2022 has seen Formula 1 become increasingly popular in the US. That’s being shown by higher attendances, viewing figures and the number of bets being placed at US online sportsbooks. It looks as if this will continue into 2023 and beyond. That won’t just help F1 but the US economy will benefit too.
It was in 2017 that Liberty Media took control of Formula 1. The American company had big plans for the sport and that included increasing the popularity of the sport in the United States. There was one Grand Prix a year held in the US at that stage and it was a hard job to increase the fan base with most motorsport fans happily watching NASCAR.
The odds of Formula 1 grabbing a larger share of the US market weren’t that good. However, recent years have seen the sport grow in popularity and there was a clever way of achieving that. There was already a busy F1 schedule and there were races being held throughout the year. One important task was to make the sport and its stars better known in the US. Why would people be interested in a sport that they knew little about?
To do that, the ‘Drive to Survive’ series was launched on Netflix. The series took viewers behind the scenes of Formula 1 in a way that hadn’t been seen in the past. Viewing figures were good and that led to a higher awareness of the teams and drivers that were thrilling the rest of the world.
That was the first step and you can bet that Formula 1 bosses were delighted when signing a new deal with ESPN to cover the sport in the US. The previous deal F1 had signed was only worth $5 million but this new one was for a sum reported to be in the $75 to $90 million range. The odds are that subsequent deals will be worth even more than that. But they are still light years behind the amounts the NBA can earn. Their latest TV deal is worth a staggering $2.6 billion.
This year has seen the introduction of a second Grand Prix in America. The launch of the Miami Grand Prix was a great success and again a big step forward for Formula 1 in the US. Now two races will become three in 2023…
November 2023 will see the new Las Vegas Grand Prix taking place. The betting capital of the world will embrace Formula 1 in ways only they can. Look for a spectacular opening ceremony and then a street race held at night. Cars will pass the iconic landmarks of the Las Vegas strip and that should make for great viewing.
When Liberty Media became the new owners of the commercial rights to the sport five years ago, the NJ online sports gambling industry was nowhere near as large as it has subsequently become.
A year after the takeover, a United States Supreme Court Judge made a landmark ruling. Previously it had been the Federal Government that made decisions on whether or not to make betting legal, particularly on sport. This court ruling changed all of that, now it was the individual states that could decide for themselves what to do regarding gambling. Since then, over 30 US states have made betting legal, especially online.
It’s not as if they have suddenly become lovers of gambling. States know that gambling has to be licensed and regulated. It’s also important to provide support for those who have problems with their gambling.
There was also the frustration that gamblers were joining offshore sites. Individual states that have now made sports betting legal, receive millions of dollars in revenue from gambling taxes. That’s helped the finances of thesestates at a time when additional funding has been needed after the problems caused by the pandemic.
This year has seen more states make sports betting legal. They include New York where gaming officials regularly see $1 billion or more wagered each month. But these revenue figures do fluctuate, especially when the NFL and NBA seasons aren’t in full flow.
Although the amounts that are gambled on Formula 1 are on the increase, they are nowhere near as influential on revenue figures as American Football and Basketball. The gambling operator Entain has revealed that there is an increasing amount of bets being placed on F1.
With three races taking place in the US next year, the hope will be that the increased amounts being wagered will continue to rise. If that is the case, then the states which have made gambling legal will have more reasons to be cheerful. Higher amounts wagered on Formula 1 will see more tax revenue being received from the gambling industry. That’s another reason why it is important for F1 to continue its bid to make the sport more popular in the USA…
