SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Formula 1 (F1) has registered a ‘huge surge in popularity’ with sportsbook punters according to data by Entain Plc.
Providing insights on F1 markets between 2018 and 2022, Entain detailed that the total number of customers betting on F1 had increased by 50%, with F1 wagering growing approximately 30% each season.
F1’s growing popularity with betting audiences coincides with the motorsport’s growing engagement with online streaming audiences across all multimedia platforms.
A thrilling 2021 season which saw the Drivers Championship fought to its final race by Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen saw F1 break social media records registering an increase of 49m new followers across platforms.
Of significance, F1 is recognised as the fastest-growing sport viewed by online audiences with Grand Prix videos notching up a 50% increase to 7 billion views, helping the sport’s total viewership coverage increase by 74% to a global audience of 1.5 billion.
Entain backs F1 figures, as its sportsbook portfolio has registered an 18% increase from 2021 to 2022 in the number of UK customers betting on Formula 1, with four races still yet to go in the 2022 season.
Of significance, this summer’s British GP at Silverstone broke Entain’s motorsport wagering record garnering a four-fold increase in the number of bets on a winner at the race.
The global fanbase of F1 was noted as a further contributing factor to its rising popularity with customers, which saw Entain sportsbooks registered bets from the UK (35%), Brazil (17%), Germany (17%) and Spain (5%)
Dom Grounsell, Chief Commercial Officer at Entain, said: “Our customers are finding Formula 1 an increasingly exciting sport to participate in – numbers are growing year on year, in line with the popularity of the sport.”
“This has no doubt been helped by the hugely successful Netflix Formula 1 Drive to Survive series. We’re looking forward to the next stage of Formula 1’s exhilarating journey, and with our bench-strength of global sporting brands, are perfectly placed to keep our customers entertained and close to the action.”
