Draftstars Lobby Ultimate User Guide

North America continues to dominate the global daily fantasy sports market, which is set to experience double-digit growth and peak at a valuation of $87.07 billion by 2031. However, DFS is also becoming increasingly popular in Australia, with the number of active players having recently increased to nearly 2.5 million.

 

Draftstars is one of the biggest and most innovative players in Australia’s DFS marketplace. Not only has it provided a fun departure from season-long contests such as AFL Fantasy, but it has also taken elements from this, such as Supercoach and sports betting platforms, to create a completely immersive one-day fantasy sports experience.

 

In this guide, we’ll explore the Draftstars daily fantasy platform in more detail and ask how it has evolved to offer the largest and most diverse DFS contests in Australia!

Understanding the Draftstars Lobby Layout

When you first visit the Draftstars lobby, you’ll immediately see the site’s sports verticals located above the fold. Beneath this, you can seamlessly search pinned and upcoming contests, including free and paid events.

 

You can also search head-to-head and custom contests. The ‘Filter’ button on the right-hand side of the lobby lets you refine your search according to key criteria, including the number of contest games, entry cost, and payout structure.

 

On the left-hand side of the lobby, there’s also a vertical menu that details the DraftStars rules and key features. These include ‘How to Play’ and the newly added ‘Draftstats Coach’, which combines video tutorials and informative articles to help enhance your experience on the fantasy sports platform (we’ll explore this a little later in the guide).

 

DraftStars’s lobby includes vast amounts of information thanks to the intuitive use of horizontal and vertical menus. The user interface’s structure also ensures that this data is highly accessible, while each page is responsive and loads within a couple of seconds.

How to Get Started with Draftstars

Getting started with Draftstars is quick and straightforward, and you can kickstart your DFS journey from the lobby. Here’s a step-by-step guide to opening an account and creating your first fantasy sports entry.

 

1️⃣Navigate the Draftstars lobby and hit the ‘Join’ button in the top right-hand corner of the screen

2️⃣Then, provide a unique username and secure password to secure your account. You’ll also have to supply your legal name (as detailed on your ID), DOB and physical address before creating an account. You can also set a deposit limit at this stage 

3️⃣Once your age and identity have been verified, you can make a deposit and claim one of two available welcome offers. You can choose between a 50% matched deposit bonus and a 100% boost in PlayUp bonus bets. Make your choice and complete a deposit of at least $10 through one of the available banking methods (such as Visa debit or Cash Up).

4️⃣ The Draftstars registration is now complete. Next, you can browse the lobby and select your chosen contest. You can base this selection on your favourite sport and preferred payout structure alongside the entry fee that you’re willing to commit

5️⃣Now, the time has come to pick your fantasy sports team. The most popular DFS contests feature a salary cap of $100,000, so you’ll have to choose players of variable value. Valuations are usually set according to each player’s average DFS points tally and key performance metrics throughout the season.

Joining and Participating in Contests

When comparing available Draftstars contests, it’s important to understand the various available formats. As avid and experienced reviewers of betting sites and fantasy sports contests, we know this is key to maximise your entry fees and increase your chances of winnings. Here’s a breakdown of the primary contest types:

 

• Free and Paid: DraftStars offers both free and paid contests. The former are typically played for fun and interaction, although a nominal prize pool may be available. For paid contests, the buy-in range is between $1 and $500, with more expensive events offering the biggest payouts and most competitive fields.

• Head-to-Head: When joining fantasy leagues, head-to-head contests are always among the most popular. This straightforward format requires you to compete directly against another player, with the team that scores the most points claiming the prize pool in full!

• Rapidfire: New and exclusive to DraftStars, this contest format involves selecting one player to top score from each of the five predetermined games selected by the site. In a ‘Rapidfire 3’ event, you must pick three correct selections to bank a 1.8x payout. In the ‘Rapidfire 5’ contest, you must choose all five top points scorers to win a 20x payout.

• Custom: At DraftStars, you can now create custom contests with variable structures and formats. These include ‘Winner Takes All’ and ‘Top 3’, with the latter delivering payouts for each of the top three finishers. Payouts for the top 10% and top 25% of entrants can also be secured through custom contests.

 

Once you’ve determined your preferred structure, you can refine your search according to your favourite sport and the buy-in fee. Then, you can confirm your choice of contest! Click on this and review the confirmed payouts (and percentage of players who receive prizes) before hitting ‘Enter’.

 

You’ll then have to select a requisite number of players for your team (this may vary depending on the nature of each contest). You can even use the ‘Autofill’ tool to populate your team automatically. Then, click the ‘Submit Lineup’ tab and confirm before the contest begins!

 

Tips for Drafting Your Team from the Lobby

Many of the main Draftstars lobby features have been designed to help you build your ideal DFS team. But how can you successfully utilise these? Here are our expert tips for Draftstars team drafting.

 

• Use the Fantasy Insider and Player Points Projections: DraftStars has recently added it’s Fantasy Insider’ tool, which publishes detailed player point projections for upcoming games and contests. These projections are accurate and drawn from historical data, form, and head-to-head performance metrics. You can combine this with external data from sites such as Team Rankings when building NFL, NBA, and MLB teams.

• Utilize the ‘Playbook’ Feature: DraftStars’ ‘Playbook’ resource is home to multiple fantasy team tips across different sports and contests too. Many articles focus on DFS team selection and concepts such as identifying a player’s true value by dividing their projected or eventual scores by their salary (in thousands). Be sure to check out the Playbook before picking your teams!

• Track Your Historic Performance: The DraftStars Lobby also has a ‘History’ tab on the left-hand side of the screen. This retains details of the previous contests you’ve entered, including your final position, total points won and eventual winnings. You can use this data to calculate your average points tally and profit/loss figures, highlighting your overall performance and how you need to improve going forward.

Improving Your Game with Draftstars Coach

We’ve already touched on the new Draftstars Coach feature, which is accessible through the vertical menu on the left-hand side of the lobby. This feature offers a wide range of videos and articles created to help improve your DFS skills and selections.

 

The content here is categorised, including basic Draftstars training for rookies. More seasoned players can also access ‘Pro’ content, which includes information on points projection analysis, weather considerations and the correlation between different in-game variables.

 

You can access fantasy sports coaching for specific disciplines, too. So, if you have existing knowledge of a particular sport and want to translate this into DFS success, you’ll find plenty of tips and insights in the DraftStars Coach resource.

Managing Your Account and Settings

When logged into your DraftStars account, you can access your user settings through the drop-down menu in the top right-hand corner of the lobby. This reveals several Draftstars account management tools, whether you want to deposit funds, set limits or withdraw winnings (the minimum threshold is $20).

 

In addition to customisable deposit limits, there are further tools to encourage responsible betting. For example, you can take a break from the DraftStars lobby or self-exclude through BetStop’s National Register. These tools help you control your betting activity and wager within your means.

Conclusion

So, there you have it: our comprehensive Draftstars lobby guide! It’s easy to see why this is Australia’s market-leading DFS site, especially considering its diverse range of contests, points projection tool, and detailed fantasy sports strategy.

 

Each of these features (and more) helps you to engage in effective betting and optimise your chances of winning. By combining elements of the AFL Fantasy and Supercoach platforms, Draftstars can deliver an optimal DFS experience that’s unlike any other on the market!