DraftKings Predictions Review: Fees, States And Kalshi
DraftKings Predictions Review: Event Contracts With No Published Fee Schedule, Priced Against Kalshi
DraftKings Predictions sells yes/no event contracts inside the DraftKings app. Comparison sites disagree on its fees and state map, so we set out what each claims and where Kalshi is cheaper.
Our score
5.9/10Rated 5.9 out of 10
Verdict
DraftKings Predictions is convenient for existing DraftKings customers and little else. We could find no official fee schedule, and the comparison sites that quote fees disagree: one table has it costing more than Kalshi at almost every price, another says $0.01 a contract. The state map is equally unclear, from 18 states for sports to 38 overall. Until DraftKings publishes its rates, Kalshi is the safer default for anyone who prices their trades.
Best for
Existing DraftKings users who want a few event contracts in one app
Lives inside the DraftKings app, so there is no new account or funding route to set up
Each contract settles at $1.00 or $0.00, so the price is the implied probability
Reported coverage of sports, politics, economics, crypto and culture contracts
A reported first-trade match of up to $75 for new users
Reported withdrawals by PayPal, Venmo, debit card and ACH with a $1 minimum
What held it back
No published fee schedule as of July 2026, according to Odds Reference
One comparison table puts its sports fees above Kalshi's at most prices, such as $4.00 against $3.50 on $100 at 50 cents
Sports contracts are reported in only 18 states by CoinStats, against 38 states overall elsewhere
Idle cash is reported to sit with an affiliate, outside the CFTC customer-fund rules that cover Kalshi
Comparison sites disagree on exchange routing: CME, DKeX or Railbird
The hardest thing about reviewing DraftKings Predictions is that the number that matters most, the fee, is not published where we could read it. That is a finding in itself. A trading venue that will not show you its rate card before you deposit is asking you to accept a cost it has not named.
Method, plainly stated: DraftKings' prediction pages returned errors to our automated requests, so we could not capture them or trade. This review compares what independent and affiliate sites report, each cited, and we flag every place they disagree. Most of them earn commission on sign-ups.
What a contract is
A prediction-market contract pays $1.00 if an event happens and $0.00 if it does not. The price, between $0.01 and $0.99, is the market's implied probability. Buy "yes" at $0.40 and you risk 40 cents to make 60. Compared with a sportsbook price of +150, there is no margin hidden in the odds. The cost sits in the fee instead, and in the gap between buy and sell prices.
The fee numbers do not agree
Odds Reference states plainly: "No published fee schedule as of July 2026; confirm current costs in-app." CoinStats, by contrast, publishes a table of taker fees on a $100 trade. At 10 cents, DraftKings costs $6.95 against Kalshi's $6.30. At 25 cents, $6.43 against $5.25. At 50 cents, $4.00 against $3.50. At 75 cents, $2.67 against $1.75. At 90 cents, $2.22 against $0.70. DraftKings wins only on some long shots, such as 5 cents.
SailGP's guide says something different: a flat $0.01 for every contract bought or sold, which is about 2 percent of a 50-cent contract and would make DraftKings cheaper than Kalshi at that price. The guide's own dates do not line up, with a 2026 publication date and a 2025 footer.
Which is right? We cannot say, and neither can you until you see the in-app fee at the moment of trade. Do the arithmetic before every entry: a fee of 4 percent on a contract you think is worth 5 points more than the market is a thin edge.
SailGP's Kalshi versus DraftKings guide, which quotes a $0.01 per-contract fee
Where you can trade, and what
Odds Reference puts access at 38 states including California and Texas, noting that availability shifts as litigation over sports contracts continues. CoinStats counts sports contracts in 18 states, with no markets in Maine or New Hampshire. Both can be true if one counts all categories and the other only sports. Politics, economics and sports are the strong categories; crypto, culture and weather are described as limited.
The comparison with Kalshi on breadth is not close. Kalshi lists many more open markets, and sits in around 43 states on Odds Reference's count. DraftKings' appeal is sports contracts for people who already hold a DraftKings account.
Odds Reference's DraftKings Predicts review, with a quick verdict and a note that no fee schedule is published
Plumbing: who holds your money
Sources disagree on structure. Odds Reference says contracts route through CME Group, built on Railbird, which DraftKings acquired in 2025. CoinStats says DraftKings is a CFTC-registered broker that routes to its own exchange DKeX, CDNA or CME. Whichever is correct, the contracts are federally regulated.
CoinStats makes one distinction we would act on: Kalshi holds balances at its clearinghouse under CFTC customer-fund rules, while DraftKings is said to keep idle cash with an affiliate, outside those rules. Neither is FDIC-insured or SIPC-covered. Keep only what you plan to trade in the account.
Getting paid
SailGP lists PayPal, Venmo, debit card and ACH withdrawals, with a $1 minimum and processing of up to two working days for cards and two to seven for bank transfers. CoinStats says DKeX may hold proceeds up to 12 hours and that DraftKings publishes no Predictions withdrawal times. Kalshi markets mostly settle within hours.
The welcome offer
Odds Reference reports a match of a new user's first trade, dollar for dollar up to $75, and notes there is no fixed public terms page. That is modest beside sportsbook promotions that routinely run higher, and it is a reason to ask what the terms are, not a reason to trade.
A guide comparing prediction markets with sportsbooks, which puts Kalshi and Polymarket beside DraftKings
Against DraftKings Sportsbook
A sportsbook builds its margin into the price, so the cost is invisible until you add up both sides. A contract shows the price and charges you a visible fee. For a bettor who wants a cheap view on a game, the fee-based model can be cheaper, but only if the fee is low, and that is what we could not confirm.
DraftKings' own help centre, where the product's rules and fee articles should live, was reachable and is the place to start.
The DraftKings Help Center, where official rules and fee articles for each product are kept
Who should use it
Use it if you hold a DraftKings account, want a small position in a market that is easier to find there than elsewhere, and have read the fee at checkout. Use Kalshi if you will trade often, trade longshots, or need a clearer fee and custody story. We rate DraftKings Predictions 5.9, for convenience that is real and costs that are unpublished.
Contracts can lose their full value, so trade only money you can afford to lose. This review is not financial advice.
