NASCAR signed an exclusive data deal with Genius Sports on Friday.
The deal enables Genius to take NASCAR's data and build a system for sportsbooks to increase the number bet types offered in the marketplace.
TV ratings issues have put NASCAR on the offensive, as the organization has concentrated on the betting push since late last year.
In anticipation of seeking a greater gambling connection, NASCAR signed up with SportRadar last year for integrity monitoring. The organization also set a more concrete gambling policy in place with its drivers.
“It’s a good opportunity to increase our handle and in turn increase fan engagement,” Brian Herbst, senior vice president of broadcast and innovation told The Action Network.
Genius Sports can start doing deals with sportsbooks immediately, though the current products will all be graded after the race. That includes wagers like fastest laps times both in qualifying and real races, winners at the end of each of the three stages, best lap time, and, stealing an idea from the horse racing world, a trifecta product (a parlay of sorts for the top-three finishing spots).
“The best part of this for us is that this is the blank canvas,” Chris Dougan, chief commununications officer of Genius Sports. “Much like we’ve seen the potential, and then the rise of a market, in esports, this feels very much the same."
The big test will come when Genius completes the necessary work to build a backend system that can account for live in-race betting, something that is expected to be unveiled toward the end of this season.
“We’ll immediately have a product for the entry-level bettors and later have a more complex product for advanced bettor ,” Dougan said. “Plus we will help push the product around the world.”
Genius Sports supplies data to more than 150 sportsbooks worldwide.
This week's NASCAR race is in Dover, Delaware, where fans can bet right near the track.
NASCAR bets have accounted for less than 0.1% of the betting handle in Delaware since it became the first state, post-PASPA ruling, to open sportsbooks in June of last year.
