Formula One is aiming to spice up fan engagement by leveraging its in depth knowledge to supply extra betting alternatives, in keeping with Jonny Haworth, the game’s director of economic partnerships, who spoke Thursday.
Recent knowledge from Nielsen Sports revealed that Formula One’s international fanbase has grown to 826.5 million, a 12% improve from 2023.
Notably, China’s fan following surged by 39% previously yr, fueled by the return of the Shanghai Grand Prix following the post-COVID-19 hiatus.
“We’re on a journey in the betting space at the moment,” Haworth informed the BlackBook Motorsport Forum in London Thursday.
“I think we make up 0.4% of the overall global betting handle, which is pretty crazy for a sport the size of Formula One, and with a sport that has low-latency data at a high volume, which drives betting.”
Formula One, whose automobiles are geared up with sensors delivering billions of information factors, final month introduced San Diego-based ALT Sports Data as its official betting knowledge provider.
ALT will develop betting-focused real-time predictive analytics for Formula One, together with proprietary knowledge and priced odds for the betting trade.
“We’re working incredibly hard to figure out how we open up an engaging betting product that enables people not only to look at outcome betting but also to use the data of the sport to engage in various types of in-play betting,” stated Haworth.
“We believe this will be a huge engagement tool … There are many ways to engage in the sport other than sitting and watching a two-hour broadcast, and that is one way to drive a lot of engagement.”
The 2025 season, that includes 24 races and no main rule adjustments earlier than a brand new engine period in 2026, is predicted to be one of many closest but, after 4 groups and 7 completely different drivers received races final yr.
“This season is a great season to really focus on our betting because we’re going to see so much jeopardy on the track, and who knows what will happen with the regulation changes next year?” stated Haworth.
Betting on Formula One has been difficult for the game, with crew orders being a characteristic and playing barred within the Islamic world, which hosts 4 races within the Middle East.
There are additionally issues about playing and younger followers, a key demographic for a sport that has seen fast development, partly because of the reputation of the Netflix docu-series Drive to Survive.
Source: www.dailysabah.com