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What do we expect from motorsport betting in the coming years?

betting and drone racing

A drone of XBlades Racing of Great Britain seen during the Drone Champions League in Turda, Romania on December 6, 2019 // Joerg Mitter / Red Bull Content Pool // SI201912070255 // Usage for editorial use only //

Sports betting has come a long way. Today, there are a plethora of sports that punters can wager on, from football to eSports. We have also seen motorsport betting become mainstream over the years, in part due to improvements in television coverage, including the Sky Sports F1 channel. Improved TV coverage has provided bettors with the necessary information, such as real-time stats, that they need to make an informed decision before placing a bet on Formula 1, NASCAR, or Speedway.

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Yet, sports are not a constant; there will always be an emerging niche that steals the spotlight. This reality is why motorsport betting needs to stay innovative to attract and retain new audiences. Fortunately, the betting industry has long understood this. That’s why the top sportsbooks (with casinos attached) offer new but promising games, such as Slingo, which is growing throughout the UK and combines slots with bingo. For instance, you can now play a Slingo game on Betfair, a popular online casino and sportsbook that offers poker, slots, and roulette in addition to odds on Formula 1, Formula E, NASCAR and the World Rally Championship competition.

But how does the motorsport betting business achieve something similar? Can online casinos and sportsbooks start offering odds on new and emerging areas of motorsport to attract more fans, just like they’ve done with offering hybrid casino games? The answer is yes — and we’re already seeing it happen.

Growing The Motorsport Betting Industry In New Ways

Over the last few years, in part because of Netflix’s internationally acclaimed documentary series Drive to Survive, Formula 1 (F1) has been the go-to for motorsport betting. However, new areas of the sport are showing promise, especially the concept of drone racing, which has spiked in popularity ever since the formation of the DRL World Championship. There are now several sportsbooks in Europe that have started offering odds on drone racing. There is even speculation that bookmaking giants in the United States are trying to acquire licenses to offer drone racing odds.

Similarly, to continue growing the popularity of motorsport betting, online sportsbooks should consider working with top drivers. That can either be through hiring them as a brand ambassador or having them as the face of their marketing campaigns. Doing so is a great way to gain exposure, and it’s something we’ve seen done by many popular sportsbooks with other sports, including horse racing.

There’s no doubt wagering on motorsports has increased in popularity over the last ten years. A lot of this growth has to do with better TV coverage and drivers like Lewis Hamilton becoming international superstars, but that doesn’t mean now is the time for this business to stay stagnant. To continue seeing high growth levels, sportsbooks around the globe will have to find new ways to attract and retain sports bettors to motorsports. As we now know, one way to do this is through offering odds on emerging niches like drone racing and hiring popular drivers to be brand ambassadors.

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