What does “using DraftKings” actually mean in 2026? Depending on where you are, it could mean checking DraftKings Sportsbook before an NFL game, building a Daily Fantasy lineup, making picks with Pick6, or using one of DraftKings’ newer products. That distinction becomes especially important when you travel. DraftKings products aren’t available equally in every state, and crossing a state line can change which parts of DraftKings you can use. A VPN adds another consideration. We recommend ExpressVPN for sports fans who want to encrypt their internet connection, mask their normal public IP address, and add privacy when using hotel Wi-Fi, airports, and other networks away from home.
But a VPN and DraftKings’ location system do two different jobs. DraftKings can use GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GeoComply technology to establish your physical location for products that require geolocation. Your VPN protects your connection; it doesn’t determine which DraftKings products are available where you’re physically located. So what happens when you combine the two? Below, we’ll explain:
- How to use a VPN with DraftKings
- Where DraftKings Sportsbook is available
- What DraftKings products you can find in states without the Sportsbook
- How DraftKings works when traveling
- What to do if your VPN causes a location error
- Why ExpressVPN is our choice for sports fans
How to Use ExpressVPN With DraftKings
If you want to add VPN protection to your DraftKings and sports setup, getting started only takes a few minutes.
- Sign up for ExpressVPN. We recommend ExpressVPN because of its extensive U.S. network, strong privacy technology, fast connections, and easy-to-use apps.
- Download ExpressVPN. Install the app on the phone, computer, tablet, or other compatible device you use for sports.
- Connect to a nearby VPN server. Choosing a server close to your actual location can help maintain better speeds while protecting your connection.
- Open DraftKings. Your connection between your device and the VPN server is now encrypted, and your normal public IP address is masked.
- Use DraftKings and follow your sports. You can keep your VPN active while browsing sports sites, researching games, checking scores, managing fantasy teams, and using compatible services.
Affiliate Disclosure: VPNForSports may earn a commission when you purchase through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.
DraftKings Sportsbook vs. DFS, Pick6 and Predictions
One of the biggest reasons this guide is different from a simple sportsbook VPN guide is that DraftKings isn’t just DraftKings Sportsbook anymore.DraftKings operates several products with different availability requirements.
- DraftKings Sportsbook is the company’s online sportsbook, with markets covering NFL, college football, NBA, MLB, NHL, golf, soccer, and many other sports. Its availability depends on where you’re physically located.
- DraftKings Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) lets players build fantasy lineups and enter contests. DraftKings originally built much of its name around DFS, and fantasy remains a major part of the platform.
- DraftKings Pick6 centers on player picks and has its own state availability.
- DraftKings Predictions gives users access to prediction markets and represents another expansion of the DraftKings platform.
- DraftKings also operates products involving online casino games, horse racing, and Free-to-Play Pools, depending on location.
DraftKings Sportsbook may not operate somewhere, while DFS, Pick6, Predictions, or another DraftKings product does. When traveling, always check the availability of the specific DraftKings product you want to use.
Where Is DraftKings Sportsbook Available in 2026?
DraftKings Sportsbook has expanded into a large portion of the United States. As of 2026, DraftKings online Sportsbook is available in 27 states plus Washington, D.C.
Those states are Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming, along with Washington, D.C.
Here’s an important detail if you’re traveling: you don’t necessarily need to live in one of those states to use DraftKings Sportsbook. You do, however, need to meet DraftKings’ eligibility requirements and be physically located in an eligible jurisdiction when using Sportsbook features that require geolocation.
What About States Without DraftKings Sportsbook?
DraftKings online Sportsbook still isn’t available everywhere.
As of 2026, DraftKings online Sportsbook isn’t offered in Alabama, Alaska, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin.
But don’t automatically read that list as “states without DraftKings.”
DraftKings now has a combination of products with some form of availability across all 50 states. Depending on your location, a state without DraftKings Sportsbook may still offer Daily Fantasy Sports, Pick6, Predictions, horse racing products, Free-to-Play Pools, or another DraftKings service. California and Texas are good examples. Neither currently has DraftKings online Sportsbook, but DraftKings offers other products in both states. This makes checking the specific product much more useful than simply asking whether DraftKings itself is available.
What Happens to DraftKings When You Cross State Lines?
This is where DraftKings gets particularly interesting for travelers. Imagine you’re a Tennessee sports fan heading to Florida for vacation. DraftKings Sportsbook operates in Tennessee. Once you arrive in Florida, however, DraftKings online Sportsbook isn’t available. But that doesn’t mean every DraftKings product disappears. Other DraftKings products have availability in Florida, so what you can use changes depending on the particular product.
Now consider traveling in the opposite direction. Suppose you travel to New York, where DraftKings Sportsbook operates. You don’t necessarily have to be a New York resident to use the Sportsbook. What matters is meeting DraftKings’ requirements and being physically present in an eligible jurisdiction when using Sportsbook features that require location verification. That’s why a DraftKings VPN is best thought of as a privacy tool for your connection while traveling.
How Does DraftKings Know Where You Are?
DraftKings uses several technologies to determine a user’s physical location. Depending on your device and the DraftKings product you’re using, location verification can involve GPS, nearby Wi-Fi networks, Bluetooth, and GeoComply technology. On certain computers, DraftKings may require the GeoComply Player Location Check plugin. This is an important difference between your IP location and your physical location.
ExpressVPN can change the public IP address websites see, but that doesn’t change the GPS location of your phone or the other location signals DraftKings may use. These checks exist because certain DraftKings products have specific geographic requirements.
Why Use a VPN With DraftKings?
A typical sports weekend can involve checking scores, researching games, managing fantasy lineups, reading sports news, following DraftKings, and watching sports through streaming services. A VPN provides privacy across that larger sports setup. Some of the benefits include:
- Encrypting your connection: Traffic traveling between your device and the VPN server is encrypted.
- Masking your normal public IP address: Websites generally see the VPN server’s public IP rather than the one associated with your normal connection.
- Adding privacy while traveling: This can be particularly useful on hotel, airport, coffee shop, and other unfamiliar networks.
- Protecting your sports devices: A quality VPN can protect multiple compatible phones, computers, tablets, TVs, and other devices.
- Going beyond DraftKings: The same VPN can protect your connection while researching games, managing fantasy teams, checking scores, and using compatible sports streaming services.
That’s why we view a DraftKings VPN as part of your broader sports privacy setup, rather than a tool that only matters when DraftKings itself is open.
DraftKings VPN Not Working? Check Your Location Settings
If DraftKings suddenly stops detecting your location while ExpressVPN is connected, don’t immediately assume there’s something wrong with your DraftKings account. Your VPN may simply be interfering with the location check. If you’re physically located somewhere the DraftKings product you’re trying to use is available, try the following:
- Disconnect ExpressVPN.
- Make sure Wi-Fi or mobile data is enabled.
- Turn on your device’s location services.
- Give DraftKings permission to access your location.
- Close DraftKings.
- Connect ExpressVPN.
- Restart your device if the error continues.
- Make sure DraftKings and your operating system are updated.
- Allow DraftKings or GeoComply to complete the required location check.
If you’re using a computer, make sure any required DraftKings location software is installed and running correctly. And remember: repeatedly choosing different VPN states isn’t likely to fix the underlying problem. DraftKings needs to determine where you’re actually located.
Why We Recommend ExpressVPN for DraftKings
There are a lot of VPN providers available, but ExpressVPN is our choice for DraftKings and sports fans because it combines extensive U.S. coverage with strong privacy technology, fast connections, and broad device support. A few features stand out:
- 62 U.S. server locations covering all 50 states: This gives sports fans plenty of options for finding a server near their actual location when privacy and performance are the priority.
- 214+ server locations across 113 countries: ExpressVPN’s worldwide network is particularly useful for protecting your connection when you’re traveling.
- Lightway protocol: ExpressVPN’s own VPN protocol is designed around speed, security, and reliability.
- TrustedServer technology: ExpressVPN’s servers use RAM instead of conventional hard drives, with information wiped when servers reboot.
- Network Lock: ExpressVPN’s kill switch can prevent internet traffic from continuing outside the VPN tunnel if the protected connection unexpectedly drops.
- Strong encryption: ExpressVPN uses strong encryption to protect data traveling between your device and the VPN server.
- Wide device support: ExpressVPN has apps for popular phones, computers, tablets, smart TVs, streaming devices, routers, and other platforms.
- 30-day money-back guarantee: New users have a 30-day money-back guarantee to try the service.
The 62 U.S. server locations are particularly useful for the way we recommend using a VPN with DraftKings. Rather than selecting a distant state, you can generally look for a server close to your actual location to help maintain better performance while protecting your connection.
Affiliate Disclosure: VPNForSports may earn a commission when you purchase through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.
DraftKings for Football and Other Sports
DraftKings has deep roots in American sports, and football remains a huge part of the platform. During NFL season, DraftKings Sportsbook offers markets around weekly games, teams, players, futures, playoffs, and the Super Bowl. DraftKings’ Daily Fantasy Sports business also makes fantasy football a major part of the experience. College football adds another full slate of games every Saturday.
Beyond football, DraftKings covers major sports including NBA and college basketball, MLB, NHL, soccer, golf, tennis, NASCAR, UFC and MMA, and boxing. What you can actually use depends on both your location and the DraftKings product involved. That distinction becomes increasingly important as DraftKings expands beyond its traditional Sportsbook and fantasy products.
Is a Free VPN Good for DraftKings?
We don’t recommend relying on a free VPN for DraftKings or your broader sports setup. Free VPNs often have fewer U.S. server locations, crowded servers, slower speeds, data limits, fewer device options, and fewer privacy features.
There is also a larger question worth asking:
If you’re installing a VPN for privacy, how does the free VPN company make money?
Operating servers and developing VPN apps costs money. Some free VPN services rely heavily on advertising or other forms of monetization, which is something you should consider before trusting a provider with your internet connection. Performance can also be frustrating for sports fans. Overcrowded free servers may result in slower connections when you’re checking live scores, researching games, or using compatible sports streaming services.
DraftKings VPN FAQs
A good DraftKings VPN should offer strong privacy, fast connections, extensive server coverage, and reliable apps.
Depending on where you are traveling, sports betting may not be legal. Internationally, gambling is often against the values held in some societies, which leads to sportsbooks being banned. Meanwhile, inside the United States, each state is allowed to choose whether or not to legalize sportsbooks. Many states like California, Florida, and Texas have not legalized sports betting. This means that if you are traveling in these regions, you cannot normally access the app. A VPN allows you to use DraftKings Sportsbook in restricted states and other regions of the world you travel to.
Different DraftKings products have different geographic availability. If you’re traveling internationally, ExpressVPN can still encrypt your connection and mask your normal public IP address while you’re following sports online. However, connecting to a U.S. server doesn’t make you physically located in the United States for DraftKings products that require location verification.
As of 2026, DraftKings online Sportsbook is available in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming, plus Washington, D.C.
DraftKings online Sportsbook isn’t currently available in Alabama, Alaska, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin.
Yes, a VPN can protect your internet connection, but DraftKings Sportsbook still needs to establish your physical location. Connecting to a VPN server in another state doesn’t change your physical location.
Final Thoughts on Using a VPN With DraftKings
DraftKings is no longer just one sports product, and that’s the biggest thing to understand when using a VPN with DraftKings in 2026. Sportsbook, Daily Fantasy Sports, Pick6, Predictions, racing, and other DraftKings products can have different availability depending on where you’re physically located. Traveling across state lines can therefore change which parts of DraftKings you can use. Your VPN serves a different purpose.
ExpressVPN can encrypt your connection, mask your normal public IP address, and provide additional privacy across the devices and sports services you use at home and while traveling. Its 62 U.S. server locations, worldwide network, Lightway protocol, TrustedServer technology, and broad device support are why it’s our VPN choice for DraftKings and sports fans. When DraftKings needs to establish your physical location, allow it to do so. When you’re researching games, managing fantasy teams, following scores, traveling, or using other compatible sports services, ExpressVPN can help protect the connection you’re using to do it.
For us, that’s the best way to combine DraftKings and a VPN: use DraftKings according to the rules and product availability of your physical location, while using ExpressVPN to add privacy and security to the rest of your sports experience.
