fantasy Sports operator
The World Gambling List has three Fantasy Sports sites that we currently endorse for the Australian gambling market, with these being DraftKings, MoneyBall and DraftStars. If you are looking for AFL or NRL, it’s definitely worth checking out the latter two, which are both more Australian focussed.
- Find a DFS contest you want to enter
Fantasy Sports sites will have various daily competitions that customers can enter. With these generally focussing around the day’s games and the upcoming events over the next few weeks. All of the Fantasy Sports sites we promote on the WGL have clear guides on how to choose your competition.
- Choose your DFS team
Now you will need to choose the team that you want to compete in the Fantasy Sports contest, but there is a catch, with players having to stay under the salary cap. This is so you can’t just choose the 10 best players, instead having to delve a little deeper into your sports knowledge.
- Follow the Fantasy action live
Most events at Fantasy Sports sites will allow you to follow the scores after the games are underway, meaning you can see if you are winning or losing the entire time. After the event you have entered is finished, in a matter of minutes the winners will be calculated and credits settled.
- Settling DFS tournaments and payouts
After the conclusion of the event and after all peoples scores are calculated, DFS betting sites will then automatically pay out the winners. DFS betting tournaments will generally have a pay chart corresponding to what placings win what amount, with this often flexible depending on entries. f
Top real money Fantasy Sports sites in Australia
There are several popular Fantasy Sports sites in Australia that allow people to play for real money. These are known as Daily Fantasy Sports sites and will have competitions surrounding all the major sports, that players can enter. The legal Australian real money fantasy sports sites we endorse in 2020 include:
Draftkings: The US giant has finally entered the Australian fantasy market, and it couldn’t have come soon enough. With probably the best NBA and NFL offering out of all the AU sites, we strongly endorse DraftKings as a market leader in the Fantasy Space.
DraftStars: Originally part of the Crownbet stable, when that used to be a brand down under, DraftStars is now owned by Playup and is a very popular place for daily AFL and NRL fantasy sports. Has a great layout and very functional apps, putting them firmly on the map as a top Fantasy betting site. DraftStars review.
MoneyBall Another fantasy sports company based out of the NT, MoneyBall has been down for much of 2020, with the site undergoing an upgrade during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our sources tell us that when sports get back into full swing, MoneyBall will fire back up again. Is a quality, trustworthy site when up and running.
What leagues and events are available at fantasy sports sites
Fantasy Sports is a diverse term and could really encompass any sport that is played professionally. Because Australia does not have a huge population as a general rule the fantasy sports offering will centre around the most popular sports.
it’s also worth noting that there could be slight variances in how the fantasy aspect works for each event or sport, with things like horse racing even differing further away from the traditional fantasy format.
In Australia you can expect to see the following sports at daily fantasy betting sites:
- AFL
- NRL
- Horse racing
- NFL
- NHL
- EPL
- Golf
- Various soccer leagues
AU Deposit options at DFS sites 2021
The top Australian DFS sites have got extensive deposit options to suit AUD payments, with these including everything from credit and debit card, right through to web wallets and payment processors. Most of these DFS payment types are instant, meaning you can sign up and begin playing within a few minutes.
Cryptocurrency is a notable absence from both DFS sites and Australian online bookmakers, with no regulator approving things like bitcoin at this point in time. We can’t see this changing, with cryptocurrency seemingly put in the too hard basket by the government.
The most common DFS payment options for Australian dollars is:
- Visa
- Mastercard
- Credit card
- Debit Card
- Neteller
- Paypall
- POLi
- Bank transfer
- Skrill
Best free fantasy sports competitions in Australia
While Australians can sign up at ESPN and play fantasy sports surrounding popular US sports like the NBA and NFL, in this section we’ll highlight the most popular free fantasy sports competitions players can enter:
AFL Supercoach: A News Limited initiative, AFL Supercoach allows you to either play draft fantasy AFL, where players hold a draft to select the teams; or the standard Supercoach offering, which allows you to select any players in the league, as long as you stay under the salary cap. Has a $50,000 major prize, while there are also weekly cash giveaways.
NRL Supercoach: Working exactly the same way as the AFL version, enter either classic Supercoach or play in a draft league with strangers or friends. Again there are weekly cash and prize giveaways, while a $50,000 overall winner prize makes this a prominent tournament.
AFL Fantasy: The official AFL.com.au fantasy competition, which is also extremely popular, although not as frequented as the Herald Sun version. Those of us without News Limited accounts find it a great service.
Is DFS legal in Australia?
Daily Fantasy sports for real money is 100% legal in Australia as long as the operator is licensed by an Australian state or territory, with the most common licensing coming from the Northern Territory Gambling Commission.
Fantasy Sports took off in the USA as a way of getting around the strict sports betting laws, with this type of game determined that it was a game of skill.
While DFS does not really fit into the existing framework of Australia’s gambling laws — which are known as the Interactive Gambling Act, they also don’t outlaw this type of gambling.
As long as the fantasy sports betting sites abide by Australian state laws, which are set by each regulator and the IGA, they are able to operate in Australia.
In summary real money DFS is treated much like sports betting sites under Australian law, which means no consumers will get in trouble for playing.
Commonly asked questions about AU Fantasy Sports
Fantasy Sports can be confusing for those who are new to it and it often springs up more questions than answers. If you have any trouble playing or learning about fantasy sports betting sites in Australia, send us an email to contact@worldgamblinglist.com or drop us a message int he box below.
Yes, fantasy sports is legal in Australia as long as you play at a regulated site. Read more about fantasy sports laws in Australia above.
Yes DFS sites are accessible from all Australian states and territories, including South Australia, which has banned some forms of gambling, including lotto betting.
Yes, the Herald Sun or News Limited Fantasy Sports offering has weekly prizes for the highest scoring teams, while there are also major prizes for those who win the entire competition. While technically illegal, many players of NRL or AFL supercoach, will put in money to create a prize pool.
Our favourite fantasy sports site in Australia is probably DraftStars, although DraftKings has entered the Australian fantasy market and is showing great potential.