NASCAR steps into gambling game, to implement betting rules for 2019

NASCAR is laying the groundwork to ensure the sport is ready for the USA’s gambling revolution with plans afoot to improve its laws and guidelines in 2019.

Dover International Speedway became the first venue in the sport to open an on-site betting kiosk this month. Incredibly, NASCAR does not prohibit drivers, team officials and others involved intimately with the sport from betting, exposing itself to a raft of corruption issues.

These issues are what NASCAR president, Steve Phelps, will be looking to clean up by implementing guidelines for sports betting next year.

“I imagine we’ll get there,” Phelps said.

“The way the rulebook looks today, I think the teams and the drivers understand what it looks like today, and I think we’ll clarify for ’19 with more specific language in it.”

“For right now, there’ll be betting here. They have a kiosk here, you can bet inside. We’ll study and see how that goes, but I think we’ll have some rules in place for sponsorship, for what betting looks like, and continue to see what happens in the landscape overall.”

Dover International Speedway is in Delaware, a US state which legalised sports betting immediately after the 2018 Supreme Court decision to overturn its ban federally.

After opening the first betting kiosk in NASCAR history, punters lined up to place their bets hours before the race began. The most popular market was the winning driver, but exotics, prop bets and even futures also featured prominently.

Delaware citizens can also bet professional baseball, football, hockey, basketball, soccer, golf, horse racing and motor racing — most markets are supplied by William Hill.