DraftKings Sportsbook is switching up their new user deposit bonus for the first time in months, offering to match deposits up to $200. Running through the NBA Finals, the offer is the first time DraftKings Sportsbook has gone away from its standard first bet match offer, which they had bene using since launch last August.

 

$200 deposit match

How does it work?

DraftKings Sportsbook will match a user’s next deposit – this is good for both current and new players – up to $200.

Now, like all sportsbook promos, there’s a small catch. In this case, DraftKings will give you back $1 for every $10 you bet. So you’ll have to bet through a full $2,000 in the next 45 days to earn the maximum bonus. This is a tad restrictive, but it’s rare that sportsbooks offer any sort of deposit bonus to current players, so you take the good with the bad.

 

A shift from their previous strategy

DraftKings Sportsbook was the first out of the gate in New Jersey and held a commanding market lead throughout the football season. But that all changed around the Super Bowl, when FanDuel Sportsbook’s 53-1 Super Bowl odds promo grabbed a lot of new users– and since then, they’ve dominated the market.

DraftKings offered a $200 first bet match out of the gate, which was one of the most lukewarm signup bonuses we’ve seen. They then upped to $500, began layering on odds boosts and one-off bonuses around big events like March Madness and The Oscars.

FanDuel, meanwhile, has held firm with a $500 risk-free bet as their open-ended offer.

While the amount of a $200 deposit match isn’t as great as the bet match, bettors seem to prefer the flexibility of a deposit match, which allows you to wager it however you see fit, rather than plunking it all down on one bet. If you’re someone who plans to play a lot, the $200 bonus DraftKings will provide is great, but I suspect most people won’t ever reach that amount.

 

Sportsbook wars?

DraftKings and FanDuel are clearly the two leaders in New Jersey, but both have plans to move into Pennsylvania and other markets. With the announcement of FOX Bet and competition from the likes of PointsBet, both operators will have to get more creative to woo new players.

The last few months losing to FanDuel have dealt some serious blows to DraftKings, which looked like it was on its way to being the undisputed legal sports betting leader. It’s still early days, for sure, but DraftKings Sportsbook clearly wants to find more enticing ways to lure new players before the slow summer sports season.

 

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