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Four different kinds of platforms let you put money on sports in the US. Sportsbooks, DFS pick'em apps, social and sweepstakes books, and prediction markets. They look similar once you are inside the app. The difference is how each one is regulated, and that decides where you can use it.
Here is what separates them, which operators fall into each group, and how to figure out what is available where you are.
What it is. A licensed operator that takes real-money wagers and sets the odds. You bet against the book. Moneylines, spreads, totals, parlays and props all work the way most people picture sports betting.
How it is regulated. State by state. Each sportsbook needs a license from the gaming regulator in every state where it operates. That is why availability changes the moment you cross a border.
Who is in this group. bet365, DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, Caesars, Fanatics, Hard Rock Bet, BetRivers and others.
Best for: bettors in a state with legal online betting who want the deepest markets and the widest range of bet types.
Watch for: state availability. Check that your book is live where you are before you deposit.
Current welcome offers across the major books are on our sportsbook bonuses page.
What it is. You pick more or less on player stat lines and build them into an entry. Hit every leg and the entry pays. There is no sportsbook setting a moneyline, and you are not betting against a house in the traditional sense.
How it is regulated. Under fantasy sports law rather than sports betting law, on the basis that selecting players is a contest of skill. That framing reaches more states than licensed sportsbooks do.
Who is in this group. PrizePicks, Underdog, Sleeper, Betr Picks, Chalkboard Fantasy, Dabble, DK Pick 6 and ParlayPlay Fantasy.
Best for: players who like player props and want a format that works in more states than a sportsbook.
Watch for: entry rules. Most pick'em entries need every leg to hit, so a single miss ends the entry.
Welcome offers for these platforms are on our DFS bonuses page.
What it is. You play with virtual currency instead of wagering cash directly. Most run two currencies. One is for free play and carries no value. The other is the sweepstakes currency, and that is the one you redeem for prizes.
How it is regulated. Under sweepstakes and promotional law. Every sweepstakes platform has to offer a way in that requires no purchase, usually a mail-in request. That structure is what lets them operate in most states, including many with no legal online sportsbook.
Who is in this group. Courtside, Fliff, Rebet, Thrillz and Sweepstakes-4cx.
Best for: players in states without a legal online sportsbook who still want to make picks on familiar markets.
Watch for: the two-currency split. Learn which balance is redeemable and the rest follows easily.
See current offers on our sweepstakes sportsbook bonuses page.
What it is. You trade event contracts rather than place bets. A contract settles at a fixed value if the outcome happens and at zero if it does not. Prices move with the market, so you can exit a position before the event finishes.
How it is regulated. By the CFTC at the federal level, as financial products rather than gambling. Federal oversight is why these platforms reach far more of the country than state-licensed sportsbooks.
Who is in this group. Kalshi, Novig, ProphetX and Sporttrade. Some are pure exchanges where you trade against other users rather than a house.
Best for: anyone who wants to close a position early, or who lives where no sportsbook operates.
Watch for: the vocabulary. Positions, contracts and commissions replace stakes, odds and vig.
Offers are on our prediction market bonuses page.
Availability follows the regulation, so the four groups reach different amounts of the country.
Sportsbooks are the most restricted. They are live only in states that have legalized online betting and licensed that specific operator.
DFS pick'em apps reach more states, though the list still varies by operator and sometimes by sport.
Social and sweepstakes books reach most of the country, with a handful of state exclusions that differ per platform.
Prediction markets have the widest reach of the four, because federal regulation is not decided state by state.
Every operator publishes its own eligible-state list, and those lists change. Check the platform before you sign up.
Most people end up using more than one type. A sportsbook at home, a pick'em app for player props, a sweepstakes book on a trip to a state where the sportsbook goes dark.
That is where results get hard to read. Four apps means four balances, four formats and no single view of whether you are up.
Pikkit syncs all four categories through BookSync. Sportsbooks, DFS pick'em apps, sweepstakes platforms and prediction markets all import automatically. The bet tracker then splits your results by platform and bet type, so you can see which format is actually working for you.
The full operator list is on our supported sportsbooks page. For any term used above, the sports betting glossary has a definition.
Download Pikkit to track every platform you use in one place.
A sportsbook takes real-money wagers and sets the odds, licensed state by state. A DFS pick'em app runs skill-based contests where you select more or less on player stat lines, under fantasy sports law. The DFS framing reaches more states than a licensed sportsbook does.
They are real platforms with real prizes, but the mechanics differ. You play with virtual currency rather than wagering cash directly, and only the sweepstakes currency can be redeemed. Every sweepstakes platform must also offer a free method of entry.
Prediction markets are regulated federally by the CFTC as financial products rather than as gambling. Sportsbooks are licensed state by state, so their footprint is decided one state at a time.
Yes, and most active players do. A sportsbook covers the deepest markets. A pick'em app covers player props. Sweepstakes books and prediction markets fill the gap where no sportsbook operates.
Yes. BookSync imports from sportsbooks, DFS pick'em apps, sweepstakes platforms and prediction markets. Every bet, entry and position lands in the same tracker, split by platform and bet type.
Start with what is legal and live where you are. If a licensed sportsbook operates in your state, that gives you the widest markets. If not, DFS pick'em, sweepstakes books and prediction markets are the formats built to reach you.
Last updated: September 2026. Platform availability and regulation change over time. Confirm current eligibility with each operator before signing up.
