The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) will be implementing its policy for betting by 2019, according to an Associated Press report.
NASCAR President Steve Phelps, speaking during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoff at Dover in Delaware, said, “I think for ’19, we’ll have some rules that we’ll put in place. For right now, there’ll be betting here. They have a kiosk here, you can bet inside. we’ll study and see how that goes, but I think we’ll have some rules in place for sponsorship, for what betting looks like, and continue to see what happens in the landscape overall.”
Last weekend saw the launch of a betting kiosk at the Dover International Speedway, where the races were being held. In these stations, bettors could bet not just for the winner of the race, but the winner of individual stages, as well as other categories such as match-ups between drivers or the number of lead changes. And placing bets is not limited to racing either, but also available for other professional sports.
Phelps noted that at present, there were no explicit prohibitions on players and team members making bets on NASCAR, an issue that will be addressed when formulating the guidelines.
“The way the rulebook looks today, I think the teams and the drivers understand what it looks like today, and I think we’ll clarify for ’19 with more specific language in it,” Phelps said.
Delaware, like Nevada, had been partly exempt from a federal ban on sports betting that was lifted by the Supreme Court only last May. The Delaware state government quickly legislated a regulatory framework last June, encouraging companies like NASCAR to offer more betting-related products.
For a sport like stock car racing that has seen its popularity dwindle in recent years, legal wagering is seen as beneficial. The Washington Post quoted Las Vegas Motor Speedway President Chris Powell as saying, “[Sports betting] very well could be a shot in the arm to NASCAR and other forms of motor sports because it could add a new element of excitement – whether it’s wagering on who’s going to win or who’ll win the first segment or a one-on-one bet.”
Phelps said specifying rules would help shore up interest from the sector. “From a sponsorship standpoint, I think sponsorship will definitely… gravitate to NASCAR as most sponsors do because of the return on the investment they can get because of the visibility that it has,” he said.
Dover Motorsports CEO Denis McGlynn meanwhile told the Associated Press, “We don’t anticipate a huge movement from a revenue standpoint for the gaming company. What we’re hoping for is, just the ability to broaden the field of wagering on sports to include NASCAR will somehow increase the interest in it.”
