The Las Vegas Grand Prix was a historic success for bookmakers, despite facing legal trouble and divisive locals. Despite the controversy surrounding the event, Caesars Sportsbooks set a new company record for total betting on any motorsport event during the race. Similarly, rival entities BetMGM and local Station Casinos, Westgate SuperBook, and Red Rock Resort recorded a record for an F1 race.
The race’s full impact on sports betting will be more fully understood next month when the Nevada Gaming Control Board releases its monthly report for November. However, one of the main concerns surrounding the event was its local start time of 10 p.m. on the East Coast, which remains up for debate. Several drivers and team principals are pushing for an earlier start to help their own time zone by traveling from Europe, as F1 continues to struggle to become a truly global sport.
Ferrari team principal Fred Wasser explained this issue to ESPN: “In the past we didn’t have any problems because Formula 1 was only for Europeans, and we had to stick to the European timing, and it was fine. Now it’s a worldwide project and it’s much harder to find something that matches the expectations of a 24-hour zone.” Despite these challenges, however, the Las Vegas Grand Prix ended up being a huge success for bookmakers and motorsports fans alike.