Wallet, Eligibility & Taxes

Coming soon. Cash contests aren't open yet — this page is published ahead of launch so the money mechanics are on the record before anyone deposits a dollar.

The short version: you activate a wallet with a one-time email code, add funds with a card or transfer, enter contests with a tap (no fees beyond the published 10% service fee), and winnings land in your wallet automatically every Tuesday. Your balance is shown in dollars, it's held in a wallet you control, and you can cash out any time — including while self-excluded.

Activating your wallet

From your profile, tap Activate Wallet. You'll confirm your age and location, accept the contest rules, and verify your email with a 6-digit code — the same email as your Fantasy Joes account. That creates your personal secure wallet. No documents, no forms; identity checks happen at the payment step when you add funds.

Free play never requires any of this. The wallet exists only for cash contests.

Adding funds

Tap Deposit on your wallet card and pick a payment method — debit/credit card, Apple Pay, Coinbase, or a direct transfer. Funds typically arrive in under a minute. Fantasy Joes charges nothing on deposits; card processors charge their own fee (typically 3–4%), shown before you confirm. Direct transfers avoid card fees.

Entering and withdrawing

Entering a contest is one tap plus a confirmation — your wallet signs the entry, and the fee moves when you confirm. There are no transaction fees on entries, payouts, refunds, or cashouts — Fantasy Joes covers all network costs. The 10% service fee inside each contest's prize structure is the only way we make money.

Withdraw an entry before the contest closes and the full fee returns to your wallet automatically.

Getting paid

Winnings are pushed to your wallet automatically when contests settle on Tuesday — no claiming, no minimum, no fee. Every transaction (deposits, entries, refunds, payouts, cashouts) appears in your wallet history with a verifiable receipt.

Cashing out

You can send your balance out any time from the wallet card. Under the hood — and this is the one technical detail worth reading — your balance is held as USDC, a fully dollar-backed digital token, on the Base network, in a wallet only you control. Fantasy Joes never holds your funds between contests.

What that means practically:

• Cashing out sends USDC to an account or wallet address you choose — for example, a Coinbase account, where you can convert to your bank.
• The destination must support USDC on the Base network. Sending to an address on the wrong network can permanently lose the funds — double-check before you confirm, and send a small test amount first if you're unsure.
• Cashing out is always available: while a tax hold is pending, while self-excluded, in any state.

Who can play

• Age: 18 or older — 19+ in Alabama and Nebraska.
• Location: you must be physically located in an eligible state when you enter. Your location is verified server-side at wallet activation, on the deposit screen, and at every contest entry (a fresh check within the last 30 minutes is required). If the check fails or can't complete, entry is blocked — the system fails closed.
• VPNs: using a VPN or any other means to misrepresent your location voids eligibility and forfeits entries.
• Outside the U.S.: cash contests are U.S.-only at launch. Free play — duels, boards, the leaderboard — is available everywhere on Earth.

Eligible states (live list, straight from the same check the app runs): loading…

If your state isn't listed, you'll see exactly why when you try to activate — and everything outside cash contests still works in full.

Taxes: the $600 rule

If your net winnings (payouts minus entry fees) reach $600 in a calendar year, U.S. tax rules require us to collect a Form W-9 before paying out anything further. Your winnings are held safely in the meantime — and nothing else stops: you can keep entering, dueling, and depositing while the W-9 is pending. Submit it in the app (name, address, taxpayer ID; stored encrypted) and held payouts release. Fantasy Joes files Form 1099-MISC as required.

If something goes wrong

• A contest didn't fill: it cancels at lock and your entry refunds automatically — no action needed.
• A payment failed mid-entry: the entry is voided and you weren't charged; the lobby will say so.
• You disagree with a result: stat corrections published within 72 hours of settlement may adjust results (payouts already sent are never clawed back). Disputes: contact support at the email on your receipt within 30 days of settlement.

Limits and taking a break

You can self-exclude from cash contests instantly, any time, from your profile — it blocks entries and deposits immediately, cashing out stays available, and re-enabling takes a deliberate 7-day wait. Full details on the responsible play page.