NASCAR betting plan gets another boost, what about IndyCar? (Update)

What is IndyCar doing for its betting/gambling plan that gets fans more engaged with the sport? Let's hope they are not asleep at the wheel.

UPDATE NASCAR’s gambling plan is taking root, with a data deal announced last week and a content deal coming this week that together illuminate the breadth of an emerging strategy.

The sanctioning body has been mapping out its place in the gambling space since the Supreme Court cleared the way for states to legalize sports betting last May. It announced an integrity deal with Sportradar in late 2018, started allowing teams to sign sportsbook-related sponsorships and rolled out a prop-bet-inspired game on its website this season. But its wider plan had yet to take shape.

Last week, NASCAR announced a data deal with Genius Sports, which not only will license and distribute NASCAR’s live data for sale to sportsbooks, but also work with the sanctioning body to develop an in-race betting product that will allow for wagering throughout each race, with odds that can change by the second.

Meanwhile, NASCAR this week will announce a new content deal with The Action Network that marks the first official league partnership for the fledgling gambling website, which provides data and information for bettors.

“2018 was spent educating ourselves in the space and getting all the right protections in place and developing policy with how gambling should work," said Brian Herbst, NASCAR’s senior vice president of broadcast and innovation. “[2019 is] more focused on the commercial and content space." More from Sports Business Daily

(From left to right) Chris Dougan, Genius Sports Chief Communications Officer and NASCAR's Scott Warfield and Steve Phelps pose for a photo during partnership announcement.

05/03/19 NASCAR and Genius Sports, the global leader in sports data solutions, today announced a landmark deal that will see Genius Sports develop an official NASCAR gaming offering for legal sportsbooks. The new agreement is the first step toward creating an advanced live betting product that will drive fan interest and deepen engagement around NASCAR race events.

Genius Sports will utilize NASCAR’s official data feed to build a high-end live betting product to be sold to legal sportsbooks around the world. Exclusive access to NASCAR’s official data will allow Genius Sports to create a real-time gaming platform that provides up-to-the-minute odds and a suite of traditional wagers and prop bets. The new initiative will enhance the race day experience and keep fans engaged with the sport for longer periods of time.

"Partnering with Genius Sports allows us to deliver a dynamic fan engagement platform in the rapidly-growing world of legalized sports gaming," said Brian Herbst, senior vice president, broadcasting and innovation, NASCAR. "This new relationship will provide another entry point to the sport and complements our strategy to create a more immersive experience for fans."

As a result of the agreement, Genius Sports becomes the exclusive provider of NASCAR data to licensed sportsbooks. The new data partnership marks NASCAR’s first in the growing U.S. sports betting sector.

"NASCAR fans are some of the most devoted in the world, and we look forward to helping them to create a deeper, more connected experience that is both safe and secure as the business of sports betting continues to evolve in the U.S.," said Mark Locke, Genius Sports CEO. "Furthermore, our global relationships will help bring the excitement of NASCAR racing to new audiences both within the U.S. and in new territories around the world."

With 40 cars on the track reaching speeds of over 200 miles per hour, NASCAR’s official data is vital to the development of a gaming platform. Only licensed sportsbooks in regulated territories will have access to the official data, providing greater transparency, accuracy, and cooperation to monitor and safeguard NASCAR events.

Before the start of the 2019 season, NASCAR developed a comprehensive sports integrity program and gambling policy in which the sanctioning body granted all teams and tracks the ability to sell marketing sponsorships to sports-betting companies and licensed sportsbooks.

About NASCAR

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc. (NASCAR) is the sanctioning body for the No. 1 form of motorsports in the United States. NASCAR consists of three national series (Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series™, NASCAR Xfinity Series, and NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series™), four regional series, one local grassroots series, and three international series. The International Motor Sports Association™ (IMSA) governs the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship™, the premier U.S. sports car series. Based in Daytona Beach, Fla., with offices in eight cities across North America, NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races in more than 30 U.S. states, Canada, Mexico, and Europe. For more information visit www.NASCAR.com and www.IMSA.com, and follow NASCAR on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat (‘NASCAR’).

About Genius Sports

Genius Sports is the global leader in sports data. Our unique technology empowers sports to collect, manage and commercialize their data, transforming the way they run their competitions and creating new revenues streams through our distribution networks across media and regulated sports betting sectors.

Headquartered in London with over 16 locations worldwide, Genius Sports captures millions of data points at sporting events in every corner of globe, optimizing them into stat-driven content for sports fans and, through Betgenius, our sports betting technology arm, cutting-edge in-game sports wagering products for sportsbooks and lotteries globally.

Genius Sports is the trusted sports data, technology and integrity partner to hundreds of sporting bodies. This includes many of the world’s largest leagues and federations such as the NBA, NCAA, PGA TOUR and the English Premier League.