Genius Sports has signed a multi-year deal with the XFL to protect the new football league against betting-related corruption. The company will monitor pregame and live betting markets to detect unusual gambling activity on XFL games.
Genius will also provide educational workshops for XFL players, coaches and referees during the league’s training camp this month. All eight XFL teams are currently participating in a centralized training camp in Houston, Texas, that runs from Jan. 4 to 22. The XFL’s inaugural season will kick off two weeks later on Feb. 8.
According to the Nevada Gaming Control Board, football accounts for about 34% of all sports betting within the Silver State. That includes bets placed on both college and professional football. Since the Supreme Court overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act in 2018, 19 states and Washington, D.C., have passed laws legalizing sports betting.
Official XFL data will be provided by Champion Data this season, thanks to a deal signed in November. Previously, the league’s commissioner Oliver Luck alluded to the possibility of the XFL mobile app containing fantasy gaming or betting features.
“In our mind the difference between gaming and gambling is slowly merging as folks like Draftkings and Fanduel get more engaged,” Luck told SportTechie in December 2018. “It’s hard to know exactly how our app will engage with the gaming/gambling space.”
Genius Sports has also established similar betting integrity programs for the PGA Tour and LPGA Tour, soccer leagues such as the English Premier League and Germany’s Bundesliga, as well as the National Lacrosse League.
