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NFL betting is the most popular form of sports betting in the United States. But with the 2022-23 NFL season over, the XFL is looking to capitalize on both the popularity of football and sports betting in its (hopefully) first full season since 2001.

As you may recall, the rebranded XFL debuted in February 2020 to generally positive reviews. The action on the field was solid and the crowds were decent. We all remember what came next. The XFL was a casualty of the global pandemic that shut down sports and pretty much everything else for a few months. The XFL decided to cut its losses and cancelled its season after just a few weeks.

Fast forward three years and with the pandemic (hopefully) behind us, the XFL is back and ready to give football fans even more football. This also means those who like to wager on football will have even more options for their NFL offseason bankroll.

RotoGrinders’ DFS team is excited to cover the XFL as part of our Combo or NFL Premium packages – they will have projections/LineupHQ, articles, media, and more! For more on XFL DFS, click here to read our take on the upcoming season.

XFL Basics

XFL Teams 2023

Here’s a list of XFL teams along with their coaches for the 2023 season:

XFL Rules

Here are some of the main rules that will affect XFL bettors:

No Extra Points: The XFL will not have extra points. Instead, XFL teams will have three options following touchdown scores. 1) Run a play from the 2-yard line (worth 1 point); 2) run a play from the 5-yard line (worth 2 points); or 3) run a play from the 10-yard line (worth 3 points). We can expect most teams to choose option 2 in normal game situations.

Double Forward Pass: Teams can throw two forward passes so long as the first pass is caught behind the line of scrimmage. Expect some exciting creativity from XFL offensive coordinators.

Pace of Play: The XFL looks to speed up the game by implementing a 35-second play clock that begins after the ball is spotted. This differs from the NFL’s 40-second play clock. While the pace of play will be sped up, the XFL’s “up tempo game clock” will offset, or at least mitigate, the 35-second play clock’s impact on scoring. The up-tempo game clock runs outside of the 2-minute warning once the ball is spotted whether the ball is inbounds, out of bounds, and whether a pass is complete or incomplete.

Comeback Period: The “comeback period”, where the XFL will stop the play clock after each play, occurs after the 2-minute warning. On inbounds plays, the play clock will only be stopped after the first 5 seconds of the ball being spotted. Like the NFL and college football, the play clock stops no matter what and until the ball is snapped on incompletions and out-of-bounds plays. XFL’s comeback period will maximize the excitement at the end of each half, and prevent teams with a lead from running out the clock at the end of the game as teams do in the NFL.

Timeouts: Each team has three timeouts per half, similar to the NFL.

10-minute Halftime: The shortened halftime means less time to place your XFL second half bets.

Punts/Kickoffs: The XFL has implemented a variety of rule changes to punts and kickoffs, such as putting the touchback at the 35-yard line, making any punt that ends out of bounds inside the 35-yard line an automatic touchback, preventing the team from releasing past the line of scrimmage until the ball is kicked, among others, will incentivize more returns on kickoffs and more fourth-down attempts. This will shorten the average drive distance, and as a result, increase scoring.

Overtime: XFL’s overtime will consist of three rounds, where both teams will have a chance to score from the 5-yard line with one play each round. It will be much like NHL shootouts or MLS penalty kicks, only each successful overtime score is worth two points.

All things considered, we can expect higher scoring than NFL games. With the new extra point rules, we’ll see some weird scores. Key numbers in the NFL such as 3, 7 or 10 are not as important when it comes to XFL betting. For more about XFL’s rules and schedule, visit XFL’s official site.

XFL Football Betting Odds Explained

XFL bet types and XFL betting odds are the same as other football bet types and odds. However, if you’re new to football betting, or sports betting in general, check out our NFL football betting guide for a quick primer.

Types of XFL Football Bets

At least for now, in the early stages of XFL action, online sports betting sites like DraftKings Sportsbook and FanDuel Sportsbook only have point spreads and futures available. Eventually, we expect all of the following to be available to XFL bettors.

XFL Football Point Spread Betting

The most popular way to bet football is taking a team against the point spread (ATS). This involves making a wager on either the favorite or underdog XFL team to cover the point spread. The point spread is how much the favored team is projected to beat the underdog by for the bet to win. 

For example, say the DC Defenders are -7 (-110) over the Seattle Dragons +7 (-110) in Week 1 of the XFL season. The Defenders are the favorites and the Dragons are the underdogs. If you bet on the Defenders, they must win the game by more than seven points. If you bet on the Dragons, they must lose by less than seven points or win the game outright by any score. If the game ends on exactly three points, the bet is considered a push and your wager is refunded. But remember, with the new XFL extra point rules, key numbers are not as important for XFL betting

The vig, or juice, is the amount charged by a sportsbook for taking the bet. That means whether the bet is on the Defenders or Dragons you must wager at least $1.10 for every dollar you win. A $110 bet pays $100. The typical vig on an XFL wager is -110 but it can vary depending on the game and the online sportsbook. For instance, if the St. Louis Battle Hawks are +7.5 (+123) against the Arlington Renegades -7.5 (-155) in Week 1. A $100 bet on the Battle Hawks will pay out $123. To win $100 on the Renegades -7.5 requires risking $155.

XFL Totals (Over/Under) Betting

Another way to wager on football games is betting the point total of the game. You can bet on over/under the total number of points scored by both teams. If the total is set at 42, the final score must be more than 42 points to win the Over and fewer than 42 points to win the Under. 

If the Defender beat the Dragons 28-16, the Over 42 wins because the total number of points scored is 46. If the final score is 19-16, the Under wins because the total points scored was only 35. Should the score land exactly on 42 between the two teams, the bet is considered a push and the money wagered will be refunded. 

XFL Football Parlay Betting

Parlay bets are wagers that include two or more selections with larger payouts than a straight bet. Parlay bets may include different sports, point spreads, moneylines and totals but all must win or the wager loses. 

A parlay payout depends on the number of teams in the bet and the sportsbook. A three-team parlay will often pay out at odds of +600. So, if you bet a three-team parlay with the Defenders -7, Wildcats +5.5 and Vipers -2.5 for $10, the payout would be $70 if all three entrees win, for a profit of $60. Like teasers, parlays are harder than straight bets because at least two separate wagers must hit for it to win.

Futures Betting — 2023 XFL Championship Betting Odds

A futures bet is exactly what the name suggests: a bet paid out in the future if it wins. The most popular futures bet in football is wagering on which team will win the Super Bowl. However, in the case of the XFL, futures betting is on which of the eight XFL teams will win the 2023 XFL Championship.

All odds courtesy of Caesars Sportsbook and accurate as of February 15, 2023

If you place a $100 bet on the Renegades to win the 2023 XFL Championship you win $500, plus you get back $100 you risked. With so much unknown about the XFL and its teams, it might be worth betting on longshot teams to win the XFL Championship.