Sleeper

Is Sleeper safe?

Sleeper is safe enough as a place to run a fantasy league with friends: deleting your account takes a few taps and the paid side has proper limits and self-exclusion. The catch is that it is no longer just a league app. The App Store listing now leads with real-money Player Picks paying up to 1,000 times the entry and Team Picks, which are sports event contracts. Free users can join from 13 with a parent's consent. We score Sleeper 51/100, close to Kalshi (51), whose contracts it resells.

One app, two audiences

Blitz Studios launched Sleeper on the App Store in 2015 as a fantasy football app with chat, and that part is still what most people know. Leagues, drafts, trades and trash talk live in the same place, with live game chat and team channels.

Since then Sleeper has added paid products on top:

• Player Picks, "more or less" picks on player stats that pay up to 1,000 times the entry. Sleeper lists them in about 30 states, including California, Texas, Florida and Georgia, plus Canada outside Ontario.
• Team Picks, yes-or-no contracts on game winners, spreads and totals. They are listed on Kalshi, a CFTC-regulated exchange, and Sleeper Markets LLC is the registered broker that gives you access.
• SleeperSafe, which lets commissioners collect league dues and pay winners in the app.

The terms set 13 as the minimum age for free features, with parental consent under 18, and 18 for paid contests (19 in Alabama and Nebraska, 21 in Massachusetts and Virginia). That means teenagers and adult bettors share one app, and promotions such as a 100% deposit match up to $100 sit a tap away from the league chat. Paid play requires a Social Security number and location checks, which keeps most minors out of the money side, but not out of sight of it.

Chat and moderation

League chat is private to the members you invite, and you can block other users. Public channels are another matter. Sleeper's code of conduct bans harassment, slurs and porn links, but it says moderators "volunteer their time" and that there is "not always a watchful eye on every post". If your child uses Sleeper, keep them in private leagues with people they know.

What data does Sleeper collect?

This is where the label and the policy part ways. Apple's privacy label lists only product interaction as used to track you, and says nothing is linked to your identity. The privacy notice, last updated in June 2026, describes a different picture:

• Identity documents, tax details and Social Security numbers for anyone entering paid contests.
• Device and advertising identifiers, plus data from "data aggregators" and ad partners that may include precise location.
• Third-party ad partners collecting data in the app "to deliver targeted advertising based on your online activities across different websites, services, and devices".
• A statement that this sharing "may be considered a sale" under US state privacy laws, with an opt-out.

Under our rules we score privacy on the broader of the two, which is the policy. Sleeper also shares league data, such as rosters and trade history, with third-party fantasy tools that a league member connects, and those tools then follow their own policies.

Tools against gambling harm

Sleeper offers deposit limits, cool-off periods and self-exclusion in the app, and they cover both Player Picks and Team Picks. Some states add their own caps: $1,000 a month in Massachusetts and $2,500 a month in Tennessee. Its help pages point to Birches Health for counselling, the 1-800-MY-RESET helpline and BetBlocker. Sleeper does not say on those pages whether a limit can be loosened early, so set one you can live with for a while.

Regulators and Sleeper

Sleeper's record is lighter than that of its bigger rivals. In 2024 the Massachusetts attorney general's office sent cease-and-desist letters to ten fantasy operators, including Sleeper, over pick'em games that looked like player prop bets. Sleeper still operates there, but only from 21 and with a monthly deposit cap. It does not offer paid picks in about 20 states, including New York, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Arizona. We found no fine. Because Team Picks are Kalshi contracts, the court orders against Kalshi in states such as Nevada, Michigan and Washington also limit where Sleeper can sell them.

How to use Sleeper more safely

1. Use a long, unique password and link your email or phone, since Sleeper documents no two-factorTwo-factor authenticationSigning in with a second proof of identity on top of your password, such as a code from an app, a security key or a passkey.More in the glossary option.
2. Set a deposit limit before your first paid pick.
3. Ask Sleeper to opt you out of sale and targeted ads, as its privacy notice allows, and choose "Ask App Not to Track" on iPhone.
4. Keep children in private leagues and check their notification settings for promotions.
5. If you only want fantasy leagues, never add a payment method.

How we scored it

The regulatory record (62) is the strongest factor, with one attorney general's letter and no fine, and transparency and control (58) follows, thanks to in-app deletion and self-serve harm tools. Privacy (46) is pulled down by a policy that goes far beyond the label, and scams and harmful content (40), the weakest factor, by real-money picks in an app open to 13-year-olds. Underdog scores 46.