XFL Looks to Become Gamblers’ Paradise with NFL Season Over, Inks Mobile Betting Deal with Fox Bet

Posted on: February 7, 2020, 11:36h. 

Last updated on: February 7, 2020, 05:31h.

Todd Shriber @etfgodfather Read More
Expertise: Financial, Gaming Business, Mergers and Acquisitions.

The XFL’s 10-week regular season kicks off on Saturday, Feb. 8, and the new league continues positioning itself as an option for football-starved gamblers, announcing today a mobile sports wagering agreement with Fox Bet.

Vince McMahon’s kicks off Saturday and the league isn’t being shy about embracing sports betting. (Image: SB Nation)

Fox Sports, parent company of the betting outfit, last year took a $236 million, five percent stake in The Stars Group, making it the first US broadcaster to push directly into the sports wagering arena.

As part of the agreement, FOX Bet has the right to use the XFL’s official data feed, league marks, team logos, player and coach likenesses, and certain league content across its FOX Bet sports betting app and FOX Sports Super 6 free-to-play game,” the companies said in a statement.

Super 6 is a predictive game offered on the Fox Sports mobile application and was launched at the start of the 2019 college and NFL seasons. The contest is tricky relative to comparable offerings, in that Super 6 doesn’t just require participants to identify the winners of select football games, but also mandates that contestants correctly pick a range of the margin of victory.

For example, the first XFL game currently in Super 6 is the Seattle Dragons vs. the DC Defenders. Users must identify the winner and then correctly pick among one to five points, six to 10, 11 to 15, 16 to 20, or 21 points or more as the margin of victory.

Filling The Void

Owned by Vince McMahon’s Alpha Entertainment, the XFL is the second iteration of a league by the same name. The original version collapsed after one season in 2001. McMahon is hoping things will be different this time around, and the league is hoping betting and fantasy sports can aid in that quest.

Last month, the league announced a deal with DrafKings, making that company its official daily fantasy sports (DFS) provider. DraftKings will also be the XFL’s authorized gaming partner.

With the NFL season having concluded with last Sunday’s Super Bowl, the XFL is looking to fill a gambling void for fans of the most wagered-on sport in the US.

“FOX Bet will promote and offer XFL-centric betting markets to its customers and create a special FOX Sports Super 6 game for each week of the XFL’s 10-week regular season, and one for its postseason semi-finals (April 18-19) and Championship game (April 26),” according to the statement.

Stars Group operates Fox Bet-branded sportsbooks in New Jersey and Pennsylvania – two of the largest sports betting states in the country.

Embracing Betting in Full

Following the Supreme Court ruling on the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) in 2018, the NFL has often been seen as tiptoeing around the issue of sports betting, though that’s starting to change.

Conversely, the XFL has immediately embraced the concept of wagering as a means of luring fans.

Not only does the new league have the aforementioned deals with DraftKings and Fox Bet, but its broadcasts will be gambling-centric, featuring spreads and totals on the screen during games