Formula 1 Betting Could Soon Be Going Live

The late start to the season means the F1 calendar has been restructured to feature 17 races with the Americas and Far East not facilitating any competitions and three countries – Austria, Great Britain and Bahrain – staging two apiece

Formula 1 successfully got a semblance of a show on the road on July 5th in Austria. It meant the road-show was almost four months behind schedule thanks to the Covid pandemic 

The late start to the season means the F1 calendar has been restructured to feature 17 races with the Americas and Far East not facilitating any competitions and three countries – Austria, Great Britain and Bahrain – staging two apiece. 

On the surface the sport appears to have adapted well to this annus horribilis but the late start to proceedings meant Formula 1’s 2020 Q2 revenues nosedived by 96 percent year-on-year. The $620m accrued over the same period in 2019 dropped to a relatively paltry $24m meaning a trading loss in excess of $100m. 

Of course the ‘race heavy’ conclusion to 2020 (five races are scheduled to take place between November 1 and the final curtain call on December 13) will see some financial improvements courtesy of broadcast fees and sponsorship. However traditional ticket and merchandise sales will inevitably be very poor as only a few venues are facilitating live spectators.  

Formula 1 Betting To The Rescue 

So just how will the sport attempt to fill some of the gaping holes in its balance sheet? Formula 1 betting is likely to be towards the top of the ‘to do’ topics discussed at future board meetings. 

Betfinder.co.uk is one of the affiliate sites which embrace Formula 1 betting and it has featured big race previews and expert F1 betting tips for over four years. For them the sheer weight of numbers – almost 500 million people watch the sport – means even the tiniest percentage of people deciding to enhance the viewer experience by placing a bet equates to a lot of betting turnover. 

Live F1 Betting On The Radar 

As it happens Formula 1 got around to thinking the same thing at the start of 2019 when unveiling an app-based prediction game which cultivated gamblers by replacing F1 odds with ‘percentage probability’.  

By March of this year they were ready to announce an allegiance with data distributor Sportradar who promised 20+ live ‘in play’ race betting markets during the season’s forthcoming races. 

At the time a Sportradar spokesman said: “Formula 1 is one of the world’s most recognised sports brands with unique commercial opportunities that continue to expand. Introducing live in-race betting opportunities is a starting point to unlocking those opportunities and increasing interest and engagement amongst fans worldwide.” 

And so it should be a case of “show me the money” but just how much is F1 benefiting from releasing their historical data and giving access to its live data?  Relatively speaking probably not very little if truth be known.  

But even partially sighted armchair Formula 1 fans will have clearly seen an online sportsbook  peddling their wares in high-vis trackside digital hoardings throughout the course of races during this truncated season and that has to be a big money-spinner. 

Consequently you can expect more of the same in 2021. In fact the introduction of live F1 betting odds appearing in vision is probably under consideration. Similarly a full partnership with a major online sportsbook and even some kind of white labelling for its website and app subscribers may also be on the table.