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The wait for authorized sports betting is over in an increasing number of states. Seven states currently permit sports betting, and a handful of others are on the verge of making it a reality.
Lagging in a landscape dominated by the NFL, NBA and even international soccer, motorsports aren’t yet a formidable force in the U.S. sports betting market. But NASCAR has a game plan to take motor racing wagering to new heights.
NASCAR’s Approach
The synergistic opportunities for NASCAR and sports betting are enormous. NASCAR is the juggernaut brand of American motorsports, and the top nine racing teams are each worth an average of $158 million, according to NBC Sports.
And with so much money swirling around franchises and premier events such as the https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/daytona-500-tips/137063/page1/">Daytona 500, the Brickyard 400 and the Coca-Cola 600, there’s bound to be betting interest. But figuring out the infrastructure to make it all work poses as a significant challenge during these nascent days of sports betting in the U.S. To help sort out the details, NASCAR has partnered with Genius Sports, a sports data technology firm.
Using NASCAR’s official data, Genius Sports will build gambling offerings for legal sportsbooks. The mission includes providing sportsbooks with real-time odds, traditional wagers and prop bets.
By installing a pipeline for instant information delivery, NASCAR hopes to create an attractive in-race experience for fans with the driver odds shifting during the race. Pegging the right odds at the right moments allows for bet placement at any time while the race is underway.
The availability of live betting odds at legal sportsbooks will debut in time for the 2020 NASCAR season.
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Enhancing the Fan Engagement
NASCAR’s measured venture into betting has a lot to do with expanding and https://www.edmunds.com/car-news/nascar-fan-and-media-engagement-center-debuts.html">deepening fan engagement, a critical key for driving revenue now and down the line. And a well-executed sports betting strategy helps NASCAR strengthen fan engagement in several ways.
First, the availability of a range of bet types accepted before and during races promotes extended viewership. Prop bets garner publicity and excite fans in the lead up to race days. Then there’s sports betting’s most powerful force: Provoking emotional connections and interest in outcomes from fans who plunk money on the line.
There’s plenty of growth potential for a NASCAR betting market. Since Delaware launched sports betting in June 2018, only $208,100 of the $154.8 million wagered (through April 28) in the state on sports went to auto racing.
That low figure isn’t due to lack of interest, but rather a sluggish response to sports betting integration, according to NASCAR’s Senior Vice President of Broadcasting and Innovation Brian Herbst. “We weren’t really in the [sports betting] conversation until this year. We’re still taking a kind of pragmatic, staggered approach into it,” said Herbst.
Despite sports betting’s online presence and digital reach to all corners in participating jurisdictions, a decidedly offline use case emerges between racecourses and brick-and-mortar sportsbooks in a shared geographic vicinity.
The theory is race events will drive business at nearby sportsbooks, potentially with exclusive rights in play.
The Local Play
Last fall, Dover Downs Hotel & Casino in Dover, Delaware, launched an on-site betting counter for multiple NASCAR series races at Dover International Speedway. The two venues are co-located on the same property and share an alliance.
A similar scenario is possible in the https://www.poconomountains.com/">Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania where 14 miles separates the Mount Airy Casino Resort and Pocono Raceway.
A new sportsbook facility will soon open at Mount Airy thanks to a partnership between the casino and https://www.foxbet.com/">FOX Bet. The move opens the door for Mount Airy patrons to wager on events at Pocono Raceway conveniently. In fact, it was only in November 2018 that Pennsylvania took online sports betting live.
Expect NASCAR to become increasingly visible to sports bettors in the U.S. By improving fan engagement, tackling online and local opportunities, and generally executing a sound strategy overall, NASCAR will be a success. Players may currently bet on sports in Nevada, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Mississippi and Rhode Island.
