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Sports bettors throughout the country will have the opportunity to bet on real, live professional football games this spring.
The United States Football League, or USFL, is revamping for another version in the spring. Games will plow ahead with eight teams starting on April 16. And while the excitement is sure to captivate football fans everywhere, bettors will only be able to place legal wagers in 15 states as of now.
Where Legal USFL Wagers Can Be Placed
The USFL is a new league — or, rather, the iteration launching next month is a new version of an old league. Because it wasn’t around when most states authorized legal sports wagering, it wasn’t included in the sports and leagues that would be offered.
That meant that some states had to go back and approve sportsbook operators to offer wagers on the USFL before they could plow ahead with doing so. While it’s very simple for the sportsbook operators to add USFL wagers to their already long list of available bets, there was a legal process they had to go through with each state first.
Thus far, 15 states will allow sportsbook operators to offer legal sports wagers on the USFL.
All other states do require regulatory approval to add a wagers for a new league. To date, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Oregon, New Jersey and Iowa have gone through that process and will offer wagers on the USFL.
The Structure of the League
The new USFL will include eight teams that will be split into two divisions. Teams include the Michigan Panthers, Pittsburgh Maulers, Philadelphia Stars and New Jersey Generals in the North Division. In the South Division will be the Tampa Bay Bandits, Houston Gamblers, Birmingham Stallions and New Orleans Breakers.
Each team will play 10 games in the regular season, and two rounds of the playoffs will follow.
A unique aspect of the USFL is that all regular-season games will be hosted in Birmingham, Alabama. The playoffs will then move over to Canton, Ohio, and be held in the Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.
Darly Johnston, a former fullback for the Dallas Cowboys, will serve as the league’s executive vice president of football operations.
USFL History
While the USFL was always a secondary league, it has a rich history. The current iteration of the league has no legal connection to the one that began in the 1980s, even though they share the same name.
That original version was held for only three seasons. They also played during the spring and summer, but eventually ceased operations when they tried to go head-to-head with the NFL in the fall.
Eight people who were involved with the original USFL have been enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. That includes players Jim Kelly, Steve Young, Reggie White, Gary Zimmerman and Sam Mills; coaches George Allen and Marv Levy; front office consultant Sid Gillman; and player personnel director Bill Polian.