Updated: 2024In this guide, we are going to be taking a look at betting on fantasy sports in Britain, to see if we can uncover the best sites to use and the best strategy to use when building your own fantasy sports team.
Online bookmakers offering fantasy sports betting
What are Fantasy Sports?
Fantasy sports are played by millions of people around the world. Those who enjoy playing fantasy sports regularly can track the performance of their virtual team using either a browser or a mobile application, and they can choose whether they want to compete among strangers or people who they know. There are naturally benefits to both of these options, and only you can decide which you would be better suited to.
In their simplest form, they involve building virtual teams with real sportspeople, and the performance of the virtual team is then affected by the real-world statistics of said players.
Daily Fantasy Sports
In the past, fantasy sports were played alongside actual sporting leagues. This made them incredibly time-consuming, as some sporting leagues can go on for months. Naturally, some people find this quite tedious.
This has since led to the introduction of Daily Fantasy Sports, a subset that quickly became one of the main options for people who enjoy fantasy sports. With Daily Fantasy Sports, you can pick a team for just a day or a handful of days, dependent on the sport.
This works because of the types of contests that are available in the world of Daily Fantasy Sports, including:
- Games for Beginners: Because Daily Fantasy Sports is still quite a new subset when it comes to online gambling, beginners are constantly entering the platform. One of the main things that beginner’s games have in common is the fact that they have quite a high salary cap, enabling players to build relatively strong teams straight away. It is worth noting that the payouts can be quite low for beginner’s games.
- 50/50 Games: 50/50 games are a great option for people who want to play games where the odds are already stacked in their favour. The idea of playing in a 50/50 game is to end up in the top half of the group. The higher you are on the scoreboard; the more bonuses you can access.
- Head-to-Head Games: Perhaps the most authentic form of Daily Fantasy Sports, head-to-head games pitch you against a single player.
- Guaranteed Prize Pool Games: Guaranteed prize pool games are quite similar to 50/50 games in that you only receive a payout if you reach somewhere near the top of the scoreboard. The higher you are; the more money you earn.
Different Types of Fantasy Sports
There are dozens of different types of fantasy sports for people to play online, and many new sports are growing in popularity. Millions of people around the world are choosing to play fantasy football online, and the sport is big business.
If you are new to the world of fantasy sports, then fantasy football is a good starting point.
Lots of British fantasy sports players are also choosing to invest their time in American football, NBA, NHL, MMA, NASCAR, and a range of other sports, including eSports.
How to Bet on Fantasy Sports
Placing a fantasy bet is easy given the number of fantasy betting sites that are now available in the world, with more and more appearing on an annual basis.
With traditional sports betting, you are betting on the actual outcome of a real sporting event, whereas with fantasy sports you are betting on your team being better than that of an opponent.
Your team’s own skill level will be determined by the real-time skills of the players who you have chosen to have on your roster. You can wager real money, and you can try to earn money with your team against individuals or as part of a league that plays across the entire season.
Step-by-Step Guide
We understand that the world of fantasy sports can be a little bit difficult to wrap your head around when you are new to them, and this step-by-step guide should help. We are going to be focusing on fantasy football, given its current popularity.
Some of the main steps that you need to be aware of when playing fantasy football include:
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When you first sign-up to fantasy football, you will have to select the style of game that you would like to play.
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After you have selected, you will need to create your own 11-man roster. You will have a salary cap to work with, and this will determine how much money you can spend on the players who you would like to have on your roster.
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Naturally, your team will need to be laid out like a standard football team. You will need a skilled goalkeeper, several defenders, several midfielders and two forwards, but you have the added advantage of two outfield utility players.
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This set of people enable you to work with several different formations, and you can gain points for the formations that you choose to use.
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Once you have created your roster, you will be able to decide whether you would like to play on your own or as part of a league. There are pros and cons that come with each of these options, so make sure that you do your research.
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You earn points as you are playing fantasy football, with goals, assists and clean sheets all being among the highest earners. If you are playing Daily Fantasy Sports, then things like tackles won and both on and off-target shots will also be counted towards your score.
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You will be able to keep track of your performance using either a browser or a mobile application. We would advise that you download an application so that you can see how well you are performing while you are on the go.
British Fantasy Sports Sites
There are dozens of fantasy sports bookmakers operating in the United Kingdom, with many of them offering both mobile applications and aesthetically appealing websites. In Britain, fantasy football is paving the way and proving to be far more popular than other sports, and Daily Fantasy Sports are quickly becoming the norm.
Some of the best sites for Britain’s fantasy sports lovers include:
Building a Strategy
Building a strategy when you are new to playing fantasy football can be quite difficult, as you need to have some knowledge regarding the statistics of the players who you are looking to place on your roster.
This could include statistics on their goals, crosses, off and on target shots, tackles and interceptions. Each of these subject areas will count towards your finishing score if you are playing Daily Fantasy Sports, and they are all important.
We would recommend that you keep an eye on your budget when you are building your roster.
Make sure that you have specialists across the field, including in your corners to threaten your opponent’s goal. Your defensive midfielders should be carefully considered, as their actions will increase the points that you have on the scorecard.
Are Fantasy Sports Gambling?
Whether or not fantasy sports are classified as gambling is a bit of a grey area that causes much discussion and confrontation. There is an element of chance that would point to them being a form of gambling, but there is also an element of skill that cannot be seen in other gambling fields.
On one hand, you could argue that you’re essentially gambling on the skills that a real-world player will be showing at any given time and that on its own would be a form of gambling. On the other hand, you have to have an intimate working knowledge of your chosen sport and its players, which would point to it being a skilled activity and not a form of gambling.
We believe that its best to look at fantasy sports as a form of gambling, just as PaddyPower does. This industry leader agrees that fantasy sports are gambling-oriented, and often use gambling-related terms like “wager” and “betting” when they are referring to the sport in interviews.
In the United Kingdom, betting on the outcome of fantasy sports is considered to be a form of gambling and it should be treated as such, as it is covered by the same body of regulations.
Make sure that you check the terms and conditions that are present on any site that you are thinking about using.
