NASCAR has shifted sports betting into a higher gear after announcing a multi-year partnership with Sportradar to make use of its betting fraud monitoring services.
Improving sports betting
The Florida-based National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is one of the most popular racing companies in the USA.
In a bid to protect the integrity of the sport’s name, NASCAR is teaming up with Sportradar to use its integrity services. Sportradar, headquartered in Switzerland, collects and analyses sports data, and provides services to bookmakers, and national and international sports federations.
According to a report from Sportradar, the agreement between the two companies will see Sportradar’s fraud detection system (FDS) monitoring domestic and global betting activity for signs of any fraudulent behaviour among NASCAR’s three national series: the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup, Xfinity and the Gander Outdoors Truck Series.
The cup is the top racing series of NASCAR; Xfinity is a proving ground for drivers who want to make it to the top level circuit of NASCAR. The Gander Outdoors Truck Series is, as the name suggests, related to pickup truck racing.
The monitoring company notes on its website that it currently provides services to 20 sports and is used by more than 75 sports bodies around the world. These include the likes of FIFA, the NBA, the NFL, World Snooker and the Professional Darts Cooperation.
Speaking of the announcement, Brian Herbst, NASCAR’s vice-president of global media strategy and distribution, said: “It is critical to be proactive in developing safeguards that protect NASCAR’s on-track product from any potential integrity threats.
“Sportradar is the leader in this space and knowing that our races will be monitored extensively, while also equipping our industry with the tools and knowledge they require, gives us peace of mind in being able to preserve the integrity of NASCAR as the US wagering market continues to open.”
On top of that, NASCAR will also benefit from Sportradar’s education and prevention services. The aim of this is to deliver to sports organisations, state authorities and law enforcement agencies the support and information they need to tackle match-fixing.
Andy Cunningham, Sportradar’s director of global strategy of integrity services, said: “We are honoured and excited to partner with NASCAR in what is an important time for US sports following the Supreme Court sports betting case decision earlier this year.”
In May, the US Supreme Court made the decision to permit more states in the country to decide whether sports betting should be legalised. By doing so, it took away the monopoly that Nevada had on legalized sports betting.
In a report from NBCNews, the 6-3 ruling, meant that dozens of states began moving ahead with plans to offer sports betting. At the time, Phil Murphy, the Governor of New Jersey, said that he was “thrilled” by the decision, adding: “Today’s ruling will finally allow for authorized facilities in New Jersey to take the same bets that are legal in other states in our country.”
Following the news, Delaware launched full-scale sports betting in June. In October, the Dover International Speedway became the first NASCAR track to allow betting on the sport on-site.
New betting guidelines for 2019
This is just the latest step for the auto racing company and its move to remove fraudulent behaviour in sports betting.
Also in October, Steve Phelps, president of NASCAR, was reported as saying that it will be introducing new rules and guidelines for betting in 2019. Phelps believes that the new rules will include guidelines on betting by drivers and team members.
Speaking of the organization and its plans, Phelps said at the time: “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.”
