BetMGM vs DraftKings: Determining The Better Sportsbook

✅Fact Checked by: Michael Savio

DraftKings and BetMGM Sportsbook are two of the most well-known online sportsbooks in the country, and their brand lives up to the hype as we review each of them. In a back-and-forth battle, these online sportsbooks seemingly won every other category.

Find out which came out on top through our BetMGM vs. DraftKings comparison below.

Before we dive into our battle, if you are looking for a more in-depth analysis of each of these sportsbooks, make sure to check out our detailed reviews, which you can find right here:

DraftKings sportsbook review
BetMGM sportsbook review

Now, let's see which of these two major sportsbooks is superior.

Here is a table of content for easy navigation:

• State Availability
• Bonus and Promotions
• Sports Coverage
• Betting Markets
• Sign Up Process
• Features
• Betting Odds
• Live Betting
• Live Streaming
• Mobile App
• Deposit Methods
• Customer Support
• Overall User Experience
• Strengths and Weaknesses
• Conclusion

DraftKings Sportsbook and BetMGM are two online sportsbooks that have been available since the beginning of online legal sports betting in 2018.

Below, we’ll look at all DraftKings states and BetMGM states:

We gathered detailed articles regarding DraftKings legal states and BetMGM legal states.

🏅 Winner: DraftKings

Bonuses and promotions provide players with a value that enhances their bet amount, payout, bankroll, or a combination of all three. Let’s see how DraftKings and BetMGM compare.

DraftKings Sportsbook

• Welcome Bonus: Receive a 20% deposit bonus worth up to $1,000. The bonus funds you receive will be placed into a pool you draw off in $1 increments per $25 wagered in cash.
• New Player Bonus: Place a bet of $5+, and you’ll receive $200 in Bonus Bets.
  MLB 50% Profit Boost: Get a 50% profit boost on any MLB games on select days.
• Reignmakers Football: A card collecting challenge where you pick a QB and collect free digital player cards throughout the season to win $30 million in prizes.
• MLB Daily Stepped Up SGP: Build an MLB SGP and get up to a 100% profit boost.
• Soccer Stepped Up Parlay: Receive a profit boost based on the number of legs you add to every Soccer parlay.
• Refer-A-Friend: Get a bonus bet up to $100 when you refer a friend to DraftKings who has not used the platform before.

BeMGM Sportsbook

• Welcome Bonus: At BetMGM, you’ll receive a $1,000 risk-free bet, meaning your first bet can be made while knowing that if you lose, you’ll get it back as a free bet. You’ll get a single free bet if the bet is less than $50. If the bet is over $50, you’ll get five free bets equal to 20% of the wager made.
• Refer-A-Friend: Receive a $50 bonus when you recruit a friend to BetMGM using your exclusive link, and they wager $50 in cash.

BetMGM vs DraftKings Winner: When it comes to welcome bonuses, BetMGM Sportsbook wins. While DraftKings has stepped up its welcome bonus by adding the Bet $5 Get $200 promo, BetMGM gives you a better chance to win more money right off the bat. However, DraftKings has a clear edge when it comes to offers for existing players. 

🏅 Winner: BetMGM

We all know both sites will have NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL betting, but what other, more niche sports do each offer?

DraftKings vs BetMGM Winner: As you can see, this is quite close, but DraftKings gets a slight edge due to offering sports like Volleyball, and Cornhole.

🏅 Winner: DraftKings

Having many ways to wager on your favorite sports and teams makes for a more enjoyable experience. We all want to bet on our favorite teams in any way we can.

DraftKings vs BetMGM Winner: DraftKings and BetMGM have the same bet types, except Same Game Parlay Extra at DraftKings. This allows you to parlay together multiple Same Game Parlays. By having this method and BetMGM not having it, DraftKings wins.

🏅 Winner: DraftKings

It may not be something you think about, but creating an account as quickly as possible and getting into the action is important. Which site is faster?

• DraftKings Sportsbook: When you click “Sign Up” at DraftKings Sportsbook, it’ll start by you providing your email, username, password, and phone number before agreeing to the terms and conditions. After this, you’ll then make a real-money betting account where you’ll provide information such as your date of birth, address, and last four digits of your social security number.
• BetMGM Sportsbook: The first step in creating a BetMGM Sportsbook account is providing your email. Alternatively, you can start the process by registering with your MGM Rewards, PayPal, or Yahoo! Sports account. After you’ve picked which method, the next page will open and ask for your password, then your name, the last four digits of your social security number, and other personal details.

BetMGM vs DraftKings Winner: Both processes are pretty fast in terms of time to complete, but BetMGM has multiple ways to start the process, and it’s broken up amongst multiple pages making it easier to complete.

🏅 Winner: BetMGM

The online sports betting landscape has numerous platforms you can play at. Thus, these sites need features that set them apart, creating a unique selling point(s).

Let’s check out what each has.

DraftKings vs BetMGM Winner: The live streaming is great for those who want to bet on international sports, but DraftKings wins out here with the betting pool and social media platform where you can connect with other bettors.

🏅 Winner: DraftKings

If you’re in a state with multiple online sportsbooks, one of the best things you can do is odds shop to make sure you’re getting the best odds for whatever you want to bet on.

Below, we’ll look at the odds for each sportsbook, but remember this—odds can also be based on the amount of betting action each wager is receiving.

• DraftKings Sportsbook: At DraftKings Sportsbook, you’ll tend to, across the board, find some decent odds on underdog wagers. From our research, this ranges from five to 30 points of line value. When looking at the favored team, these are usually on par with the competitor regarding odds and the point spread number.
• BetMGM Sportsbook: As mentioned, the odds here for the favored team are usually quite similar. For example, the point spread odds are right around -110, giving or taking five points in either direction. However, the underdog line value tends to be less lucrative at BetMGM.

BetMGM vs DraftKings Winner: When it comes down to it, the odds and line value here are quite similar. However, BetMGM does tend to offer less lucrative odds for underdogs, giving DraftKings a slight edge, especially if you want to bet on an underdog on the point spread or moneyline.

🏅 Winner: DraftKings

Have you ever been going about your day only to look up at the clock and realize, “Oh no! The game I wanted to bet on has already started!”

With BetMGM and DraftKings, you can wager on that game as it’s in progress, though odds shift rapidly as the game evolves.

• DraftKings Sportsbook: The DraftKings Sportsbook live betting page has a menu for each sport that is currently live, followed by the current score and odds for each bet type at that time. When you click on the game you want to bet on, a page will open with all the available bet types, the box score, and the stats for the game.
• BetMGM Sportsbook: Like DraftKings, BetMGM has a live betting page with a menu for currently live sports. However, you’ll notice that as the game progresses, the different bet types will get highlighted with green or red, indicating a change in the odds for those bet types. You’ll see all the bet types and the box score when you click on the game. To the right, you’ll see live updates about what’s happening in the game and statistics from that game.

BetMGM vs DraftKings Winner: We give the edge to BetMGM here thanks to the live in-game tracker, which updates what’s happening in the game. We also like the red and green highlights indicating a change in those odds.

🏅 Winner: BetMGM

Can’t find the game you want to watch on TV or your favorite streaming service? The sportsbook you’re playing at might have live streaming available.

• DraftKings Sportsbook: Live streaming is not offered here.
• BetMGM Sportsbook: After logging into your account, you’ll see a media section on the right side of the page. Here, you’ll find a drop-down menu that shows what games you can watch, filtered by the sport. Once you click on the event, a video box will appear with the game.

BetMGM vs DraftKings Winner: Since DraftKings doesn’t have live streaming, BetMGM wins by default.

🏅 Winner: BetMGM

With online sports betting launching in 2018, the ability to wager from a mobile app has been a go-to method for placing bets. Let’s check these mobile apps out.

DraftKings Sportsbook:

When you open the DraftKings Sportsbook mobile app, you’ll first notice an account icon in the upper left-hand corner. You can click on this icon, and here, you’ll find a menu with links to the Help Center, rewards, the welcome bonus deposit bonus tracker, and more. You’ll find various menus on the homepage to navigate the sports, upcoming games, promotions, and more. Along the bottom of the app is a menu with links to the homepage, live betting, your bets, a list of the sports offered, and rewards/promotions. There’s no lag when using this app, and everything is quite responsive.

BetMGM Sportsbook:

The BetMGM Sportsbook app starts with a search bar at the top next to a collapsible menu for the available sports. Below are two more menus—one for sports/live betting and another for the available promotions. As you venture down the homepage, you’ll see the most hyped upcoming games and a series of suggested One Game Parlay bets. As you proceed to the bottom of the app, you’ll see links to the homepage, promotions, and your account. Right above this is the betslip. When you log in, you can click on the account icon and find links to the Help Center and more.

DraftKings vs BetMGM Winner: We give a slight edge to BetMGM here as there is a search bar at the top of the app and a link to the promotions page. The link at the bottom of the DraftKings app says Rewards. Though this also features promotions, new players may not be aware of that.

🏅 Winner: BetMGM

When it comes to funding your account, the more options, the better. What do DraftKings and BetMGM offer?

BetMGM vs DraftKings Winner: While DraftKings originally had the better offerings, BetMGM has caught up. They now have the advantage over DraftKings thanks to their accepting of Apply Pay and Venmo, which were not options previously. This one is close, but BetMGM now has a slight edge.

🫱🏻‍🫲🏼 Winner: BetMGM

It may not be something you initially think about, but if something happens when you’re playing, and you need help, you want to get help as soon as possible.

In what ways can you get help at DraftKings and BetMGM?

DraftKings vs BetMGM Winner: Like payment methods, the more options for customer support, the better. With that thought process, DraftKings wins with that additional customer support method—a mailing address.

🏅 Winner: DraftKings

Let's take a look at the user experience of both sportsbooks and understand the differences between them:

• DraftKings Sportsbook: DraftKings Sportsbook provides multiple ways to deposit funds into your account, an easy-to-use mobile app, multiple existing player promotions, and a large library of prop bets. The experience here is top-notch for new and veteran players alike.
• BetMGM Sportsbook: BetMGM Sportsbook offers players one of the best welcome bonuses on the market today, but there aren’t many promotions for existing players. The mobile app is excellent, with a search bar at the top, suggestions for One Game Parlays, and also has a reasonable pool of prop bets as well. This is another top-notch sportsbook.

DraftKings Sportsbook

BetMGM Sportsbook

When comparing BetMGM vs. DraftKings Sportsbook, you’re stacking up two titans of the online sports betting industry.

When the question of “which is better? BetMGM or DraftKings” is asked, we give the slightest edge to DraftKings.

The welcome bonus is not good, no, but other than that, you’re getting an excellent site. BetMGM is also nearly flawless, but the lack of promotions for existing players and not having as many payment methods, sports options, or single-prop bets to choose from make BetMGM rank just under DraftKings by the slimmest of margins.