As we continue our reviews of the DFS apps on the market, OwnersBox stood out. They’ve put a lot of work into building a one-of-kind experience for users that focuses on the four major U.S. sports and offers a new way to play with their Lightning Lineup concept.
We are big fans of several of the new features OwnersBox has added to their app, and have enjoyed using the platform over the past two NFL seasons. Find the complete details of our experience in this hands-on review.
Final Verdict:
DFS was an innovative industry when it exploded in popularity nearly 10 years ago. Since then, many of these products have grown stale, which is why we are so excited about OwnersBox and feel it deserves a 4.8-star rating.
Industry-leading $500 initial deposit match in bonus funds.
Unique and evolving contest formats that are only available at OwnersBox.
Social aspect allows for messaging other users and creating groups within the app.
Cons
Contests are limited to NFL, NBA, NHL & MLB.
No live support (ticket system).
Similar to FanDuel and DraftKings, bonus funds 'drip' into your account as you play.
OwnersBox Company Overview
Ownersbox is a Canada-based company that was created in August 2019. According to Crunchbase, they've raised about $6 million since then across multiple seed investment rounds to build an innovative and distinct fantasy sports platform.
Through the development of this new user experience, they want to be a disruptor in the DFS space and take advantage of the potential of the Canadian and American markets with their 60+ million DFS players.
Features Available Only at OwnersBox
As we have already alluded to several times in this review, OwnersBox is a truly innovative DFS app. There are several contests and features that DFS players will only find in the OwnersBox app. Here are a handful that stood out throughout our testing:
Lightning Lineups
Lightning Lineups are the key differentiator for user experience at OwnersBox. These contests involve selecting a lineup from pre-set trios of players that can be re-shuffled if the options aren't to your liking.
For example, in an NFL Lightning Lineup contest, you would see three sets of three players to choose from on the screen. One may have two WRs and an RB, another could show a QB, an RB, and a WR, and the third might have a QB and two RBs.
The projected points from each set of three players are displayed below their lineup card, and selecting a lineup is as easy as clicking on the available option that you like best. If you don't like any of the options, you can click the Lightning Lineup button at the bottom of the screen and refresh the lineup combinations at your disposal.
Users can make single or multiple selections as part of their entry and then follow the scoring live to see how their lineups score relative to the other entrants.
SuperFlex Contests
Their SuperFlex contests provide a familiar place for DFS contestants to get their action down. Every contest, regardless of sport, has a lineup spot created for the SuperFlex position, allowing users to get creative and add a second quarterback to their roster.
The standard SuperFlex entries include nine total players. However, Prime Time Flex is a version of this format that mirrors the setup but shrinks the lineup size to five players.
After submitting a lineup in a SuperFlex contest, OwnersBox will give you the ability to swap out players for those available within the salary cap as long as their games have not already started.
For those with multiple entries, there is the option to swap players from multiple lineups simultaneously. You'll need to be comfortable downloading, editing, and re-uploading CSV files to accomplish this, but it's likely a time-saver if you do.
OwnersBox also partners with many sites in the fantasy sports information business to help players optimize lineups, including FantasyPros, Fantasy Nerds, and RotoWire, which can be integrated directly.
Battle Pass
Battle Pass acts as OwnersBox's reward program that incentivizes users to stay active in the platform and rewards them over time for participation and performance in daily, weekly, and season-long cadences. Users earn rewards for entering contests, winning contests, referring friends, playing contests with friends, and accumulating entry-fee spending over time.
When users participate in this program and meet the requirements to earn a reward, they receive prizes in the form of tickets to cover contest entry fees and experience points (XP), which allows the user to level up in the Battle Pass program to earn more contest tickets.
Some of their milestones require spending thousands of dollars throughout the season to achieve and are less likely to be met by casual users, but even those who play less frequently will see some small benefits from this program.
Social Interaction
OwnersBox offers players the chance to directly message others, create groups, and use their chat feature to interact with fellow users. It's easy to access and another tweak to the experience that encourages users to communicate with their peers.
While following results live and stirring the pot with your friends and competitors, this is a nice add-on to the experience that players can take advantage of.
Deposits and Withdrawals
Connecting an online banking account to OwnersBox is the best way to both deposit and withdraw funds. Users can deposit with a credit or debit card if their bank isn't available to connect or they'd prefer to use a different method.
In terms of withdrawal methods available outside of a connected bank account, OwnersBox can mail you a check for the desired amount.
The app also has a great promo code offer that will match up to $500 when you make your initial deposit. This bonus comes as OwnersBucks, the in-house currency of OwnersBox. There are specific contests that can only be entered using OwnersBucks, where these bonus funds can be played to convert into withdrawable dollars.
The conversion of OwnersBucks to dollars occurs over time. As users enter more contests, their conversation rate increases. 4% is the initial rate, which begins to increase after your first 50 contests.
Customer Support and User Reviews
According to LinkedIn, OwnersBox is still a relatively small outfit, with fewer than 50 employees. One of the first things that is difficult to handle at scale in this early stage of a DFS company is support requests, and OwnersBox doesn't have a way to communicate with someone live for the time being.
Their support page includes a comprehensive and detailed FAQ section that can be navigated easily or searched for more specific content. If a request needs to be logged with the OwnersBox team, there's a ticket form on that page where you can drop the information or question along with your contact information.
What OwnersBox Customers are Saying...
Regarding customer satisfaction, OwnersBox has an impressive rating on Apple's App Store (4.6 stars) and the Google Play marketplace (4.7 stars). Most reviews without comments are five-star ratings, and we scrolled through those who did leave remarks to understand the general sentiment on both sides.
Users enjoy the contest formats and shared overall satisfaction with the experience and their ability to win on the positive side.
As for constructive feedback, several users noted that the deposit bonus does not act as it does at other outfits, where $1 of a real-money deposit equals $1 in bonus funds.
Per developer responses from OwnersBox's team, they note that their bonus terms include that a user's deposit "will be matched up to $500 in site-credit (OwnersBucks) that converts (4% or higher depending on rank) to real-money as you play."
They refer to this as a "drip" bonus, which is intended to reward players as they use the platform more. If the deposit match is why new users are considering joining OwnersBox, this is worth becoming more familiar with.
FAQ of OwnersBox
OwnersBox is one of the best DFS choices out there for both new and seasoned fantasy players. That said, OwnersBox isn't quite as popular as PrizePicks or Underdog. There are loads of people that don't know much about OwnersBox.
Because of this, our team has dove into some of the most frequently asked questions in this section. We hope this helps you find the info you need about this up-and-coming DFS app.
How long has OwnersBox been around?
OwnersBox has been providing a top-notch fantasy sports app since 2019. It's a highly respected company that has an office in both Massachusetts and Ontario.
What are the entry fees like on OwnersBox?
OwnersBox offers a wide range of contests with a variety of different entry fee levels. This is because OwnersBox wants to be a viable option for people, regardless of their bankroll size. That said, most contests have an entry fee from $5 to $15.
What type of DFS contests are available with OwnersBox?
To keep things simple, OwnersBox only offer 2 different DFS games per sport. With the Lightning Lineups option, folks can quickly toggle between set lineups until they find one they like. With the SuperFlex version, folks get to build their own teams, which is more like a traditional DFS contest.
Is the OwnersBox promo code any good?
Not only is the current OwnersBox bonus good, it's the highest in the DFS industry! New customers can get a 100% Deposit Bonus that caps at $500! This is 5x what most fantasy sports app are offering these days!
OwnersBox Review Summary
OwnersBox offers a new twist to DFS that should attract some attention in the market if they can get the platform in front of enough eyeballs. The Lightning Lineup concept is an entertaining way to refresh how DFS contests are played and offer users the chance to think less about their lineups and get in the game.
They have some opportunity to grow and offer contests outside the four major sports in the U.S. and Canada, allowing them to reach more of the available market. Still, their focus is on building the best platform before expanding, and we appreciate the attention to detail.
Must be 18+ (19+ in AL and NE, 21+ in AZ, IA, LA, and MA) and present in a state where DFS is legal. Terms apply. Please Gamble Responsibly. Concerned with your play? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit www.ncpgambling.org; AZ: 1-800-NEXT-STEP (1-800-639-8783) or test NEXT-STEP to 53342; NY: Call the 24/7 HOPEline at 1-877-8-HOPENY or Text HOPENY (467369), TN: Call/text TN REDLINE at 1-800-889-9789.
Leave a Review
5.0
Rated 5.0 out of 5
5.0 out of 5 stars (based on 1 review)
Excellent100%
Very good0%
Average0%
Poor0%
Terrible0%
The Best Payouts I've Ever Had
Rated 5.0 out of 5
April 5, 2024
Not enough DFS players know about OwnersBox and that's a real shame! I've been more than satisfied with how they've treated me. Their payouts are second to none and their app is one of the easiest to move around on.
Nicholas Berault is a proud Penn State alum whose past work has been featured on FantasyPros. He is an avid golfer and a collector of pin flags and sneakers. As a senior writer at EatWatchBet, Nicholas serves as an NFL, CFB, and NBA betting analyst.
