NASCAR Signs a Betting Data Partnership With Genius Sports

Major sports leagues continues to work for their share in the sports betting world.

NASCAR made its move this week.

The world’s top stock car racing league announced an official multiyear partnership with Genius Sports.

The data company will act as NASCAR’s official data provider for legal sportsbooks.

It was the league’s first step into sports betting since the PASPA repeal.

Since the start of the year, NASCAR has been trying to increase its involvement with sports betting.

Brian Herbst, the league’s senior vice president for broadcasting and innovation, believes this is key to drive fan engagement.

Herbst stated that sports betting could act as an entry point for new fans.

Additionally, it also works as a tool to create an immersive experience for an already established fan base.

How Will NASCAR’s Partnership With Genius Sports Work?

As mentioned above, NASCAR will provide Genius Sports with official data.

This includes live race updates, such as lap-by-lap speed and positions.

NASCAR offers a number of prop bets, which could be updated lap-by-lap.

That’s another strategy to get fans involved through the duration of the event.

Most NASCAR races are long, often in the 400 and 500 mile range, running for three and sometimes four hours.

Fans can bet on props such as head-to-head matchups between drivers, lead changes and number of different leaders.

Genius Sports provides the data to legal sportsbooks, both in the U.S. territory and overseas.

NASCAR also adds another important point to the deal.

Providing sportsbooks with official data is important in order to enforce transparency.

This goes hand in hand with some of the outlines NASCAR set for 2019 regarding sports betting.

NASCAR and Sports Betting in 2019

In September 2018, NASCAR signed a deal with Sportradar.

The goal was to develop a gambling policy for the betting industry.

Also, for the first time, NASCAR allowed teams and racetracks to sign sponsorship deals with sportsbooks.

Then, in May, a few days before the Genius Sports deal, NASCAR announced a partnership with The Action Network.

The Action Network provides the official NASCAR website with sports betting content.

Scott Warfield, the league’s managing director for gaming, stated that NASCAR wanted to offer content around legalized betting.

The league realized that sports betting presented a unique opportunity.

Since then, it’s been actively pursuing ways to get more involved with the industry.

At the start of the year, NASCAR announced its official Props Challenge.

While it doesn’t involve money, the game works as a nice introduction to the world of betting.

Every race, the official website presents ten questions.

Fans get to make their picks, running for awards at the end of the race weekend.

NASCAR also made changes to its Fantasy Game, allowing players to make in-race adjustments.

It is part of an effort to increase the fan’s engagement over the course of the event.

NASCAR will likely continue to increase its involvement with the sports betting industry as more states legalize the activity.

Be sure to check out our comprehensive guide on How to Bet on NASCAR here.