DraftKings and the Arena Football League have come together in a partnership that delivers good news to fans and bettors of the sport, and a welcome diversion for fans of NFL betting who await the season in the fall.

The two sides signed a deal that will allow customer to play daily fantasy for AFL games starting this season and also allow bettors to wager on the action as well, according to a press release from DraftKings.

Starting this April 26, DraftKings will post DFS contests for the AFL. That marks their 12th DFS betting category, which makes them the leader in terms of DFS offering.

DraftKings Will Offer DFS, Betting Lines On AFL

The Arena Football League will be entering its 32nd season and will be expanding from four to six teams this year.

The two teams joining the fray will be the Atlantic City Blackjacks and in Columbus Destroyers. The other teams are the Albany Empire, Baltimore Brigade, Philadelphia Soul and Washington Valor. They’ll now play a 12-game regular season schedule across 13 weeks, which means fans will have three games and six teams to work with each week as they set their DFS lineups.

For bettors, this is also a boon as now they’ll be able to wager on the action at DraftKings sportsbook. With the Alliance of American Football failing to make it out of their first season, fans are still hungry for football in the spring as they await the return of college and NFL action.

The AFL will continue to bridge that gap as the season starts on 26th and will run through August 11. The AFL typically offers fast-paced action with high-scoring games. The final games of the 2018 season saw an average combined score of 173.3 points per game.

Arena League Changes For 2019

In additional to the two new teams, there will be a number of changes on the field this season. The AFL has changed the ball that they play, revealed some sleek new uniforms and made some tweaks to how the clock will change in the upcoming season.

Valor Are Defending Champs

The Washington Valor are the defending champions after beating the Baltimore Brigade in the Arena Bowl last season.

The season was a wild ride for the Valor, who were just 1-10 before winning their regular-season finale. They were outscored by 160 points in the regular season – an average of 13 points per week – but they still managed to conquer the league. They edged No. 1 seed Albany 103-97 in the semifinals and then topped No. 2 Baltimore 69-55 in the Arena Bowl to claim the championship.

Odds for the league are not yet posted but the season will start with the Valor on the road facing the Brigade in a rematch of the championship game on Friday.