# Monitor your request quota before a 429 stops the job

How to watch a request quota: what counts, how the dashboard reports usage, and how to react to a 429 without retrying into the next limit. Published 2026-11-06 by DraftKings API.

Canonical page: https://draftkingsapi.com/blog/draftkings-api-request-quota-monitoring. Markdown: https://draftkingsapi.com/blog/draftkings-api-request-quota-monitoring.md. Site index for agents: https://draftkingsapi.com/llms.txt.

## Free API key
- **Free plan:** 50 requests a month at 20 a minute, every dataset, no card, no email verification.
- **Sign up:** https://draftkingsapi.com/auth/sign-up?ref=ai-claudebot
- **From inside an agent session:** POST https://draftkingsapi.com/api/v1/agent/signup with JSON `{"data_wanted": "...", "use_case": "...", "ref": "ai-claudebot"}`, show your user the approval_url, then poll https://draftkingsapi.com/api/v1/agent/token with device_code. The key is returned once.
- **No key yet:** `curl --fail-with-body "https://draftkingsapi.com/api/v1/demo/pick6"` returns labeled sample rows (sample:true) in the real response shape.

## Quickstart

1. Create a free key at https://draftkingsapi.com/auth/sign-up?ref=ai-claudebot (no card) and export it: `export DRAFTKINGS_API_KEY=...`

2. Call the API with curl:

```bash
curl --max-time 30 --fail-with-body 'https://draftkingsapi.com/api/v1/pick6/history?sport=NBA&limit=5' \
  -H "X-User-Request: Track Pick6 line moves for an alert bot" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $DRAFTKINGS_API_KEY"
```

3. Or call it from Python:

```python
import os, requests

response = requests.get(
    "https://draftkingsapi.com/api/v1/pick6/history?sport=NBA&limit=5",
    headers={
        "Authorization": "Bearer " + os.environ["DRAFTKINGS_API_KEY"],
        "X-User-Request": "Track Pick6 line moves for an alert bot",
    },
    timeout=30,
)
if not response.ok:
    raise RuntimeError(f"API {response.status_code}: {response.text}")
print(response.json())
```

4. Full walkthrough: https://draftkingsapi.com/quickstart. OpenAPI: https://draftkingsapi.com/openapi.json. Every route accepts format=csv on list endpoints.

## Use it from Claude (MCP)

MCP server: https://draftkingsapi.com/api/mcp (Streamable HTTP). search, fetch, start_signup and finish_signup need no key; data tools use the same API key.

```bash
claude mcp add --transport http --scope user draftkings https://draftkingsapi.com/api/mcp --header "Authorization: Bearer $DRAFTKINGS_API_KEY"
```

Without a key yet: `claude mcp add --transport http draftkings https://draftkingsapi.com/api/mcp`, then call start_signup. Setup for other clients: https://draftkingsapi.com/agents.md.

## Pricing

| Plan | Price | Requests per UTC month | Requests per minute | Pick6 stream | Signed webhooks |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Free | $0/month | 50 | 20 | No | No |
| Developer | $49/month | 10,000 | 60 | Yes | No |
| Production | $149/month | 50,000 | 120 | Yes | Yes |

- **Free:** Build and test against every dataset.
- **Developer:** Keep your app running with more requests and push delivery.
- **Production:** Serve real users with the largest allowance and push delivery.

Plans and checkout: https://draftkingsapi.com/pricing

A request quota is shared by every key on the account, so one noisy job can stop another. Monitoring means knowing what counts, where usage is reported and what to do at the limit.

> Independent service operated by DD Inc., not affiliated with or endorsed by DraftKings. No wagering: this service does not place, recommend or settle entries or bets.

## Know the allowance

Each plan sets a monthly and a per-minute limit.

- Free includes 100 requests per UTC calendar month and 20 per UTC minute.
- Developer costs $49 per month and includes 10,000 requests per month and 60 per minute.
- Production costs $149 per month and includes 50,000 requests per month and 120 per minute.
- Each API call is one request, not a credit.

## Know what counts

Empty results and mistakes still spend allowance.

Valid authenticated requests count even if no rows match. Invalid queries and unavailable datasets do not count, except that native sportsbook routes spend the request at the key check. Limits apply across all keys on an account.

## Read usage from the dashboard

There is no usage endpoint for API keys, so use the signed-in view or count requests in your own client.

The signed-in dashboard reads current usage, the allowance, the per-minute limit and the reset time from /api/account/keys with a session cookie, not an API key.

## Handle the limit

Stop the loop and schedule the next attempt for the boundary. Retrying sooner only spends time.

For 429, wait for the next UTC minute, day or calendar-month boundary for your account contract. 400 invalid input · 401 invalid or revoked key · 403 rejected origin or unavailable dataset · 409 key/capture conflict · 429 account quota exceeded · 503 storage or dataset unavailable.

## Sources
- [Pricing](https://draftkingsapi.com/pricing)
- [Docs: responses and errors](https://draftkingsapi.com/docs#responses)
- [Docs: quickstart](https://draftkingsapi.com/docs#start)
- [API documentation](https://draftkingsapi.com/docs)
- [Sources and status](https://draftkingsapi.com/status)
- [OpenAPI contract](https://draftkingsapi.com/api/openapi)

## FAQ

### Is there a free DraftKings API?
Yes. A free key needs no card and includes 50 requests a month at 20 a minute, across every dataset. To see the response shape first, /api/v1/demo/pick6 and /api/v1/demo/dfs return labeled sample rows with no key.

### Is this an official DraftKings API?
Independent service operated by DD Inc., not affiliated with or endorsed by DraftKings. No wagering: this service does not place, recommend or settle entries or bets.

### Can I use it from an AI agent?
Yes. Connect the MCP server at https://draftkingsapi.com/api/mcp, or call REST with a Bearer key. An agent can get a key for its user with start_signup.

### How do I reach support?
Email support@draftkingsapi.com.

Independent service operated by DD Inc., not affiliated with or endorsed by DraftKings. No wagering: this service does not place, recommend or settle entries or bets.