Scope of NASCAR's Popularity Revealed in Betting Hero Study

Betting Hero, self-described as "the #1 live activation company in the sports betting, iGaming, and cashless industries," is out with a new study that revealed some interesting statistics about the popularity of NASCAR and NASCAR betting in the up-and-coming North Carolina market. You can bet on NASCAR at all of our best sports betting sites.

Betting Hero teamed up with NASCAR to research just how prominent motorsports betting is in the North Carolina market and provides hints about how sportsbooks can better serve their clientele with regard to NASCAR betting opportunities for the nation’s bettors.

Using North Carolina as a backdrop for the study seems like a calculated move by both Betting Hero and NASCAR. The Tar Heel State immediately propelled itself into the top tier of legal sports betting jurisdictions after North Carolina sports betting became a legal reality in March, and North Carolinians have long been some of the most passionate race fans in the country.

Reasons for the study

Betting Hero has been collaborating with NASCAR for years, attempting to reveal the racing league's popularity and identify new ways to engage fans through sports betting. 

The study took place in April 2024 and surveyed qualified bettors in North Carolina to help sports wagering providers in the state better understand the scope of NASCAR betting there. It aims to serve both customers and providers of North Carolina sports betting apps.

According to NASCAR Managing Director of Sports Betting, Joe Solosky, “NASCAR has extremely passionate fans and we see sports betting as another way they can engage with sport. We are excited, but not surprised, to see the success of NASCAR as an offering through the launch of sports betting in the industry’s backyard of North Carolina and are continuing to better improve the NASCAR betting product to give fans more options to responsibly engage with action on the track.”

Jai Maw, Co-Founder of Betting Hero went on record saying, "Having worked closely with NASCAR to educate its fans on the betting options available to them for several years, we have long believed in the opportunity to both attract new fans to the sports and better engage existing fans through thoughtfully curated betting experiences."

Some of the interesting findings

The Betting Hero study found that NASCAR was the fourth most popular sport to bet on in the North Carolina market, behind the NFL, NBA, and MLB. That is a significant finding; compared to other jurisdictions around the U.S., North Carolina bettors were seen to be three times more likely to place a bet on NASCAR than in other regions surveyed.

Residents are likely taking advantage of North Carolina sportsbook promos while placing their bets. Seventy percent of respondents in the study said that they had watched a NASCAR race for the first time because they had placed a wager on it, and 86% of those surveyed feel that wagering complements the viewing experience of racing.

”As is shown in the North Carolina study conducted by our in-house consumer research division, there is a clear correlation between most fans’ enjoyment or engagement in a sporting event and their betting activity overall,” said Jai Maw.

Across the nation, wagering activity on the sport has grown 15% year over year in the states that have legal NASCAR betting opportunities. The New York sports betting, Nevada sports betting, Massachusetts sports betting, Michigan sports betting, and Mississippi sports betting scenes have seen NASCAR betting handles grow 50% year over year.

Loyalty in the North Carolina market toward sports betting providers was also a key finding in the study. Nearly half of respondents have signed up for more than one North Carolina sports betting app, with nearly 90% of those sticking with the primary site they registered for.

NASCAR pushing all the right buttons

In the North Carolina market, NASCAR has signed key partnership deals with sports betting providers to elevate the sport's profile. NASCAR has also been active in other markets, aligning with sports betting providers.

DraftKings gained access to the Tar Heel State market thanks to an official sports betting partnership with NASCAR. FanDuel and nVenue have signed collaboration deals with the racing league, and BetRivers recently signed on as the title sponsor of the BetRivers 200 in Delaware.

That said, the study acknowledged the difficulty of bettors finding NASCAR wagering markets. In other words, NASCAR and NASCAR bettors still have some work to do.

As Jai Maw said in a press release, "As shown in the North Carolina study conducted by our in-house consumer research division, there is a clear correlation between most fans' enjoyment or engagement in a sporting event and their betting activity overall. However, NASCAR fans have to work a little harder than fans of other major sports to find betting preferences due to less available markets and prop betting options on average."