The online entertainment world is ever expanding. Twenty-five years ago, the first online casinos came onboard with exciting offers. They quickly expanded to the mobile platform offering star-studded mobile casino bonuses. Then came online poker, online sports betting and now….Fantasy Sports – let’s take a look at the beginnings and the changes in store for the near future.
Fantasy Sports Players haven’t been able to build XFL teams since spring of 2020 but the new league is moving ahead with hires, acquisitions and other plans and is set to feature a 2023 season. Excited fantasy football aficionados are looking forward to new opportunities to extend their playing time. But let’s go back to the basics.
XFL
The XFL is America’s second football league. It consists of 8 teams which are divided between East and West divisions. The XFL seasons fun from February – after the NFL’s season ends – to April. There are playoffs where the season championship is crowned.
The league was originally founded in 2001 but controversies and in-league fighting prevented the league from succeeding. In 2018 Vince McMahon, who had tried to get the XFL going in 2001, relaunched the league, envisioning it as a vehicle for faster simpler and play as compared to the NFL. The league’s first season of play was in 2020 but it was forced to halt games due to the COVID-19 pandemic. McMahon filed for bankruptcy but the league was purchased by a consortium led by Dwayne Johnson, Dany Garcia and RedBird Capital.
Currently the league plans to return to the field for the 2023 season.
Fantasy Football
Fantasy football is a growing virtual game where participants “build” teams based on the stats of real life players whose real-life performances determine how well the fantasy team does. Participating players serve as general managers and owners of “their” virtual professional American football teams. Many fantasy sports players compete at their fantasy games for fun but many place bets on the performances of the fantasy teams for the chance to earn money on the outcomes of the games.
Until the XFL’s 2020 relaunch, fantasy football was played with NFL players. The most popular play method involved head-to-head games in which teams were matched up against opponents with the team that scored the highest number of fantasy points earning a win. Additional competitions were undertaken with league standings determined by the total number of points scored by a team over an entire season.
Fantasy sports can be played with multiple types of sporting events including hockey, basketball, baseball and football but in America, football is the most popular type of fantasy sport activity. Many fantasy participants were thrilled when the XFL league started their games because that allowed them to extend their own seasons well into the spring. Now that XFL is ready to get going again, fantasy football enthusiasts have been preparing to join in as soon as they heard the word “go.”
XFL and Fantasy Football
Fantasy is expected to be an important component to the new league when the games start. Sportscasters have already been notified that point spreads and other gambling talk will be encouraged during game broadcasts. XFL has already announced an official partnership with FanDuel though fans can play DFS fantasy games on Draftkings. In 2020, to drum up excitement for the league’s first games, FanDuel launched several contests with lucrative prize pools.
When the games resume FanDuel has permission to use XFL data to energize its fantasy contests. Champion Data, which signed with the league to become its official stats partner, will be collecting data from the XFL and will collaborate with FanDuel on promotional contests such as social giveaways with unique XFL prizes. FanDuel is also authorized to use team trademarks and official league emblems in its fantasy app.
DraftKings is also an authorized XFL gaming partner. While the league’s deal with FanDuel is limited to fantasy sports and does not include XFL betting options in the FanDuel sportsbook, DraftKings will be able to offer both betting and daily fantasy contests on XFL games in states that have legal online sports betting. Former XFL owner Vince McMahon holds a minority stake in DraftKings.
Jeffrey Pollack, president and COO of the XFL, said in a press release that “Fantasy sports is an essential part of the football fan experience and we’re thrilled to be partnering with FanDuel, a leader in this space, to provide XFL fans additional ways to connect to our games.” Prior to the first XFL game of 2020 FanDuel hosted a special XFL kickoff show.
NFL vs. XFL
Fantasy players are already looking forward to playing fantasy football with XFL teams. They say that the difference in the on-the-field rules that the XFL will be following will make it easier to follow the action – and that there will be more action.
Some of the changes include the NFL ball placed at the 25 while in the XFL the touchback punts are placed at the 35, NFL’s rule for an extra point kick at the 15 or 2 point try verses the XFL’s three PAT options, the XFL’s 25-second play clock verses the NFL’s 40 second play clock, the NFL’s rule that a two feet in-bounds is a catch versus the XFL’s one foot in-bound being a catch and the NFL’s multiple clock stops as opposed to the XFL’s running clock before 2 minutes.
Fantasy football fans say that they can’t wait for XFL games to resume.
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