Professional wrestling, or asw would like you to call it, sports entertainment, is essentially rigged. Although plenty of sites offer wagering on the outcomes, the integrity of betting on it can be fishy considering the outcome could be changed by the whims of one man. To protect the perception of the re-born XFL, McMahon isn’t taking any chances, now having agreed to launch a betting integrity program with Genius Sports.
Under the deal, Genius Sports will provide 24/7 monitoring of all betting markets offering XFL lines, alerting them to significant movements. They will also conduct integrity workshops for players, coaches and game officails, and provide information to league leaders on betting levels. A reporting process will be established, and Bet Genius will assist into any investigations needed for fishy betting.
The XFL may need an integrity program more than most other leagues. Not only does it have the Vince McMahon connection, but its players are guaranteed to make less money than their NFL counterparts. Taking a little money on the side to affect a game, which can easily be done on just something like a prop of how many yards a running back will gain, could make a big difference to a player’s take home pay.
Following news of this integrity deal, the XFL also released their new rules, which they promise will make for a better product than the NFL, but not as silly as the original incarnation of the XFL that came in 2001.
The big changes aren’t even that big. The “double-forward pass,” which sounds insane, simply means a lateral behind the line of scrimmage will count as a pass and ruled incomplete if its dropped, as opposed to a fumble. And as long as it doesn’t pass the line of scrimmage, another pass is allowed.
Point after touchdown has also changed, removing the kicker entirely. It’s best to just let their video explain it:
Overtime will also be different, with a five-round overtime of simple possession scoring attempts. The idea is very similar to a football penalty kicks in a way, but we’ll see if the offense lines guys are going to be happy running on and off the field five times after having played a full game.
Adding to their fatigue will be only 25-second play clocks and 10-minute halftimes. It’s pretty clear the rules were made to make for fast paced, TV-centric games.
The first match is just a month away now, with a pair of double-headers taking place on February 8 and another set for February 9.
