The Las Vegas Grand Prix was a divided event among locals with a rocky start and still facing legal issues. However, this event 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 entity BetMGM and the local Station Casinos, Westgate SuperBook, and Red Rock Resort similarly reported record handle for an F1 Race. This increase in betting on F1 was three times Daytona’s numbers.
In addition, BetMGM said it tripled the number of bets for any prior F1 event during the Las Vegas Grand Prix. The full impact of the race on sportsbooks will be understood next month, when the Nevada Gaming Control Board releases its monthly report for November.
The 10 p.m. local start time of the race—1 a.m. on the East Coast—remains the subject of debate. Efforts are already in motion to ensure an earlier start due to the disruption to local citizens and drivers and team executives are also pushing for an earlier start to aid their own time-zone acclimation traveling from Europe. F1 continues to show growing pains in becoming a truly global sport.