The biggest event in Las Vegas isn’t just a boon for the famed gambling Mecca.
Key Takeaways
- Last year, Saturday’s Las Vegas Grand Prix handle doubled from 2023.
- Action will pick up after Friday’s qualifying.
- Max Verstappen is the current favorite at +160.
The Formula 1’s third race in Sin City will also create massive betting interest. The Las Vegas Grand Prix, which runs Saturday on the unique street track that incorporates the popular Strip, generated an economic impact of $934 million in 2024.
Sportsbooks, especially retail shops at Vegas casinos, are also feeling the financial benefits.
Ahead of Friday’s qualifying, BetMGM strategy trading manager and F1 enthusiast Hal Egeland told Covers that no other event on the popular open-wheel federation’s circuit has the wagering buzz of the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
“It’s way bigger for us than any other race for the year on both our digital and retail platforms,” Egeland said. “More money goes to digital, generally speaking, but once people are on the Strip and it becomes a huge event, and people like to wager in the casino itself, we see a lot more money in Vegas specifically for this race for obvious reasons.”
In the inaugural year of the Las Vegas Grand Prix in 2023, BetMGM accepted three times more wagers than any other event in F1’s history. Last year, the handle doubled, shattering the previous year’s amount.
More than 300,000 spectators have flooded Las Vegas for the F1 race each of the first two years. Egeland said the 2024 retail handle was easily 30 times larger than any other F1 race.
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Reaching a peak?
With casinos so close to the racing action, celebrities in attendance, and F1 exploding in popularity each year since a Netflix documentary began in 2019, it’s no wonder BetMGM plans to break out more retail markets for this race than it usually offers.
“It’s an expensive ticket, so people who go to this event are going to have more money at their disposal,” Egeland said. “I think that brings in some handle that we wouldn’t normally see for a race in, say, Abu Dhabi.”
As big as it's gotten and with the novelty potentially wearing off, has the Las Vegas Grand Prix reached its peak?
“Now that it’s not as new, I do think (the handle will) probably dissipate a little bit with the growth,” Egeland said. “Having said that, I do still think it’s going to grow. I just wouldn’t see it (doubling or tripling) every year at this point.”
Heavy at the top
BetMGM has already seen good action on the Las Vegas Grand Prix, and it will pick up heavily after qualifying and on race day. However, it won’t be spread across the field; F1’s field is very top-heavy.
“You look at the field and there’s maybe four or five guys that can win on any given race, and if expanding that, half of the field has no chance unless there’s some major incidents in the race,” Egeland said
Dutch star Max Verstappen, who won the first Las Vegas Grand Prix in 2023, is the favorite at +160 to win again and is the most-bet driver with 33.6% of the handle and 22.7% of the tickets at BetMGM. The Red Bull team driver is especially a liability in retail.
Oscar Piastri (+350) and Lando Norris (+300), who are in a head-to-head battle for the season-long F1 championship with three races to go, are getting 17.7% and 21.2% of the money, respectively. They’re also in the top three in tickets.
Picking up soon
After that, Egeland said there’s some interest in George Russell (+350), the only other driver to be getting at least 10% of the bets. Lewis Hamilton at +2,800 is the closest thing to a long shot getting action with 8.4% of the tickets and 6.2% of the handle.
“All the money is coming in on seven or eight guys. It’s the guys you expect, (drivers for) McLaren, Mercedes, Ferrari, and Max,” Egeland said. “I would love to throw Red Bull in there, but Yuki (Tsunoda) is really not taking too much interest.”
Egeland says the odds will adjust after Friday's qualifying, and there could even be a new favorite. Norris won this race last year.
“More people like to see who’s starting before they place their bets as opposed to getting ahead of the curve there,” Egeland said.
