StarsDraft Fantasy sports by pokerstars

StarsDraft – Made by PokerStars

StarsDraft is a new daily fantasy sports site that offers fantasy games from the NFL, NHL, NBA, and MLB. Originally launched as Victiv in 2014, StarsDraft is the latest daily fantasy sports platform from the house of Amaya Gaming that was rebranded after its acquisition.

What had quickly grown as one of the top best Daily Fantasy Sports sites on the web as Victiv, has taken advantage of its existing client pool to become a completely rebranded platform from the same company that runs PokerStars. The newly launched DFS operates on a clean and seamless platform, and is even familiar to use as it was designed to mimic the offerings and contest lobby of other DFS operators.

Currently, the only access to StarsDraft is through its browser-based client. The web platform is however, compatible with most mainstream web browsers like Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, and Mozilla Firefox. The StarsDraft DFS platform is also optimized for use on mobile phones, but a mobile app version is yet to be announced.

Amaya Gaming, which acquired the company in 2015, is a big player in the online gaming industry, and is sure to schedule the launch of a mobile-based app for its latest DFS offering. And although this is Amaya’s first daily fantasy sports offering, the company has been offering some of the best casino games and a sportsbook in various regions. Here’s everything you’d need to know about StarsDraft.

User Interface

What many daily fantasy sports websites tend to overlook is the quality of their user interface, and the way their UI presents itself to the users. And as far as aesthetics and functionality go, StarsDraft has one of the best user interfaces in the DFS industry.

So if you’re someone who breaks a sweat over watching fantasy lineups perform live, StarsDraft DFS platform is the obvious choice. The platform gives users multiple ways to observe how each lineup is performing, making it much easier for the user to track their position in each game. This real-time information provided to you at critical moments helps users make a better informed decision.

Registration Process

Signing up with StarsDraft is a very easy process; all you need to do is use your email, Facebook, or Gmail account information to access the platform via its website.

Step 1: Just log on to the StarsDraft official website and click on the signup option on the upper right corner of the screen.

Step 2: Once the signup page loads, just create a user name and add all your current data including first and last name, email, and residential address. This is also the page in which users get to apply their promo codes, if they have any. The image below helps to guide you on what needs to be filled in.

Step 3: Once your new StarsDraft account has been verified, you can redirect yourself to your StarsDraft account via the site’s sign in page. You can verify your account by clicking on the email link that is automatically sent to a new user’s email address.

Deposit Bonus

Another cool and unique feature of StarsDraft is their Deposit Bonus, something that has already hooked thousands of online players. The basis is that the site gives you a deposit bonus of 100% the amount that you have deposited, and is applicable to a limit of $1,000.

So if you register by buying $100 worth of StarsDraft credit, you will be credited with a total of $200. Apart from this free bonus, StarsDraft also offers users other opportunities to earn money, including various offers and promotions, and even a referral program. Bonuses like three free “bankroll builder” tickets that allow you to play in a real money contest are a salient start for newbies.

StarsDraft Promotions

For a platform newcomer, StarsDraft sports some of the best promotions that are available to users across the industry. Their 100% deposit bonus offer is only the tip of the bonus iceberg.

a) Loyalty program – StarsDraft's loyalty programs enable users to win real money simply by playing games. It empowers users to convert their game earning into game tickets, allowing them to continue playing without having to buy additional credits. The platform supports various levels of loyalty tiers, rewarding regular users the most.

b) Bankroll builder – The bankroll builder is another impressive opportunity for users to earn money. The best part about this is that users don’t even have to make a money deposit in order to participate. What it technically does is give users there unique opportunities to pick a sport of their choice, and then get a chance to win $30 by playing those sport-specific games. It might not seem like much, but its way more than what any other DFS site offers.

Contest & Prize Pools

StarsDraft hosts a number of contests, which typically mimic the salary-cap format of playing, and is the dominant method adopted by the DFS industry. These include:

• Guaranteed prize pool: The Guaranteed prize pool (GPP) is similar to a multi-table poker tournament because their playing fields are massive, which means that their pay-outs are heavy and entry fees are substantially lower.
• Standard leagues: Your typical “sit and go” game, standard leagues are tournaments that have about 4-20 players and have smaller field percentage pay-outs.
• Double-up contests: if you manage to finish in the top 50% of winner, half the playing field gets paid, allowing users to win by nearly doubling their money.
• Satellite: A satellite contest is typically independent of the other major contest and enables users to win their place in a contest. Designed with economics and the current ongoing recession in mind, satellites are available at nominal costs.

Anonymous Heads Up Tables

One of the most interesting features of StarsDraft is that it offers an anonymous head-to-head game format, where users are randomly matched up with opponents and will only know who they’re playing against after the roster has been locked. This has reduced the cases of users targeting other specific users. A peculiar feature of StarsDraft is that it features golf-based fantasy games as well, something that was earlier only featured on daily fantasy sports websites dedicated to golf.

Quick Enter Feature

After creating a roster, StarsDraft users can easily join in on other games using the same lineup of players that they used in the previous one. Not only does it save lots of time, but it’s also effortless as once you’ve activated the quick enter feature, you just have hover your mouse over the game of your choice to get a clickable quick-enter lightning bolt that will appear. This shortcut takes you to your pay-out, entries, and lineup submission section.

Is StarsDraft Legal?

StarsDraft only allow players who meet state-specific age and other legal requirements, with the minimum paying age usually being 18+. Also, those users hailing from the United States should feel special as the StarsDraft platform is available exclusively for customers from the US.

Unlike most DFS platforms, StarsDraft isn’t available to users in neighboring Canada. StarsDraft is 100% legal and available for real money tournaments in

• Kansas
• Maryland
• New Jersey
• Massachusetts, where daily fantasy sports and any sort of sport-based betting is considered illegal.

Read more on why Fantasy Sports is legal.

Usability

In terms of usability in design, StarsDraft developers have taken the simple approach and created a DFS platform that is both unique yet familiar, with functionality queues taken from similar DFS sites. The seamless interface provides users with a one-stop shop for all their gaming needs, including easy navigation, seamless cash deposit and withdrawal, and one-click access to games of their choice.

The platform’s contest lobby clearly indicates their offerings, pay-outs and other game-specific terms. Users can also quickly find out which games are free, what kind of winnings they can avail, as well as the number of participants in each tournament.

StarsDraft Mobile App

Just the same as any daily fantasy sports provider, StarsDraft understands the importance of high-quality software. It is similar to the competition, for the most part, but there are some minor differences that allow it to stand out in a crowded (and ever growing) market.

At this time StarsDraft lacks a mobile app, which has the company behind the eight ball for the time being. For this reason, the only way to access the site is through its browser based platform, which is compatible with Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, and Google Chrome.

Note: there is no mobile app for StarsDraft, but the site is mobile friendly.

Deposits and Withdrawals

Players have to fill in key data such as their full name, date of birth and full residential address with pin code, in order to perform any sort of cashiering or billing based functions. The StarsDraft website accepts deposits via all major payment gateways including debit and credit cards, PayPal, etc.

The ideal fantasy sports website will have a system that provides a withdrawal procedure as seamless as its deposit. StarsDraft is one such platform; where users can withdraw their winnings, hassle-free, via a check or PayPal.

Anti-Money Laundering & Other Policies

In order to avoid the possibility of unwittingly participating in money laundering or other finance related crimes, all registered users are required to legal bind themselves to an oath that any funds used within StarsDraft’s website domain were acquired via legitimate means and is not that obtained from any criminal activities.

Users are also required to agree to sensitive data sharing policies, rules, and terms & conditions laid down by state or federal governments, and by the website. StarsDraft, and Amaya Gaming in general, is a strong advocate for anti-money laundering policies. The website claims that it will suspend or potentially terminate the accounts of any users breaching the term of the anti-money laundering policy, along with various legal repercussions including but not limited to detention, community service, hefty fines, or even jail-time.

Taxes on my StarsDraft Winnings?

Just like any other serious Fantasy League, which is regulated by U.S. Federal Law, players do have to pay taxes on their winnings. Since Fantasy Sports in general is considered a skill games, players also have to pay regular income tax on their winnings. StarsDraft will issue you a 1099-MISC tax form in case you make more than $600 annually. An important fact is that the $600 are actually calculated in NET WINNINGS (net winnings = withdrawals + ending account balance – deposits –beginning balance).

Don't worry StarsDraft will send you all the papers you will need for your Tax Statement.

Disadvantages

The StarsDraft platform has almost no competition in terms of game choices and growth potential, although its customer support is very limited, supporting only gamers in the US. And even for players from the United States, the only way to contact their customer support if via email, which can be tedious and cumbersome for most. That being said, the website it a totally new player in the DFS market, and is expected to grow exponentially over the coming months and years.

StarsDraft Review Summary

Supported by the popular PokerStars brand, StarsDraft is an old platform that has been rebranded and refurbished from the ground up. In addition, after its acquisition by Amaya, the platform now has access to the gaming group’s over 95 million customer base.

This has given the platform a huge advantage in terms of being successful in the daily fantasy sports industry. And it’s guaranteed that StarsDraft will generate a lot of interest from poker players who are looking for a change from boring card games by taking a shot at daily fantasy sports. And if Amaya was looking to develop a platform that will establish the company as an everyday DFS platform provider, StarsDraft is going to make it happen.

It offers all of the latest and greatest games that feature in all major sports categories, and even allows you to decide the amount of money you would like to bet. It is a fast-growing website that is easy to navigate and offers plenty in the form of new gaming for the seasoned and rookie DFS player.