DraftKings Early Exit - Explained

DraftKings Sportsbook has rolled out a player-friendly feature called Early Exit, designed to protect bettors from one of the most frustrating ways to lose a wager.

Every sports fan knows the disappointment of placing a bet, only to see it ruined because a player left the game early with an injury and didn’t return. DraftKings Early Exit was created to soften that blow.

If your bet qualifies, DraftKings will issue cash credits or adjust your parlay so you aren’t left empty-handed when a player’s early exit impacts your wager.

It is a similar program to Fanatics Sportsbook Fair Play, which hopefully indicates that more betting apps will follow suit and offer protection from player injuries.

DraftKings’ Early Exit program goes beyond a simple void-and-refund approach. Instead, it’s structured to make sure bets are handled fairly depending on the situation.

If a player prop has already settled, such as an over hit before the injury occurred, the bet stands as a win. Similarly, under bets that were already on track to cash will still be graded as winners and aren’t covered under Early Exit.

Parlays and Same Game Parlays work a little differently. Rather than canceling your entire ticket, DraftKings will remove the injured player’s leg and recalculate the odds based on the remaining selections. That way, you still have the opportunity to win if the other legs hit.

Each sport has its own timeframe for when Early Exit applies, so the protection only kicks in if the player goes down early enough in the contest.

An athlete getting injured late in the game won’t trigger DraftKings Early Exit. To qualify, the player must leave during a specific early-game window that varies by sport. This ensures that the protection only applies when bettors have truly been impacted by an early exit.

The full breakdown of when Early Exit applies is as follows:

Based on my experience with multiple sports betting platforms, DraftKings’ Early Exit program is a solid example of a sportsbook prioritizing its players. Especially in a sport with many injuries like football, it can be one of the most useful NFL betting promotions.

While promotions on betting apps are one of the key aspects, an initiative like this is even more valuable since it applies to all games.

While similar programs, like Fanatics Fair Play, came first, DraftKings now offers clear rules for when Early Exit applies, so bettors know exactly how their wagers will be handled if a player leaves early due to injury.

Player injuries can still derail bets, but Early Exit ensures you won’t be left completely out of luck when it happens within the qualifying timeframe. It’s great to see more sportsbooks adopting protections like this, giving bettors added peace of mind when placing player props or parlays.