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Despite causing division among locals and facing legal issues, the Las Vegas Grand Prix ultimately provided a historic windfall for sportsbooks. Even as Max Verstappen continued his Formula 1 dominance with his 16th win in 17 races, Caesars Sportsbooks set a new company record for total betting handle on any motorsports event, while rival entities BetMGM and the local Station Casinos, Westgate SuperBook, and Red Rock Resort similarly reported record handle for an F1 Race.
The full impact of the race on sportsbooks will be more fully understood next month, when the Nevada Gaming Control Board releases its monthly report for November. However, one thing is certain: The Las Vegas Grand Prix was a massive success for sportsbooks. According to Craig Mucklow, Caesars vice president of trading, the race generated three times Daytona’s numbers and was well over seven figures. BetMGM said it tripled the number of bets for any prior F1 event during the race.
However, there are still some issues that need to be addressed regarding the timing of the race. The 10 p.m. local start time was chosen in part to minimize disruption to local citizens who had already endured months of headaches due to extended track construction. But several drivers and team executives are also pushing for an earlier start to aid their own time-zone acclimation traveling from Europe.
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur told ESPN that in the past, F1 was just for European people and they had to stick to European timing. However, now it’s a worldwide project and it’s much more difficult to find something fitting with the expectations of the 24-hour zone. “In Europe we have no problem because we are used to work on Sunday,” said Vasseur. “But here in America you have everything open on Sunday night or Monday morning.”
Despite these challenges, it seems that the Las Vegas Grand Prix will continue to be a major event in motorsports calendar and will bring even more benefits to sportsbooks in future years.
