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New Jersey Becomes Sixth State To Allow XFL Betting

The state of New Jersey has been at the forefront of almost everything in sports betting. As of Friday, they became the sixth state in the country that will allowing betting on the newest football league – the XFL. New Jersey joins Indiana, Iowa, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island as the only states to do so.

Friday’s decision was made as the state Division of Gaming Enforcement gave it the final go. Now, the hope is that the XFL will have a longer shelf life than its first go-round in 2001.

There was a ton of hype for the league, but it just didn’t seem to have the right direction and leadership at that time.

In general, football that doesn’t come from the NFL or the collegiate ranks hasn’t had much success this century.

The Alliance of American Football ceased operations midway through its inaugural season last year. Unfortunately, the AAF didn’t have enough funding and even took out a loan before folding up shop.

This version of the XFL will have eight teams: the D.C. Defenders, Dallas Renegades, Houston Roughnecks, Los Angeles Wildcats, New York Guardians, Seattle Dragons and Tampa Bay Vipers.

There is the thought that betting on these XFL games could certainly catapult the league into another stratosphere. Although the AAF had legal betting on games, there weren’t as many states that were up and running at the time.

Currently, only New York (which will play its games at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ) plays in a state where legalized gambling is available. Of course, that stadium resides only a few hundred steps away from the FanDuel Sportsbook. Not to mention, mobile betting is available in The Garden State.

D.C. did vote to legalize sports betting, but ethical issues in the selection of the gaming operator led to this current holdup. The hope is that D.C. is up and running within the next few months. However, nothing has been set in stone just yet.

New Twists

In addition to legalized gambling, the XFL does have some aspects of the game which fans would be interested in seeing. Former Indianapolis Colts QB Andrew Luck’s father, Oliver Luck, is the league’s commissioner and new rules will be experimented with.

There is a 25-second play clock to speed up the tempo, an exciting new version of the kickoff and punts, and more general rules to increase the level of scoring and high-action plays.

Also, the overtime rules should really keep people on the edge of their seats. That will be decided by a five-round shootout (a la hockey or soccer) of two-point conversions that teams must put the ball into the end zone the most times to win.

At the end of the day, some of these rules may end up being adopted by the NFL and college football.

The first matchup of the season will be between Seattle and D.C. at Audi Field in the nation’s capital on Feb. 8. And yes, that’s the Saturday right after the Super Bowl. It’s a lucky thing for football fans that they won’t have to wait too long to get an extra dose of the game they love so much.

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