Sleeper is an innovative DFS platform with over 4 million US users, focusing primarily on football, basketball, and League of Legends. Sleeper is easily one of the most detailed and multifaceted DFS sites I’ve ever played on. I’m going deep in this Sleeper review, including details on the software, features and contests, customer support, payment methods, and how to claim your Sleeper welcome bonus.
Sleeper Fantasy Pros and Cons
Incredibly detailed software
Best social features of any DFS platform
Useful stats provided while you enter contests
Paid contests are unavailable in many states
Steep learning curve for beginners
Sleeper Fantasy User Experience ⭐ 4/5
Sleeper’s Daily Fantasy Sportsbook (DFS) offers practical features that serve a purpose rather than being mere ornaments. If you want the most comprehensive and flexible fantasy site in the US, this is it.
The features are a combination of social tools, longform fantasy sports you can play with friends, and pay-to-play Daily Fantasy Sports contests. Although you can sign up to Sleeper from anywhere in the US, the pay-to-play contests are quite restricted, with Daily Drafts only available in the following locations: AL, AK, CA, DC, GA, KS, KY, MN, NE, NM, NC, ND, OK, OR, RI, SC, SD, UT, WI, TX, AR, MA, IL, VT, WV, VA, IN, WY.
Sleeper is a very versatile platform, effectively splitting the difference between a traditional DFS site and a social platform like Discord or Slack. Obviously, the games are a big part of why people use Sleeper, but I also found myself just hanging out on there and exploring the different channels, especially once I got some of my IRL friends to join too.
For this review, I spent equal time on the desktop site and the Sleeper mobile app, which you can download for both iOS and Android devices. It’s currently rated 4.7 on the App Store after more than 150,000 downloads, and it’s easy to see why. Flipping around the different sections is smooth and the software feels natural on the smaller screen. I suggest beginning with the desktop site, as it’s easier to navigate and explore all the features. Once you’re familiar with the different sections, you should download the app.
My one critique of Sleeper in this section is that it’s not the easiest platform for beginners to navigate, and there’s a learning curve before you can fully utilize its features. The software is complex rather than straightforward, with numerous features and sections. It took me some time to grasp the various leagues, channels, and contests, and I spent a while clicking around before I really understood the platform. I could see more casual fans becoming discouraged, but in my opinion, the rewards are worth it once you become familiar with Sleeper.
Channels
A channel on Sleeper is like a little forum dedicated to a certain topic. You can create your own channels about whatever you want (within the categories of NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, LCS, CBB, or other) and customize them with a description and icons. You can make it public and let anyone join, or private and share the code with your friends only.
At the beginning, it takes a little while to build up your selection of channels, and it’s definitely easier if you already have friends on Sleeper. Once your personal library of channels has been built out a little, it’s a lot of fun.
Leagues
The list of leagues you are participating in appears beside your channels. Like with channels, you won’t have any leagues when you first start at Sweeper, but you are prompted to create your first one as soon as you create an account. You can join your friends leagues if they share their unique link with you, and you can do the same with them. You can also find public links for much larger leagues. You can customize your own leagues however you want, including the format of the draft and various other settings. Each league also comes with its own dedicated chatbox, which can get pretty spicy when the action heats up. Or maybe that’s just my friends.
Scores
The Sleeper app has a section that displays the latest scores from all the sports featured on the site, which you can easily check any time you want while you tinker around with your team. It’s a simple feature but one which really adds a lot to the experience, meaning you don’t need to open a new tab or app. You can also access tons of stats for both players and teams if you click into them while browsing.
Mock Drafts
Sleeper has a Mock Draft tool that lives permanently in the main menu beside your Leagues and Channels. It makes things easier, especially for beginners who are still getting used to how the draft system works. The tool lets you practice with both NFL and NBA drafts as many times as you want, so you can be ready when you start a real draft with friends.
Sleeper Picks
Sleeper Picks are one of the geo-specific DFS contests offered by Sleeper. The format mimics Over/Under prop bets at real money sportsbooks, with Sleeper setting a line and you can predict that the outcome will be more or less than that total. You can find contests for the likes of rebounds or points in the NBA or rushing yards in the NFL. You can even enter contests for a single quarter only. Each time, Sleeper applies payout odds for each side of the contest. Picks are the simplest way to enter real money contests at Sleeper.
Daily Drafts
Daily drafts are the other main type of paid contest. This is a classic weekly DFS game, where you pick a team of players to compete against your opponent’s rosters, and your team scores points depending on whoever performs better over the next round of games. You can join them for as little as $1, with different formats available, including head to heads and 8-person games, where the top three finishers win the money. For your first 50 contests, you qualify to enter Beginners contests against other newbies. After you enter 1,000 of them, you become a Pro with a little gem on your avatar.
There really is an incredible amount of things to explore at Sleeper, from the variations in types of contests to the social tools. It’s the most detailed and versatile DFS platform I’ve ever played on.
Sleeper Fantasy Promo Code & Bonuses ⭐ 4/5
Promotions and bonuses aren’t as huge when compared to real money casinos or sportsbooks, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some promos on offer. I really like the Sleepers welcome bonus because it provides immediate value to new players, and it’s so good that it can go head-to-head with other DFS promos.
Before you can claim any bonuses or deposit any money at Sleeper, you need to verify your location, since paid contests are only available in some US states. The easiest way to do this, in my experience, is to simply let the Sleeper app have access to your phone’s GPS settings. It literally only took me thirty seconds to confirm my location.
Sleeper Welcome Bonus: 100% Deposit Match Up To $500 with Code WSNSLEEP
Claiming my Sleeper 100% Deposit Match up to $500 welcome promo was very simple. All I did was sign up, verify my location, and head to the cashier to make my first deposit. If you use our exclusive link, website should automatically fill in the Sleeper promo code required to trigger the offer. If not, use promo code WSNSLEEP. I deposited $200 off the bat using my PayPal account, and within 90 minutes or so, my extra $200 in bonus funds had appeared in my account. Sleeper does advertise up to 30 days to wait for the bonus to kick in, but I think they are just covering themselves.
Both the bonus money and your first deposit must be used to enter a contest at least once before you can request to withdraw them, effectively meaning all the money in your account has wagering requirements of 1x attached. This prevents anyone from signing up, claiming the bonus, and simply withdrawing the original deposit right away.
Protected Picks
Protected Picks is an on-running promotion that Sleeper activates from time to time, and it’s a good offer. Very simply: you enter a protected pick contest and if you lose, the value of your entry gets refunded in bonus funds. You can’t withdraw your bonus funds without first entering another contest. Every player is only eligible to receive one protected pick bonus during each promotional period.
Give/Get Promos
This is Sleeper’s refer a friend promotion. Every Sleeper user receives a unique promo code associated with their account. Whenever a friend signs up with your code, you both stand to receive some kind of bonus, usually some bonus funds for each. The exact details and limits on the bonus cash can vary. During my Sleeper review, both parties could get $25 in bonus funds, and you could refer a maximum of 20 friends.
Sleeper MLB Promo Offers
For first-time depositors, Sleeper DFS is offering amazing discounts on player points for upcoming matchups:
- MLB Monday (7/22): Discounting Tarik Skubal’s Strikeout’s from 6.5 K’s à 0.5 K’s (92%) for the Tigers vs. Guardians matchup at 6:40 PM EST.
- MLB Tuesday (7/23): Discounting Paul Skenes’ Strikeout’s from 7.5 K’s à 0.5 K’s (93%) for the Pirates vs. Cardinals matchup at 6:40 PM EST.
- MLB Wednesday (7/24): Discounting Justin Steele’s Strikeout’s from 5.5 K’s à 0.5 K’s (90%) for the Cubs vs. Brewers matchup at 2:20 PM EST.
- MLB Thursday (7/25): Discounting Logan Webb’s Strikeout’s from 5.5 K’s à 0.5 K’s (90%) for the Giants vs. Dodgers matchup at 4:10 PM EST.
Sleeper Deposits & Withdrawals ⭐ 4/5
I found the deposit process at Sleeper very smooth, pretty much on par with the other top DFS sites I’ve played on in the US. There is room for improvement in the withdrawal process, which is quite slow at a minimum of five days.
Sleeper Deposit Options
I tested out all the deposit methods at Sleeper, and each one was extremely simple to use. The process is very similar to paying for anything else online. Even though the site advertises that it may take a couple of days for payments to clear, in my experience, the money hit my Sleeper Wallet pretty much instantly.
You can make a deposit by opening the Wallet section, choosing Deposit, and following the instructions. Remember, you can only make a transaction in a state where paid contests are legal.
Check out all the deposit methods in the table below:
| Processing Time | Minimum | Maximum | Fees | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Debit Cards / Credit Cards | 1-3 days | $10 | $1,000 per 24 hours | No |
| Bank Transfer | 1-3 days | $10 | $1,000 per 24 hours | No |
| PayPal | 1-3 days | $10 | $1,000 per 24 hours | No |
| Venmo | 1-3 days | $10 | $1,000 per 24 hours | No |
Sleeper Withdrawal Methods
You can withdraw your winnings via all the payment methods you can use to deposit, except for credit cards. You can request a withdrawal in the Wallet section, and the process is very simple. There is one important condition to be aware of here: to request a withdrawal, you need to simultaneously make a $1 temporary deposit. Basically, this means you can’t withdraw money from an account with less than $1 in it.
Check out all the methods below:
| Processing Time | Minimum | Maximum | Fees | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Debit Cards | At least 5 days | – | $1,000 per transaction / $5,000 per 24 hours | No |
| Bank Transfer | At least 5 days | – | $1,000 per transaction / $5,000 per 24 hours | No |
| PayPal | At least 5 days | – | $1,000 per transaction / $5,000 per 24 hours | No |
| Venmo | At least 5 days | – | $1,000 per transaction / $5,000 per 24 hours | No |
Sleeper Payout Speed
The time it takes for withdrawals to hit your account is, in my opinion, too slow. During my tests, it took five or six days before I could access the money, whereas DraftKings and FanDuel can get you your money the next day.
Sleeper Fantasy Customer Support ⭐ 4/5
There are a couple of different customer support channels available. First up, you can head to the help section, where you’ll find a good variety of articles, split up into different categories like Getting Started, Player Funds, and Contest Rules. The depth of detail is very impressive, and chances are you’ll find what you’re looking for here. There is also a search bar, which is important with so many articles.
I also got in contact with Sleeper’s support staff directly, which you can do in two ways: via email or the chat box.
The chat option is not really live chat. Instead, it’s an automated bot that suggests some articles. If they don’t help, you can type your question, and someone will respond whenever the support staff are online or get to your inquiry.
Alternatively, you can just send an email to support@sleeper.app.
I asked some test questions about deposit limits and the rules of the contests, and I received very polite and helpful responses that answered my questions perfectly. It took around 24 hours each time, via chatbox and email.
I’m giving Sleeper a good score here, but I’m taking off some points for the lack of 24 hour live chat support.
Sleeper Responsible Gaming
It very important to play DFS responsibly, and Sleeper has some great tools to promote responsible gambling, which are provided in partnership with Birches Health:
- Self assessment quiz and a free consultation with a professional.
- Tips to play responsibly.
- Links to national and state-by-state support organizations.
- Customizable limits for both deposits and the number of contests you can enter.
- Self exclusion to permanently ban yourself from paid contests.
However, I have to say that all of these excellent support tools are somewhat hidden in a single article in the help section. With so much going on on the platform, I can easily see them getting missed or overlooked. I’d love to see a more prominent Responsible Gambling link on the homepage for easy access.
