XFL to incorporate betting lines, odds talk into game broadcasts

Sports betting operator DraftKings has signed a new partnership with the upstart XFL football league, which intends to show betting lines onscreen during game broadcasts.

On Wednesday, DraftKings announced that it had signed deals to become both a Daily Fantasy Sports Partner and Authorized Gaming Operator of the XFL, which kicks off its inaugural season on Saturday, February 8.

The deals will allow DraftKings the freedom to use XFL league and team logos and player imagery on its website and in its marketing pitches to DFS players and sports bettors who would otherwise be looking at a long football drought following last Sunday’s Super Bowl.

DraftKings chief business officer Ezra Kucharz predicted that his company’s customers will welcome the XFL’s offering, which he claimed was an “innovative, fan-first league.” XFL president Jeffrey Pollack dutifully returned the favor, calling DraftKings “a leader in this space” and predicted that the tie-up would “broaden our reach and introduce our new league.”