DraftKings Odds Boost Guide

How Odds Boost Work on DraftKings Sportsbook

A regular line for a spread bet on almost every sports betting platform will feature odds of -110 rather than +100 because operators have to build in their own profits to keep their business afloat (DraftKings is no exception). The odds changing in this way is what’s known as a vig, which is not implemented during an odds boost.

Odds boosts on DraftKings are available for all kinds of bets including, but not limited to, moneyline, spreads, over/unders, prop bets, parlays, and much more! Read below for more information on how to find odds boosts on the platform.

How to Find a DraftKings Odds Boost

On DraftKings, there are two major ways to take advantage of odds boosts including going to specific market pages or selecting the correct promotion. Odds boosts work by the sportsbook giving users promotions on bets that are better than their original odds.

Most sportsbooks offer odds boosts on a specific bet, but some offer odds boosts for numerous events and markets on bets you can craft yourself! The odds boosts that will allow you to build your own bet and add an odds modifier to them will always be found on the promotions page (pictured below).

Using an Odds Boost

There are two different ways to use odds boosts on the DraftKings mobile app or website and they both only take a few seconds to do.

The first way is by directly clicking the bet and adding it to your bet slip from the original market’s page. By selecting the odds boost for that bet, the odds will automatically be boosted when entered into the bet slip.

The second option to apply an odds boost to your bet is by going to the promotions page (or the promotional banner) and selecting “opt-in” on the specific promotion. After doing so, select your bet or bets, then in the bet slip, click the “bonus” button located underneath the risk amount.

Remember to read all of the terms and conditions of the promotion before placing your bet, many odds boosts require users to place a wager on specific markets or a specific number of legs (if a parlay). To do so, go to the promotions page and expand the terms and conditions of the odds boost or modifier that you want to use while betting on DraftKings.

Are Odds Boosts a Good Way to Bet Online?

The short answer is not exactly, but it can be. Odds boosts are strategically placed by operators (including DraftKings) to get more bettors on one side of the line, which in theory, is better for them. However, many odds boosts can help bettors win more and not all of them are a sure loss.

Similar to all types of betting, you will need to do your research before placing your bet and if done properly, can net you plenty of extra winnings when used in tandem with an odds boost. Essentially, don’t just place a bet because it has boosted odds, do your due diligence first!

Why Do Sportsbooks Offer Boosted Odds?

Sportsbooks use boosted odds as a promotional tool to get more users betting on a specific line, which would potentially net the user more money. If the user wins more money, they’re more likely to talk about the platform and mention it to their friends, so platforms use odds boosts for word-of-mouth marketing.

Sportsbooks have hundreds (if not thousands) of employees figuring out the best analytical way of earning more users while not losing money, meaning that not all odds boosts are sure things. If they were to boost odds on easy bets consistently, they’d lose their business (and DraftKings is doing just fine), so always do your research!

Odds Boost Examples on DraftKings

Boosted odds on DraftKings come in all shapes and sizes and can vary heavily in value depending on the team, night, game, and several other factors. For example, some bettors favor parlay betting while some favor straight bets and DraftKings offers a boost or modifier for both!

As far as the types of boosts and modifiers available on DraftKings, there was an NBA promotion earlier this season for a same-game parlay odds modifier that gets bigger for each leg added! Similar to that, they featured an NFL bonus for customers betting on the Super Bowl that boosted odds for a number of first touchdown scorer bets.

Some odds boosts available (particularly for parlays) can be given based on the betting market you’re in. For example, I live in Colorado and I receive odds boosts on Denver Nuggets home games for popular parlays (as seen below).

Odds Boosts Strategies and Tips

A good strategy for odds boost betting will always be arbitrage betting, which is sometimes referred to as “betting the middle”. What this means is taking a two-sided bet, and betting on both sides using odds boosts from different sportsbooks to net you profit from either outcome.

While this is similar to hedging your bet, it really takes advantage of the boosted odds available on the different sportsbooks. You definitely won’t win a ton of money from your bets, but DraftKings arbitrage betting is definitely a strategy to limit your losses and keep the profits coming.

A good tip for odds boost betting is to rarely take the boosted parlays because every time I see one, there is a red herring in there. What I mean by this is all of the boosted parlays feature a couple of easy bets (listed at the top of course) with one or two unlikely bets thrown in.

It is always worth comparing the odds on DraftKings for a game with other sportsbooks as well to see if you get even more value out of your bet. Have a look at what the max bet value is on each, how much your profit boost would be depending on which one you choose etc. For example, if you are playing in New Jersey, you have lots of options of sportsbooks to compare which are all licensed and fall under the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement so you know they are safe before you claim your odds boosts.

Things to look out for with Odds Boosts

One thing we say you should look out for with boosted odds is inaccurate base odds. If you are willing to put in the time, it is worthwhile cross referencing what the original odds would be if you were to manually create the wager yourself. In a similar way to other promotional offers in other industries, online sports betting sites are incentivized to show an odds boost as being unbelievable value and an offer not to be missed.

Another thing some operators will do is decide to not show the base odds at all. They should always be revealed so it is worth seeing what the base odds would be if you create the bet yourself.

For example, for an NFL game, you may see the odds boosted  to +850 for the 49ers, Chiefs and Eagles to win. However, if you were to manually create the same moneyline parlay on those teams, you may find the odds are better at +864. Odds boosts are an excellent marketing tool for operators and will be offered on the biggest games of the day. For this reason, they are not always regular so make sure you keep your eyes peeled for them.

You should also bear in mind that an odds boost is different from a profit boost. Although they are similar, there are different rules that apply to each.

Most sportsbooks offer some form of odds boost or modifier for their users to take advantage of and they’re very easy to implement and understand. Most of the time, the best of the best sportsbooks will always have the best promotions, however, many smaller sportsbooks use odds boosts as their main promotional tool!

Below is a table of my top five sportsbooks for odds boost betting that contains links to sign up for an account (as well as promo codes) to get their welcome bonuses!